Paul Weston
Paul Weston (born Paul Wetstein, March 12, 1912, Springfield, MA) was one of the most diverse and talented arrangers and conductors of the '40s and '50s, moving from mainstream swing and jazz to instrumental easy listening pop in the course of his career. Though he began his career playing hard swing, Weston is the father of mood music -- lush, relaxing instrumental orchestral pop designed to provide a soundtrack to everyday events like romance and dining. Originally, Weston was an economics major at Dartmouth. While he was a student, he became fascinated with jazz, particularly swing, and began playing in various college bands. Soon, he decided to pursue a career in music.
Weston became known as a vocal arranger. His work with Rudy Vallee brought him to national attention. After arranging for Vallee, he attempted to work with Bing Crosby, but the results were unsuccessful. Following the failed Crosby venture, Weston became an arranger for Tommy Dorsey, which is where he made his reputation. While with Dorsey, he wrote jumping, swinging charts for the band and vocalists like Dinah Shore and Jo Stafford, whom he would marry in the mid-'40s.
Weston became the A&R director for Capitol Records in 1944, when the label was just beginning. Though he continued to write fast swing charts for a time, Weston noticed that the tastes of the public were beginning to move toward gentler material, so he adjusted his music accordingly. Weston released his first album of mood music, Music for Dreaming, in 1945. Music for Dreaming was decidedly calmer than his previous work, though there was a subtle swing driving the subdued music. The album was a major success, and Weston continued to record albums of smooth, string-laden music for the next five years. By 1950, the term "mood music" had been adopted by the press to describe this style of instrumental pop.
Weston left Capitol Records in 1950 for Columbia Records, where he continued to record albums of instrumental mood music. He also continued to write arrangements and conduct sessions for artists like Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Shore, and Doris Day. By the end of the decade, he had returned to Capitol Records, where he stayed throughout the '60s.
During this time, he and Jo Stafford recorded a handful of albums as Jonathan & Darlene Edwards. The Jonathan & Darlene albums were comedy records that parodied nightclub acts; on each record Stafford sang offkey and Weston horridly played out of time and out of key.
In the early '70s, Weston and Stafford both retired. The couple began a reissue label, Corinthian Records, in the early '90s which released CD versions of their music.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
Ähnliche Künstler
-
Broadway Revisited
Vokalmusik (weltlich und geistlich) - Erschienen bei Corinthian Records am 03.10.2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music For Romancing
Jazz - Erschienen bei EMI Marketing am 14.09.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Columbia Hits Collection
Pop - Erschienen bei Corinthian Records am 28.05.2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Columbia Singles Collection Vol. 1
The Norman Luboff Choir, Jo Stafford
Pop - Erschienen bei Corinthian Records am 11.10.2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music For The Fireside (Remastered 2003)
Pop - Erschienen bei EMI Marketing am 01.01.1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Sweet And The Swingin'
Jazz - Erschienen bei CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92) am 01.01.1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music For Romancing/Music For The Fireside (Remastered)
Lounge - Erschienen bei EMI Marketing am 01.01.2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Floatin' Like A Feather
Jazz - Erschienen bei CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92) am 01.01.1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
My Foolish Heart (The Paul Weston Story - Original Recordings)
Pop - Erschienen bei Weird Music - Lounge am 01.01.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Paul Weston Collection 1935-61, Vol. 2
Pop - Erschienen bei ACROBAT am 07.07.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Paul Weston Collection 1935-61, Vol. 1
Pop - Erschienen bei ACROBAT am 07.07.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
September in the Rain
Pop - Erschienen bei Romeo Records am 01.11.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Floatin' Like A Feather/The Sweet And Swingin'
Lounge - Erschienen bei Capitol Records am 01.01.1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Remastered Hits (All Tracks Remastered)
Lounge - Erschienen bei jjjedizionimusicali am 13.01.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dream Time Music
World Music - Erschienen bei TP4 Music am 06.01.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music For Dreaming: The Sweet, Swingin' Sound Of Paul Weston (Remastered)
Jazz - Erschienen bei RevOla am 30.01.2009
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Pop - Erschienen bei Romeo Records am 01.11.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Easy Listening
Lounge - Erschienen bei Transatlantica am 24.03.2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Streetcar Named Desire (The Paul Weston Story - Original Recordings)
Pop - Erschienen bei Weird Music - Lounge am 01.01.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dream Time Music (Analog Source Remaster 2020)
Lounge - Erschienen bei jjjedizionimusicali am 07.05.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Hit Sounds of Paul Weston: Morningside of the Mountain
Jazz - Erschienen bei Jasmine Records am 12.07.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo