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. 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