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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
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Music For The Fireside (Remastered 2003)
Pop - EMI Marketing 発売日 1959/01/01
16-Bit CD音質 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Sweet And The Swingin'
Jazz - CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92) 発売日 1960/01/01
16-Bit CD音質 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Floatin' Like A Feather
Jazz - CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92) 発売日 1959/01/01
16-Bit CD音質 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
My Foolish Heart (The Paul Weston Story - Original Recordings)
Pop - Weird Music - Lounge 発売日 2014/01/01
16-Bit CD音質 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Remastered Hits (All Tracks Remastered)
Lounge - jjjedizionimusicali 発売日 2021/01/13
16-Bit CD音質 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Music For Dreaming: The Sweet, Swingin' Sound Of Paul Weston (Remastered)
Jazz - RevOla 発売日 2009/01/30
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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A Streetcar Named Desire (The Paul Weston Story - Original Recordings)
Pop - Weird Music - Lounge 発売日 2014/01/01
16-Bit CD音質 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Crescent City (The Moods Of New Orleans)
Lounge - Music Manager 発売日 2019/09/12
16-Bit CD音質 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Sweet and Swing (Original Album Plus Bonus Tracks 1960)
Pop - Weird Music - Lounge 発売日 2014/01/01
16-Bit CD音質 44.1 kHz - Stereo