Paul Weston
Encyclopedia
Paul Weston was an American pianist, arranger, composer and conductor. Weston was born Paul Wetstein in Springfield
, Massachusetts
. Weston has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame honoring his work in music.
, Massachusetts, where his family moved when he was two years old. The son of Paul Wetstein, a teacher, and Anna Grady, his parents were also interested in music. At age eight, he started piano lessons. He was an economics major at Dartmouth College
in New Hampshire
, where he graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa
in 1933. During his college days, Weston had his own band called "the Green Serenaders"; this allowed him to pay his own college tuition. Weston also learned how to play the clarinet so he could travel with the college band. He went to graduate school at Columbia University and was active in the Blue Lions, Columbia's dance band. In January 1934, Weston was seriously injured in a train accident. Unable to be active in a band, he started doing music arranging as a way to keep some involvement with music while convalescing.
When he returned to New York in the fall of 1934, he made his first sale of his work to Joe Haymes
. Haymes liked Weston's work enough to ask him to do more arrangements for his band. His medley of Anything Goes songs was heard by Rudy Vallee
, who contacted him and offered Weston a job as an arranger for his Fleischmann's Hour
on radio. Weston was also doing arranging for Phil Harris
.
He met Tommy Dorsey
through his work with Joe Haymes. Following the Dorsey Brothers split in 1935, Tommy had yet to form an orchestra; he used the Joe Haymes Orchestra for his first engagement as a solo conductor. Weston joined Dorsey as chief arranger in 1936, holding the position until 1940. He then became Dinah Shore
's arranger/conductor and also worked freelance for the Bob Crosby
Orchestra. Weston also worked with Fibber McGee and Molly
and Paul Whiteman
. When Bob Crosby's band was hired for his brother Bing's
film, Holiday Inn
, this took him to Hollywood and into film work. He changed his name from Wetstein to Weston after his arrival in California. Weston was asked do more work for Bing Crosby and Bob Hope
, and also for Betty Hutton
. Subsequent films as musical director include Belle of the Yukon
(1944) and Road To Utopia
(1945).
while working for Paramount in 1942; Mercer, who was preparing to start Capitol Records
, wanted Weston to write for his new company. Paul wrote, arranged and directed Mercer's "Strip Polka"-the first arrangement written for the new label on April 6, 1942. On August first of that year, the 1942–44 musicians' strike began. No union musicians could record for any record company, but were able to play for live engagements and radio shows; the issue which prompted the strike was regarding record companies paying royalties to musicians. Many record companies had "stockpiled" recordings of their stars prior to the strike, planning to release them over a period of time. While the older, more established record labels were able to do this, the newly formed Capitol had no opportunity to do likewise. The strike brought the new company to a standstill until Johnny Mercer began his radio show, Johnny Mercer's Music Shop, in June 1943. The radio show was meant to be a venue for Capitol's talent during the Musicians' Strike. Mercer and Capitol recording artist Jo Stafford
hosted the program, with Weston and his orchestra providing the music for it. Stafford and Weston had first met in 1938, when he was working as an arranger for Tommy Dorsey; Weston was responsible for getting Stafford's group, the Pied Pipers
, an audition with Dorsey for his radio show. The recording ban was lifted for Capitol in October 1943 after an agreement was reached between the Musicians' Union and the record company; Weston was then able to return to the recording studio. In 1944, he became the company's music director.
Besides his work at Capitol, Weston did conducting for many radio shows during this time. He worked with Duffy's Tavern
, the radio shows of Joan Davis
, and Your Hit Parade
. Jo Stafford, who became a regular host of the Chesterfield Supper Club
in 1945, returned to California permanently in November 1946. She then hosted the show from Hollywood with Weston and his orchestra. It was around this time that Paul Weston had a new idea for recorded music that would be similar to the soundtrack of a movie. It could be an enhancement to living but subtle enough not to stifle conversation. His album Music For Dreaming was the beginning of the "Mood Music" genre. In 1950, he left Capitol for a similar position at Columbia Records
; Jo Stafford also signed with Columbia at the same time. He remained active in radio, with his own The Paul Weston Show and also in acting roles on Dear John with Irene Rich
, Valiant Lady
, and Cavalcade of America
. Paul and Jo Stafford were married on February 26, 1952; the couple had two children, Tim (born 1952), and Amy (born 1956). Both returned to Capitol in 1961, leaving the company for Dot Records
in late 1965.
