Porter–Let’s Do it, Bill Wirges

Now, let’s listen to “(Let’s Do It) Let’s Fall in Love.” Today, we are going to present an orchestral arrangement by the Band Leader, Bill Wirges. On Thursday, we will present a series of vocalists who have made this song famous. It is one of Cole Porter’s best songs, and that is saying a lot.

We thought we would include a little bio about Wirges in the youtube post.

William (“Bill”) WIRGES was an American pianist, dance band leader and composer. Born in Buffalo, he was in the early 1920s a roaming musician, working as piano accompanist on the singers’ and vaudeville shows. (Ultimately, he would graduate to accompanying famous performers such as Belle Baker and Al Jolson.) In 1924, Wirges joined the orchestra led by banjoist Harry Reser, which became the legendary Cliquot Club Eskimos. A year later, Wirges made his first three records for Pathé as a bandleader, although the band is often assigned to Reser’, for Harry Reser includes it. Wirges also led 16 more sides for Brunswick between 1928 and 1930. The earliest of these have a similar personnel to the Cliquot Club Eskimos, but without Reser, and one coupling is issued by the Brunswick Hour Orchestra, suggesting that Wirges was leading this band on a radio program called The Brunswick Hour. The Great Depression sank the happy-go-lucky music that had been William Wirges’ specialty, yet he kept busy on radio leading several studio bands and formed a publishing company, William Wirges Music, Inc..