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Grace
and Calvin Coolidge greet Hollywood stars at the
White House in 1924. Library of Congress
Tin Pan Alley and the American musical theater were
in a great state of verve and vitality in the period
between the two world wars, and White House guests
lists of the time reflected this. In 1924 President
Coolidge invited legendary showman, Al Jolson to
help him launch an election campaign at a White
House pancake breakfast. After the breakfast, forty
stars from stage and screen, including John Drew,
the Dolly Sisters, Charlotte Greenwood and Ray Miller’s
Jazz Band, staged impromptu entertainment on the
White House lawns. Both first ladies, Florence Harding
and Grace Coolidge, were especially interested in
classical music. Mrs. Harding showed her encouragement
of music in young people by inviting eleven-year-old
concert pianist, Shura Cherkassy, to present a recital,
and through the invitation of Grace Coolidge, Sergei
Rachmaninoff played in the White House on three
separate occasions.
Elise
Kirk, Musical Highlights from the White House,100-108.
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