ABSTRACT
American Big Band leader, among the favorites of the late 1920s and 1930s. He was born in Pitcairn, Pennsylvania, and played violin as a youth. He switched to trombone while attending the University of Pennsylvania, forming his first band with his brother Art. His recordings began with Victor in 1923, going to 1933; he also worked for Columbia in 1934 and for Decca in 1936-1940. His group performed in a swing/jazz style, marked by technical perfection and originality. Weems was fortunate in having a number of fine vocalists, including Dusty Rhoades, Parker Gibbs, Arthur Jarrett, and Elmo Tanner-who was best known as a whistler-and Perry Como, in his first recordings (1936-1942). Among the fine Weems recordings were “Am I a Passing Fancy?” sung by Jarrett (Victor #22038; 1929), “One of Us Was Wrong” sung by Tanner (Victor #22877; 1931), and “T’ain’t So” featuring Tanner. Tanner whistled while Como sang on several sides, including “Simple and Sweet” (Decca #2019; 1938), and Tanner whistled solo on “Heartaches” (Decca #2020; 1938). Weems died in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A nice selection of his more jazz-oriented 1926-1929 Victor recordings are gathered on Marvelous! (ASV/Living Era #5029), with a similar survey available from Retrieval (#79034). Collector’s Choice #174 recorded 25 of his hits from the Victor era through 1933. Other than radio airchecks from the 1940s, his later more popular recordings are not available currently on CD, perhaps because the sweeter style of this material is less popular among jazz listeners today.
