Ted Weems — Music Videos

A violinist, trombonist, and bandleader

Ted Weems was an American bandleader and musician from Pennsylvania who worked as both a violinist and a trombonist. His orchestra developed during the 1920s, becoming part of the network of dance bands heard in ballrooms, on radio, and through popular records. The ensemble combined novelty numbers, dance arrangements, and featured vocalists, making variety an important part of its identity rather than concentrating on only one instrumental style.

The different lives of Heartaches

His repertoire included “Somebody Stole My Gal,” “Piccolo Pete,” “The Man from the South,” and “Heartaches.” Weems recorded “Heartaches” in 1933 and again in 1938, both times featuring Elmo Tanner’s distinctive whistling. Renewed radio attention brought the older recording back to prominence in 1947, leading to successful reissues. Its history therefore involves separate recording dates and a later period of popularity rather than a single new postwar session.

An orchestra of featured personalities

Performers associated with Weems included Tanner, Perry Como, Red Ingle, Art Jarrett, and Marilyn Maxwell. During the Second World War, Weems and members of his orchestra served in the Merchant Marine before he resumed civilian musical work. The band’s surviving recordings preserve a broad popular-entertainment setting in which a singer, a whistler, or a comic instrumental feature could become the main attraction.