, and half of a recording duo that the whole country was talking about. Paul and Jo did a skit at their parties where he would play the role of a simply horrible lounge pianist and she would vocalize in off-key melodies to the tunes he tried to play. Weston went public with his portion of the act at a Columbia Records convention, where it was an instant hit; the couple agreed to do some recordings, calling themselves Jonathan and Darlene Edwards. George Avakian, a Columbia Records executive, chose the name of Jonathan Edwards for Weston's act because of the Calvinist preacher. Weston was concerned that he might not be able to fill an album with the performances of Jonathan Edwards, so he asked Stafford to help. She became Darlene Edwards, the off-key singer. It was not immediately known to the public who had really made the records; there was much speculation as to what two famous people might be behind the music, before a 1957 Time
article revealed their true identities. In 1958, the fictional couple appeared on Jack Benny's Shower of Stars
, and in 1960, on The Garry Moore Show
. The couple won a Grammy Award
for Best Comedy Album
of 1960 for their work as the imaginary pair. They continued to release Jonathan and Darlene albums for several years, and in 1979 released a cover of The Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive
" backed with "I Am Woman
." As Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, the couple released a "sing along" album which Mitch Miller
believed put an end to his television show and sing-along records. Their last release, Darlene Remembers Duke, Jonathan Plays Fats
, was issued in 1982.
(the beginning of the current Hollywood Walk of Fame
). The Chamber approached local top recording company executives with the idea, asking for help with a list of those who deserved the honor. Paul Weston was one of the men named to this committee by the Chamber. The committee executives decided all those who had sold a million records or a quarter million record albums during their careers would be candidates for the bronze star markers. As they continued their research, the men on the committee realized that many very important people in the recording industry would not qualify for this type of recognition. This realization prompted the founding of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, whose purpose was to create an award for recording artists. It became known as the Grammy, and the first awards were given in 1959. Paul's dedication to music and recording was recognized with a Trustees' Award Grammy in 1971.
, The Jonathan Winters Show
, and The Jim Nabors Show
. He was also the conductor and arranger for his wife's CBS
television show from 1954 to 1955, The Jo Stafford Show
. Though he did not provide the names of the programs, Weston once said conductors on live television shows, "should also receive a stuntman's check!"
Weston arranged Ella Fitzgerald
's album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook
(1957), devoted to the music of Irving Berlin
. Among songs he composed are "I Should Care
" and "Day by Day
", both of which were collaborations with Sammy Cahn
and Axel Stordahl
and were big hits for Frank Sinatra
. He co-wrote "Shrimp Boats
", published in 1951, which was popularized by Jo Stafford.
One of Weston's songs made the tiny town of Hana on the island of Maui
a household word. While on a visit to the area, Weston needed to shop for gifts for his two children. He found himself at the Hasegawa General Store, a business that has everything from A to Z packed into its four walls. Both surprised and charmed by the small general store, Weston wrote "The Hasegawa General Store" about his shopping experience there which was recorded by Arthur Godfrey
, Jim Nabors
, and others.
Weston also wrote classical and religious music: one of his two symphonic suites, Crescent City Suite, has enjoyed many performances, in the "Crescent City", New Orleans, and elsewhere. It was composed in 1956 and performed in New Orleans at the Municipal Auditorium in 1957 with Weston conducting. There was enough interest in the composition for a version for school bands to be made available in 1959; a symphonic version was also issued. He was the author of many hymns and two Masses which were published by the Gregorian Institute of America. Weston founded Corinthian Records in the late 1970s, a company which started as a religious music label, but which later became the distributor for the couple's secular albums. His intention was to get the masters of both his and Stafford's recordings for later reproduction on compact disk. He spent three years as the musical director of Disney on Parade
.
. In 2006, Jo Stafford donated her husband's library and her own to the University of Arizona
. She died in 2008.
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Weston has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame honoring his work in music.
