Music has played a large role i

Music has played a large role in Mt. Pulaski

from the mid-1800's onward. The town has had a long tradition of quality music, which initially was due in large measure to the influx of immigrants from Europe who brought along their music traditions ... their brass instruments, their voices, their music appreciation. These bands and vocal groups have performed both locally and throughout the state. The Bloomington Pantagraph reported that a Mount Pulaski Brass Band performed at the Republican Rally in Atlanta's Union Hall in October, 1856, where Abraham Lincoln gave an "eloquent" address in support of Col. Fremont for the Presidency of the United States. Over the years, the Mount Pulaski High School bands have brought back numerous district and state sweepstakes trophies. The 1st lady of radio: Vaughn DeLeath, was a Mount Pulaski Native. Born Leonore Vonderlieth in the town of Mount Pulaski, Illinois in 1894, her parents were George and Catherine Vonderlieth. At age 12, Leonore relocated to Los Angeles with her mother and sister, where she finished high school and studied music. While at Mills College, she began writing songs, but dropped out to pursue a singing career. She then adopted the stage name "Vaughn De Leath." Her vocals ranged from soprano to deep contralto. De Leath adapted to the emerging, less restrictive jazz vocal style of the late 1910s and early 1920s.

Vaughn de Leath (Leonore Vonderleith) Born Mount Pulaski, Illinois, September 24, 1894. Died Buffalo, New York, May 28, 1943 Age 48 (liver damage) The original crooner. The Vaughn de Leath show was a sustaining program on NBC in 1936. She was also heard on the Voice of Firestone. Her radio work began in the 1920s.
Vaughn was one of the first singers to use an electric microphone. Previously, to sing with an acoustic microphone one had to pretty much shout into it. Doing that into an electronic mike would damage everyone's eardrums! [It would also break the delicate radio glass tubes]. So it's said that Vaughn "wrote the book" on how to sing into the new mikes. [It's written that she taught Bing Crosby how to croon].

Born Leonore Vonderlieth in the town of Mount Pulaski, Illinois in 1894, her parents were George and Catherine Vonderlieth. At age 12, Leonore relocated to Los Angeles with her mother and sister, where she finished high school and studied music. While at Mills College, she began writing songs, but dropped out to pursue a singing career.
She then adopted the stage name "Vaughn De Leath." Her vocals ranged from soprano to deep contralto. De Leath adapted to the emerging, less restrictive jazz vocal style of the late 1910s and early 1920s.

Over the years, there were many MP adult bands

Mt. Pulaski 1890's Band Stubblebine's Band