Elmo Tanner

William Elmo Tanner, known as Elmo Tanner (August 8, 1904 – December 20, 1990) was an American whistler, singer, bandleader and disc jockey, best known for his whistling on the chart-topping song “ Heartaches” with the Ted Weems Orchestra. Tanner and Weems recorded the song for two record companies within five years. Neither recording was successful originally. The song became a hit for both record companies after a Charlotte, North Carolina, disk jockey played it at random in 1947.

Tanner was originally hired by Weems as a vocalist; the bandleader discovered Tanner's whistling ability while the band was traveling to an engagement. Like Bing Crosby, he was able to whistle from his throat due to the muscles in his larynx. He subsequently became a featured performer as a whistler, earning the nicknames "Whistler’s Mother’s Boy", "The Whistling Troubador," and "the nation’s best-known whistler". He 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'' (1938) and the musical film short, ''Swing Frolic'' (1942). Weems considered Tanner's whistling important enough to his orchestra that in 1939 he insured Tanner's throat for $10,000. Besides musical whistling, he also imitated birds for Disney.

After a failed attempt at running a restaurant in his native Nashville in the early 1950s, he toured with the Elmo Tanner Quartet until 1958, when he found work as a disc jockey in Florida. After working as an auto dealer in the 1960s, in the early 1970s he resumed musical activity, singing with a St. Petersburg, Florida-based quartet.

Early life

Tanner was born on August 8, 1904 in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of Felix Elmo Tanner and Willie Mae (née) Moore. He grew up in Detroit, and moved to Memphis with his family by 1926. As a young boy, Tanner studied the violin and was successful with it until eye trouble made it difficult for him to read notes. His musical training helped Tanner to develop the ability to scan music or lyrics quickly and then either sing or whistle what he had just read. On his walk home from work, Tanner passed a cemetery each night and started whistling as he passed by. Not everyone appreciated Tanner's whistling in the evening; he was once jailed in Albuquerque, New Mexico for whistling after 10pm. A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Tanner raced automobiles and worked as a mechanic in Memphis. While performing the duties of his employment he liked to whistle and sing. One day in 1927, he had a repair job for a customer who happened to work at WMC radio. After hearing Tanner singing while working on his car, the announcer suggested Tanner audition for the radio station. His consequent on-air appearance brought a call from Paramount Records, which had offices in Chicago.

Career

By the late 1920s, Elmo Tanner had moved to the Chicago area and had established himself as a professional musician. Although Elmo Tanner never gained a large reputation as a singer, he was occasionally featured as such with Weems. It was as a vocalist that he made his initial recordings. He recorded a few dozen sides as a soloist for Paramount and Vocalion in 1927 through 1929.Abrams, Steven and Settlemier, Tyrone
"The Online Discographical Project – Vocalion 15500 - 15999 (1926 - 1939) numerical listing"
Retrieved April 11, 2011Abrams, Steven and Settlemier, Tyrone

Retrieved April 11, 2011 The Paramount discs appeared in the Race record series, and the Vocalion sides were likewise marketed to African Americans. His 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. Not having signed an exclusive contract with any recording company, he was able to appear on the prestigious Victor label with Nathaniel Shilkret. In 1928 he formed a duet with Fred Rose as "The Tune Peddlers" and appeared on radio stations WLS, KYW, and WBBM.

While working at KYW with Rose, Tanner received an offer from Ted Weems. Weems offered a higher salary than Tanner was making at the radio station, but Tanner was hesitant because the job with Weems involved substantial travel. The KYW station manager offered to match the $50 per week salary. A few days later, Weems made a higher offer which was met by the station manager's offer to match it. This continued until only Fred Rose came to work. When he arrived, Rose told the station manager that Weems now offered Tanner $100 a week and he had accepted it.

Ted Weems Orchestra and “Heartaches”

Tanner joined the Ted Weems band as a singer in 1929 and became a prominent feature of the group. Tanner's whistling talent was unveiled by accident. In high spirits on their way to their next performance, the band members were singing, yelling and whistling on the bus. When Tanner joined in, Weems was impressed enough to add a whistling segment to one of the band's sets. Tanner whistled the ''Show Boat'' song, "Make Believe"; the audience asked for an encore. Tanner's whistling became so popular that Perry Como, another featured performer in the band, said “The whistler was the whole band.” On occasion, Tanner's lips would pucker up, interfering with his whistling. Although generally noted for his graciousness as a bandleader, Weems would have fun at Tanner's expense, running him through the most difficult songs in his repertoire when he noticed Tanner was struggling.