1. Elmo Tanner was originally hired by Weems as a vocalist; the bandleader discovered Elmo Tanner's whistling ability while the band was traveling to an engagement.
39 Facts About Elmo Tanner
1. 2.
Elmo Tanner began appearing in films as part of the Ted Weems Orchestra in 1936; his first film role was in The Hatfields and McCoys, and he later appeared in the movie Swing, Sister, Swing and the musical film short, Swing Frolic.
3.
Weems considered Elmo Tanner's whistling important enough to his orchestra that in 1939 he insured Elmo Tanner's throat for $10,000.
4.
Elmo Tanner grew up in Detroit, and moved to Memphis with his family by 1926.
5.
On his walk home from work, Elmo Tanner passed a cemetery each night and started whistling as he passed by.
6.
Elmo Tanner recorded a few dozen sides as a soloist for Paramount and Vocalion in 1927 through 1929.
7.
Elmo Tanner's versatility was noted by Vocalion, who utilized him to provide vocals for jazz outfits such as Jimmie Noone and for more sedate recordings with the Victor Young orchestra and with organist Eddie House.
8.
Weems offered a higher salary than Elmo Tanner was making at the radio station, but Elmo Tanner was hesitant because the job with Weems involved substantial travel.
9.
Elmo Tanner joined the Ted Weems band as a singer in 1929 and became a prominent feature of the group.
10.
When Elmo Tanner joined in, Weems was impressed enough to add a whistling segment to one of the band's sets.
11.
Elmo Tanner whistled the Show Boat song, "Make Believe"; the audience asked for an encore.
12.
Elmo Tanner was noted for the ease with which he hit high notes and performed trills.
13.
Elmo Tanner had the ability to whistle while triple-tonguing, and like Bing Crosby, he was able to whistle from his throat due to the muscles in his larynx.
14.
Elmo Tanner's range was from low G to high B Professional whistler Joel Brandon has named Tanner as a "top pick".
15.
People would come up to Elmo Tanner and ask if it was true that he was blind.
16.
The primary purpose was evidently to show Elmo Tanner was "doing something" while keeping him in view, as it became a standard joke that the guitar he was playing had rubber bands in place of strings.
17.
Elmo Tanner began appearing in films as part of the Ted Weems Orchestra in 1936; his first film role was in The Hatfields and McCoys, In 1938 he appeared in the movie Swing, Sister, Swing with the Weems outfit.
18.
Elmo Tanner featured with Ted Weems and his Orchestra in a 1942 musical film short, Swing Frolic.
19.
Elmo Tanner, Ted Weems, and the rest of his orchestra joined the Merchant Marine in 1942.
20.
Elmo Tanner headlined in various nightclubs and theaters such as Chicago's Oriental and Colosimo's and at the Orpheum in Los Angeles alongside the King Sisters and Maurice Rocco.
21.
Elmo Tanner announced he would be fronting a twelve-piece band in September 1946; the band's theme was "Heartaches".
22.
Elmo Tanner took over the Andy Anderson unit that was based in Atlanta and signed on with the William Morris Agency.
23.
Elmo Tanner's orchestra featured his whistling and vocals by Carol Bridges.
24.
When someone had forgotten to assign a song for the "B" side of the record, Weems and Elmo Tanner made another recording of "Heartaches"; the Decca version was not any more successful than the Victor recording had been five years earlier.
25.
Elmo Tanner chose one at random and put it on the turntable.
26.
Elmo Tanner said in a 1960 interview that neither he nor Ted Weems received any compensation for either of the "Heartaches" reissues as they both had let the contracts on the song expire while they were in the Merchant Marine.
27.
Elmo Tanner made one more recording of "Heartaches" in 1953 with Billy Vaughn for Dot Records.
28.
Elmo Tanner left Weems in 1950; in 1953, he opened a restaurant in Nashville.
29.
Elmo Tanner formed the Elmo Tanner Quartet and resumed touring for the next few years, until, tired of travel, he broke up his group in Seattle in 1958.
30.
Elmo Tanner spent the next fourteen months in Birmingham as a disc jockey and leading a musical combo.
31.
Elmo Tanner reunited briefly with Weems, then settled in the St Petersburg, Florida, area in Treasure Island.
32.
In 1959, Elmo Tanner began working as a disk jockey on radio station WILZ in St Pete Beach, Florida, a position which lasted several years.
33.
Elmo Tanner's association continued with Weems, making the occasional guest appearance with the band he was closely connected to.
34.
In 1936, while Elmo Tanner was living in Chicago, he was divorced from his first wife, Verne.
35.
Elmo Tanner married Eleanor Jones of Birmingham on January 31,1939, in Indianapolis.
36.
Elmo Tanner met his second wife while working with the Weems band on Catalina Island.
37.
Elmo Tanner underwent gall bladder surgery in 1985 and was able to recover at his home in St Petersburg.
38.
Elmo Tanner died on December 20,1990, in St Petersburg, Florida.
39.
Elmo Tanner was posthumously inducted into the Whistlers' Hall of Fame in 1991, joining previous inductees Bing Crosby and Fred Lowery.