page_title: Perry Como
section_title: Freddy Carlone and Ted Weems
hierarchical_section_title: Perry Como / Singing career / Freddy Carlone and Ted Weems
caption_attribution_description: English: Promotional photo of Perry Como when he was with the Ted Weems Orchestra.
context_page_description: Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing with the label in 1943. "Mr. C.", as he was nicknamed, sold millions of records and pioneered a weekly musical variety television show. His weekly television shows and seasonal specials were broadcast throughout the world. In the official RCA Records Billboard magazine memorial, his life was summed up in these few words: "50 years of music and a life well lived. An example to all."
  Como received five Emmys from 1955 to 1959, a Christopher Award and shared a Peabody Award with good friend Jackie Gleason in 1956. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1990 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1987. Posthumously, Como received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002; he was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006. He has the distinction of having three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio, television, and music.
context_section_description: In 1932, Como left Canonsburg, moving about 100 miles away to Meadville, Pennsylvania, where his uncle had a barber shop in the Hotel Conneaut. Around 80 miles from Cleveland, it was a popular stop on the itinerary for dance bands who worked up and down the Ohio Valley. Como, Roselle, and their friends had gone to nearby Cleveland; their good times took them to the Silver Slipper Ballroom where Freddy Carlone and his orchestra were playing. Carlone invited anyone who thought he might have talent to come up and sing with his band. Young Como was terrified, but his friends urged him and pushed him onto the stage. Carlone was so impressed with Como's performance that he immediately offered him a job.
  The young man was not certain if he should accept the offer Freddy Carlone had made, so he returned to Canonsburg to talk the matter over with his father. Perry expected his father would tell him to stay in the barber business, but to his surprise, the senior Como told him if he did not take the opportunity, he might never know whether or not he could be a professional singer. The decision was also made with an eye on finances; Como earned around $125 per week from his barber shop while the job with Carlone paid $28 per week. Roselle was willing to travel with her husband and the band, but the salary was not enough to support two people on the road. Perry and Roselle were married in Meadville on July 31, 1933; four days later, Como joined Freddy Carlone's band and began working with them. Roselle returned home to Canonsburg; her new husband would be on the road for the next 18 months.
  Three years after joining the Carlone band, Como moved to Ted Weems's Orchestra and his first recording dates. Como and Weems met in 1936 while the Carlone orchestra was playing in Warren, Ohio. Perry initially did not take the offer to join Weems's orchestra. Apparently realizing it was the best move for his young vocalist, Freddy Carlone urged him to sign with Weems. Art Jarrett had just left the Weems organization to start his own band. Weems was in need of a vocalist; Como got a raise, as Weems paid him $50 per week, and his first chance for nationwide exposure. Ted Weems and his orchestra were based in Chicago and were regulars on The Jack Benny Program and Fibber McGee and Molly. The Weems band also had its own weekly radio program on the Mutual Broadcasting System during 1936–1937.
  It was here where the young Como acquired polish and his own style with the help of Ted Weems. Mutual's Chicago affiliate WGN radio, threatened to stop carrying the Weems broadcasts from Chicago's Palmer House if Weems's new singer did not improve. Weems had recordings of some previous radio programs; one evening he and Como listened to them after the show. From listening to them, Como was shocked to realize that no one could make out the words to the songs he was singing. Weems told Como there was no need for him to resort to vocal tricks; what was necessary was to sing from the heart.
  Como's first recording with the Weems band was a novelty tune called "You Can't Pull the Wool Over My Eyes", recorded for the Decca Records label in May 1936. During one of Como's early Decca recording sessions with the Weems orchestra, Weems was told to get rid of "that kid" (Como) because he sounded too much like Bing Crosby, who also recorded for Decca. Before Como could reply, Ted Weems spoke-up, saying that Como was part of the session or it was over. By the time Como had been with Ted Weems about a year, he was mentioned in a 1937 Life magazine NBC Radio ad for Fibber McGee and Molly as "causing cardiac flutters with his crooning". The weekly radio show, Beat the Band, which ran on NBC from 1940–1944, was a "stump the band" type musical quiz show where Weems and his orchestra were the featured band from 1940–1941.
caption: Como in 1939, when he was with the Ted Weems Orchestra.
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