Harold Taylor Weeks (March 28, 1893 – January 7, 1967)[1] was an American jazz musician and composer from Seattle, Washington.
Harold Weeks | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | H. Taylor Weeks |
| Born | March 28, 1893 Eagle Grove, Iowa[1] |
| Died | January 7, 1967 (aged 73) |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, songwriter, lyricist |
Biography
editWeeks was born in Iowa,[2] but is usually associated with Seattle, Washington where he grew up and attended Queen Anne High School, where he became a nationally recognized ragtime composer by his junior year performing under the name H. Taylor Weeks.[1][3] He then attended the University of Washington.[1]
He is best known for his 1918 song "Hindustan", written with Oliver Wallace, which sold over one million copies and was widely played by dance orchestras and is today considered a jazz standard.[4][3] The most notable version of the song was performed by the Joseph C. Smith orchestra.[5] Other notable compositions included "Seattle Town", "No Fair Falling in Love", "My Honolulu Bride",[6] "Ada" (with Victor Aloysius Meyers and Danny Cann), and "Isle of Dreams" (with Meyers and Wallace).[7] He composed more than forty popular songs and was considered one of Seattle's most prolific composers.[1]
Weeks was a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and the National Temperance League.[6] He was a Christian and was actively involved with the Christian Science movement, including serving as a trustee for his church: Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle.[3] The church building later became Town Hall Seattle.[6]
Weeks died in 1967. His correspondence, writings, sheet music, scrapbook, and phonograph records can be found at the University of Washington’s Special Collections library.[6][8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Smith, Merle Irene. (1989) Seattle had a Tin Pan Alley, too!. p. 57. M.I. Smith.
- ^ Harold T Weeks in the 1940 Census. ancestry.com
- ^ a b c Safronoff, Cindy Peyser. Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story - Part 1: 1889 to 1929. (p. 263). this one thing. Kindle Edition.
- ^ Smith, Merle Irene. (1989) Seattle had a Tin Pan Alley, too!. p. 51. M.I. Smith.
- ^ Harold Weeks. Discography of American Historical Recordings.
- ^ a b c d Jonathan Shipley (November 15, 2018) "Celebrating Harold Weeks with Some Ragtime Ditties". Town Hall Seattle.
- ^ Don Duncan, Musical Tribute To Vic Meyers: Public Servant And Funny Guy, Seattle Times, April 9, 1990.
- ^ Harold Weeks papers, 1910-1966. Archives West: Orbis Cascade.
External links
edit
Media related to Harold Weeks at Wikimedia Commons