Early years and work
Though born in Springfield, Weston was reared in PittsfieldPittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Its area code is 413. Its ZIP code is 01201...
, Massachusetts, where his family moved when he was two years old. The son of Paul Wetstein, a teacher, and Anna Grady, his parents were also interested in music. At age eight, he started piano lessons. He was an economics major at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, where he graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa
Phi Beta Kappa Society
The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences"; and induct "the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William and...
in 1933. During his college days, Weston had his own band called "the Green Serenaders"; this allowed him to pay his own college tuition. Weston also learned how to play the clarinet so he could travel with the college band. He went to graduate school at Columbia University and was active in the Blue Lions, Columbia's dance band. In January 1934, Weston was seriously injured in a train accident. Unable to be active in a band, he started doing music arranging as a way to keep some involvement with music while convalescing.
When he returned to New York in the fall of 1934, he made his first sale of his work to Joe Haymes
Joe Haymes
Joseph Lawrence Haymes was an American jazz bandleader and arranger.Born in Marshfield, Missouri, Haymes relocated with his family to Springfield, Missouri, after his railroader father was killed in an accident. Joe attended Greenwood Laboratory School in Springfield and was a drummer in the local...
. Haymes liked Weston's work enough to ask him to do more arrangements for his band. His medley of Anything Goes songs was heard by Rudy Vallee
Rudy Vallée
Rudy Vallée was an American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer.-Early life:Born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont, the son of Charles Alphonse and Catherine Lynch Vallée...
, who contacted him and offered Weston a job as an arranger for his Fleischmann's Hour
The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour
The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour was a pioneering musical variety radio program broadcast on NBC from 1929 to 1936, when it became The Royal Gelatin Hour, continuing until 1939...
on radio. Weston was also doing arranging for Phil Harris
Phil Harris
Harris and Faye married in 1941; it was a second marriage for both and lasted 54 years, until Harris's death. Harris engaged in a fistfight at the Trocadero nightclub in 1938 with RKO studio mogul Bob Stevens; the cause was reported to be over Faye after Stevens and Faye had ended a romantic...
.
He met Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
through his work with Joe Haymes. Following the Dorsey Brothers split in 1935, Tommy had yet to form an orchestra; he used the Joe Haymes Orchestra for his first engagement as a solo conductor. Weston joined Dorsey as chief arranger in 1936, holding the position until 1940. He then became Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
's arranger/conductor and also worked freelance for the Bob Crosby
Bob Crosby
George Robert "Bob" Crosby was an American dixieland bandleader and vocalist, best known for his group the Bob-Cats.-Family:...
Orchestra. Weston also worked with Fibber McGee and Molly
Fibber McGee and Molly
Fibber McGee and Molly was an American radio comedy series which maintained its popularity over decades. It premiered on NBC in 1935 and continued until its demise in 1959, long after radio had ceased to be the dominant form of entertainment in American popular culture.-Husband and wife in real...
and Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
. When Bob Crosby's band was hired for his brother Bing's
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
film, Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn (film)
Holiday Inn is a 1942 American musical film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, with music by Irving Berlin. The film has twelve songs written expressly for the film, the most notable being "White Christmas"...
, this took him to Hollywood and into film work. He changed his name from Wetstein to Weston after his arrival in California. Weston was asked do more work for Bing Crosby and Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
, and also for Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedienne and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg, daughter of a railroad foreman, Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum . While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for...
. Subsequent films as musical director include Belle of the Yukon
Belle of the Yukon
Belle of the Yukon is a 1944 film directed by William A. Seiter. It stars Randolph Scott and Gypsy Rose Lee. It was nominated for two Academy Awards in 1946.-Cast:*Randolph Scott as Honest John Calhoun aka Gentleman Jack*Gypsy Rose Lee as Belle De Valle...
(1944) and Road To Utopia
Road to Utopia
Road to Utopia, filmed in 1943 but not released until 1946, is the fourth film of the "Road to …" series starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.-Plot:After the credits we see Sal and Chester Hooton, an old married couple...
(1945).
