Topic: Paul Specht

Paul Specht (March 24, 1895 – April 11, 1954) was an American dance bandleader popular in the 1920s.

Born in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, Specht was a violinist, having been taught by his father Charles G. Specht, a violinist, organist, and bandleader in his own right. He attended Combs Conservatory in Philadelphia, and led his first band in 1916, which toured the Western United States during World War I. He signed with Columbia Records in 1922, playing both with a larger dance ensemble and with a smaller, more jazz-oriented unit called The Georgians.

He toured England several times, beginning in 1922, and set up a "School for Jazz Musicians" there in 1924. Specht encountered some difficulty with his English performances due to political and union woes, which were documented regularly in the popular music press of the day. He did not return to England after 1926, having become thoroughly dissatisfied with the treatment he received.