Wiedoeft was born in Germany and came to the United States with his parents as a child. Wiedoeft came from a family of musicians and was encouraged by his father. His brothers Gerhardt and Adolph (nicknamed "Gay" and "Ad", respectively) played as sidemen in his band, Gerhardt on
string bass and Adolph on
percussion and
xylophone. Another brother,
Rudy Wiedoeft, was a
saxophone player during the late
ragtime and early jazz era. Their sister, Erica, was a pianist. Wiedoeft started his first orchestra before 1915. The band gained a recording contract with
Brunswick Records, toured in Chicago and New York, and earned a national reputation. Their first record for Brunswick was "Cinderella Blues"/"
Shine", Wiedoeft died in a car accident in
Medford, Oregon, on 12 May 1928, when his car skidded off the Medford–Klamath Falls highway. ==Discography==