By the end of 1927, Whiteman's band had performed "Rhapsody in Blue" approximately 84 times, and its recording sold a million copies. However, in order for the entire piece to fit onto two sides of a 12-inch record, the rhapsody had to be played at a faster speed than usual in a concert, which gave it a hurried feel and some rubato was lost. Whiteman later adopted the piece as his band's theme song and opened his radio programs with the slogan "Everything new but the "Rhapsody in Blue"."