In 1911 he joined the orchestra of the Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater; notably touring with the ensemble throughout Imperial Russia.

[2] During World War I, he was conscripted into the Czarist Army, and served as a regimental bandmaster stationed in Harbin, where there was a sizeable Jewish diaspora.

After the war, Olshanetsky joined another touring Russian operetta troupe, and performed in Japan, China, and India.

[3] In 1922 Olshanetsky emigrated to the United States, where he was introduced to the Yiddish theater scene by his uncle Hyman Mayzel, an actor and playwright.

[5] By the 1930s, Yiddish music had become so popular that Olshanetsky and other composers and performers sought means to guarantee royalties, similar to how ASCAP provided for Broadway and Tin Pan Alley musicians.

In 1940, the society aligned with the new performers rights' organization BMI, founded to assist artists rebuffed by ASCAP.

[3] Olshanetsky dropped dead of a heart attack in view of an audience of approximately 16,000 persons attending the opening session of the 37th annual convention of Rotary International.

(This reference is drawn from his famous song Ikh Hob Dikh Tsu Fil Lib / I love you much too much).