[78-L] Weems' ongoing Heartaches

[David Lennick]

The Victor was a reissue and it was the hit, but Decca also reissued its 
recording when the tune became popular. Kurt Webster, a disc jockey in 
Charlotte NC, came across the original Bluebird and liked it and played it 
every day for a week. Record dealers in the Southern States started getting 
orders so Victor reissued it, with Piccolo Pete on the flip (Oh Monah was on 
the Decca). According to The Book of Golden Discs, Weems showed his 
appreciation by flying his entire band to Charlotte to play at Webster's 
birthday party.

The Decca reissue turns up frequently and has been on LP a few times but it was 
the Victor one that charted. Decca 25017 would be much later than 1941 since 
that was a postwar reissue series. I'm sure I've seen Decca 2020 (b/w Juliana) 
in postwar Canadian pressings as well.

dl

simmonssomer wrote:
> Bluebird B-5131 was reissued as Victor 20-2175. The "Oh ! Mo'na" came, I 
> believe, from  VIC 22822 in 1931.
> 
> Al Simmons
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Stephen Davies" <SDavies at mtroyal.ca>
> To: <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 2:52 PM
> Subject: [78-L] Weems' ongoing Heartaches
> 
> 
>> Please help set the record straight.  I'm reading bits and pieces of this 
>> fabled story on the WWW which don't fit together.
>>
>> Would you say that the following is the correct history of this tune?
>>
>> Ted Weems, with Elmo Tanner on lips, recorded "Heartaches" for Bluebird in 
>> 1933 (cat# 5131-B, mx# 76847=1).
>> He then took his orchestra to Decca, and re-recorded "Heartaches" with 
>> Tanner in 1938 (cat# 2020-B, mx# DLA1444).
>> Decca then re-released "Heartaches" as the A-side in 1941, b/w "Oh, 
>> Monah".  (cat# 25017-A).
>> Weems then rejoined RCA Victor who re-released *OR* remade the Bluebird 
>> side as cat#20-2175 in 1947, when the song finally hit the jackpot.  Elmo 
>> Tanner rejoins the Weems orchestra as a result.
>>
>> Was the 1947 Victor a remake or a re-release? and was it the cause or the 
>> result of a grassroots popularity for the song?
>>
>> - Stephen D
>> in Calgary
>>