Capitol and Columbia
Weston met Johnny MercerJohnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
while working for Paramount in 1942; Mercer, who was preparing to start Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, wanted Weston to write for his new company. Paul wrote, arranged and directed Mercer's "Strip Polka"-the first arrangement written for the new label on April 6, 1942. On August first of that year, the 1942–44 musicians' strike began. No union musicians could record for any record company, but were able to play for live engagements and radio shows; the issue which prompted the strike was regarding record companies paying royalties to musicians. Many record companies had "stockpiled" recordings of their stars prior to the strike, planning to release them over a period of time. While the older, more established record labels were able to do this, the newly formed Capitol had no opportunity to do likewise. The strike brought the new company to a standstill until Johnny Mercer began his radio show, Johnny Mercer's Music Shop, in June 1943. The radio show was meant to be a venue for Capitol's talent during the Musicians' Strike. Mercer and Capitol recording artist Jo Stafford
Jo Stafford
Jo Elizabeth Stafford was an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards and occasional actress whose career ran from the late 1930s to the early 1960s...
hosted the program, with Weston and his orchestra providing the music for it. Stafford and Weston had first met in 1938, when he was working as an arranger for Tommy Dorsey; Weston was responsible for getting Stafford's group, the Pied Pipers
The Pied Pipers
The Pied Pipers were a popular singing group in the late 1930s and 1940s. Originally they consisted of eight members who had belonged to three separate groups: Jo Stafford from The Stafford Sisters, and seven male singers: John Huddleston, Hal Hopper, Chuck Lowry, Bud Hervey, George Tait, Woody...
, an audition with Dorsey for his radio show. The recording ban was lifted for Capitol in October 1943 after an agreement was reached between the Musicians' Union and the record company; Weston was then able to return to the recording studio. In 1944, he became the company's music director.
Besides his work at Capitol, Weston did conducting for many radio shows during this time. He worked with Duffy's Tavern
Duffy's Tavern
Duffy's Tavern was a popular American radio situation comedy which ran for a decade on several networks , concluding with the December 28, 1951 broadcast....
, the radio shows of Joan Davis
Joan Davis
Joan Davis was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy, I Married Joan, Davis had a successful earlier career as a B-movie actress and a leading star of 1940s radio comedy.Born as Madonna Josephine...
, and Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade, is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During this 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or...
. Jo Stafford, who became a regular host of the Chesterfield Supper Club
The Chesterfield Supper Club
The Chesterfield Supper Club, an NBC musical variety radio program , was also telecast by NBC from 1948 to 1950.-Radio:The Chesterfield Supper Club began on December 11, 1944, as a 15-minute radio program, airing at 7pm weeknights on the NBC Radio Network. This musical variety show was sponsored by...
in 1945, returned to California permanently in November 1946. She then hosted the show from Hollywood with Weston and his orchestra. It was around this time that Paul Weston had a new idea for recorded music that would be similar to the soundtrack of a movie. It could be an enhancement to living but subtle enough not to stifle conversation. His album Music For Dreaming was the beginning of the "Mood Music" genre. In 1950, he left Capitol for a similar position at Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
; Jo Stafford also signed with Columbia at the same time. He remained active in radio, with his own The Paul Weston Show and also in acting roles on Dear John with Irene Rich
Irene Rich
Irene Rich was an American actress who worked in both silent films and talkies.-Career:Born Irene Luther in Buffalo, New York, Rich worked for Will Rogers, who used her in eight pictures, including Water Water Everywhere , The Strange Boarder , Jes' Call Me Jim , Boys Will Be Boys and The Ropin'...
, Valiant Lady
Valiant Lady
Valiant Lady is an American soap opera which ran daily on CBS radio and television from October 12, 1953 through August 1957 at 12:00 PM . The show's title was taken from a 1930s radio soap opera about a young woman struggling through life but is otherwise very different...
, and Cavalcade of America
Cavalcade of America
Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on...
. Paul and Jo Stafford were married on February 26, 1952; the couple had two children, Tim (born 1952), and Amy (born 1956). Both returned to Capitol in 1961, leaving the company for Dot Records
Dot Records
Dot Records was an American record label and company that was active between 1950 and 1977. It was founded by Randy Wood. In Gallatin, Tennessee, Wood had earlier started a mail order record shop, known for its radio ads on WLAC in Nashville and its R&B air personality Bill "Hoss" Allen...
in late 1965.
