Paul Weston

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Paul Weston was an arranger for several dance bands before forming his own orchestra during the Big Band Era. He arranged for Tommy Dorsey's band and wrote several arrangements for Rudy Vallee's radio program, beginning in the 1930s. It was Paul who convinced Tommy Dorsey to hire the singing group the Pied Pipers to perform with the band. They famously backed up Frank Sinatra on the crooner's early recording a few years later. Paul also had a very successful career writing and arranging music for radio, movies, and for television. In 1940, Paul was hired by Johnny Merced to become the music director for Capitol Records in Hollywood. There he helped developed the concept of the mood album and worked closely with Jo Stafford, whom he later married. The couple became key supporters of the Society of Singers, created to help with medical bills for band singers who didn't have insurance covered in their advanced age.