All The Hits And More 1923-48

Ted Weems was a violinist who started a dance band at college in Pennsylvania around 1920, and after performing for US President Warren Harding embarked on a successful professional career in 1923, securing a recording contract with Victor and immediately having big sellers.  He went on the enjoy chart success on a regular basis through into the ‘40s and achieved a landmark late-career success when his earlier recording of “Heartaches” was a surprise US No. 1 in 1947.  He was responsible for introducing Perry Como to the scene as his vocalist during the 1930s.  This 50-track 2- CD collection comprises all his 36 US hits, plus selected A & B sides from his releases during these years on the Victor, Columbia, Decca and Mercury labels.  It features his No. 1s with “Heartaches”, “Somebody Stole My Gal” and “The Man From The South”, and his other Top 5 hits with “A Smile Will Go A Long, Long Way”, “Blue-Eyed Sall”, “My Baby Just Cares For Me”, “Peg O’ My Heart”, “Piccolo Pete”, “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now” and “Mickey”.  Along with Perry Como, his featured singers include Dusty Roads, Parker Gibbs, Art Jarrett, Elmo Tanner, Red Ingle,  Mary Lee, Shirley Richards and Snooky Lanson.  He was typical of the high-profile dance bands who enjoyed success on radio, as ‘live’ performers and on record during this era, and this is an entertaining trawl across his most successful work.