Jonathan and Darlene Edwards
1957 was a very busy year for Weston. He became the musical director for NBC-TV, a position he held for five years, a founding member and the first president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and SciencesNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS, is a U.S. organization of musicians, producers, recording engineers and other recording professionals dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for music and its...
, and half of a recording duo that the whole country was talking about. Paul and Jo did a skit at their parties where he would play the role of a simply horrible lounge pianist and she would vocalize in off-key melodies to the tunes he tried to play. Weston went public with his portion of the act at a Columbia Records convention, where it was an instant hit; the couple agreed to do some recordings, calling themselves Jonathan and Darlene Edwards. George Avakian, a Columbia Records executive, chose the name of Jonathan Edwards for Weston's act because of the Calvinist preacher. Weston was concerned that he might not be able to fill an album with the performances of Jonathan Edwards, so he asked Stafford to help. She became Darlene Edwards, the off-key singer. It was not immediately known to the public who had really made the records; there was much speculation as to what two famous people might be behind the music, before a 1957 Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
article revealed their true identities. In 1958, the fictional couple appeared on Jack Benny's Shower of Stars
Shower of Stars
Shower of Stars is an American variety television series broadcast in the United States from 1954 to 1958 by CBS. The series was also known as Chrysler Shower of Stars. Unusually at the time for CBS, the series was telecast in color.-Overview:...
, and in 1960, on The Garry Moore Show
The Garry Moore Show
The Garry Moore Show is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer, Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talents, such as Don Adams, George Gobel, Carol Burnett, Don...
. The couple won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Comedy Album
Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album
The Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album was awarded from yearly 1959 to 1993 and then from 2004 to present day. There have been several minor changes to the name of the award over this time:*From 1959 to 1967 it was Best Comedy Performance...
of 1960 for their work as the imaginary pair. They continued to release Jonathan and Darlene albums for several years, and in 1979 released a cover of The Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive
Stayin' Alive
"Stayin' Alive" is a song by the pop group Bee Gees from the Saturday Night Fever motion picture soundtrack. The song was written by the Bee Gees and produced by the Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson. It was released on 13 December 1977, as the second single from the Saturday Night Fever...
" backed with "I Am Woman
I Am Woman
"I Am Woman" is a song cowritten by Helen Reddy and singer/songwriter/guitarist Ray Burton and performed by Reddy. Released in its most well-known version in 1970, the song became an enduring anthem for the women’s liberation movement.-Success:...
." As Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, the couple released a "sing along" album which Mitch Miller
Mitch Miller
Mitchell William "Mitch" Miller was an American musician, singer, conductor, record producer, A&R man and record company executive...
believed put an end to his television show and sing-along records. Their last release, Darlene Remembers Duke, Jonathan Plays Fats
Darlene Remembers Duke, Jonathan Plays Fats
Darlene Remembers Duke, Jonathan Plays Fats is a 1982 album by Jo Stafford and Paul Weston in which they perform in character as Jonathan and Darlene Edwards. The duo put their own unique interpretation on the music of Duke Ellington and Fats Waller with Stafford singing deliberately off key, while...
, was issued in 1982.
Grammys
The original idea of honoring those in the recording industry came from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in 1957. Their plan was to propose bronze sidewalk markers to be placed on Hollywood BoulevardHollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
(the beginning of the current Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
). The Chamber approached local top recording company executives with the idea, asking for help with a list of those who deserved the honor. Paul Weston was one of the men named to this committee by the Chamber. The committee executives decided all those who had sold a million records or a quarter million record albums during their careers would be candidates for the bronze star markers. As they continued their research, the men on the committee realized that many very important people in the recording industry would not qualify for this type of recognition. This realization prompted the founding of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, whose purpose was to create an award for recording artists. It became known as the Grammy, and the first awards were given in 1959. Paul's dedication to music and recording was recognized with a Trustees' Award Grammy in 1971.
Television and composing
Weston had a long career as a musical director for television, including The Danny Kaye ShowDanny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
, The Jonathan Winters Show
Jonathan Winters
-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
, and The Jim Nabors Show
Jim Nabors
James Thurston "Jim" Nabors is an American actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to Southern California because of his asthma. While working at a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, he was discovered by Andy Griffith and later joined The Andy Griffith Show, playing...
. He was also the conductor and arranger for his wife's CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television show from 1954 to 1955, The Jo Stafford Show
The Jo Stafford Show (1954 TV series)
The Jo Stafford Show is a 15-minute musical variety program which aired on CBS in prime time in the 1954-1955 television season. Jo Stafford began her solo singing career after success with the big band group known as The Pied Pipers. Arrangements for the program were handled by Stafford's husband,...
. Though he did not provide the names of the programs, Weston once said conductors on live television shows, "should also receive a stuntman's check!"
Weston arranged Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
's album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook is a 1958 album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, with a studio orchestra conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, focusing on the songs of Irving Berlin.-Grammy Awards:...
(1957), devoted to the music of Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
. Among songs he composed are "I Should Care
I Should Care
"I Should Care" is a popular song by Axel Stordahl, Paul Weston and Sammy Cahn, published in 1944. The original recording by Ralph Flanagan and His Orchestra, with vocalists: Harry Prime and The Singing Winds was made at Manhattan Center, New York City, on July 18, 1952...
" and "Day by Day
Day by Day (song)
"Day by Day" is a popular song with music by Axel Stordahl and Paul Weston and lyrics by Sammy Cahn.-Recorded versions:*Ernestine Anderson*Ray Anthony*Shirley Bassey*Les Brown & His Orchestra *Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Sextet...
", both of which were collaborations with Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
and Axel Stordahl
Axel Stordahl
Axel Stordahl was an arranger who was active from the late 1930s through the 1950s. He is perhaps best known for his work with Frank Sinatra in the 1940s at Columbia Records...
and were big hits for Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
. He co-wrote "Shrimp Boats
Shrimp Boats
"Shrimp Boats" was a popular song in the 1950s.It was written by Paul Mason Howard and Paul Weston and published in 1951.Charting versions were recorded by Jo Stafford and Dolores Gray. It was also recorded by Claude Gray in 1963, and by Pete Fountain, Abdullah Ibrahim, The Orioles, and Buddy Tate...
", published in 1951, which was popularized by Jo Stafford.
One of Weston's songs made the tiny town of Hana on the island of Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
a household word. While on a visit to the area, Weston needed to shop for gifts for his two children. He found himself at the Hasegawa General Store, a business that has everything from A to Z packed into its four walls. Both surprised and charmed by the small general store, Weston wrote "The Hasegawa General Store" about his shopping experience there which was recorded by Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead...
, Jim Nabors
Jim Nabors
James Thurston "Jim" Nabors is an American actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to Southern California because of his asthma. While working at a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, he was discovered by Andy Griffith and later joined The Andy Griffith Show, playing...
, and others.
Weston also wrote classical and religious music: one of his two symphonic suites, Crescent City Suite, has enjoyed many performances, in the "Crescent City", New Orleans, and elsewhere. It was composed in 1956 and performed in New Orleans at the Municipal Auditorium in 1957 with Weston conducting. There was enough interest in the composition for a version for school bands to be made available in 1959; a symphonic version was also issued. He was the author of many hymns and two Masses which were published by the Gregorian Institute of America. Weston founded Corinthian Records in the late 1970s, a company which started as a religious music label, but which later became the distributor for the couple's secular albums. His intention was to get the masters of both his and Stafford's recordings for later reproduction on compact disk. He spent three years as the musical director of Disney on Parade
Disney on Parade
Disney on Parade was a daytime parade of the Hong Kong Disneyland theme park in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. It was debuted on rehearsal days throughout June, 2005, before the grand opening of Hong Kong Disneyland on September 12, 2005. The parade takes a few floats and themes from Tokyo...
.
Retirement and death
The couple retired from performing in the 1970s. Active for many years in charities helping the developmentally disabled, the Westons gave more of their time to these groups after their retirement. The AbilityFirst work center in Woodland Hills, California is named in Paul Weston's memory. Weston died on September 20, 1996, in Santa Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
. In 2006, Jo Stafford donated her husband's library and her own to the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
. She died in 2008.