The Weatherwax Brothers Quartet

              1915

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Redpath
The Weatherwax Brothers Quartet



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William W. Weatherwax

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L. Tom Weatherwax


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Asa A. Weatherwax

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Lester Weatherwax

The Weatherwax Brothers Quartet
ON Jan. 11, 1915, the Weatherwax Brothers Quartet sang and played before 23,000 men at one of the great Billy Sunday meetings in Philadelphia.  They had met Mr. Sunday and some of his assistants at the big Winona, Ind., Chautauqua Assembly last summer, at which time the invitation to sing at the Philadelphia gathering was received.  Forty-six thousand hands applauded their Philadelphia appearance.  It is probable that no male quartet in American history has sung before such a large indoor crowd.

From the days when they appeared in the McKinley campaign of '96 down to the present time, the Weatherwax Brothers have been in the public eye with increasing prominence and favor.

They have a standing invitation to make records for the Victor Company whenever their Lyceum route brings them into New Jersey.  Everywhere their services are sought.

The organization being composed of four brothers all natural musicians, all having fine voices and years of practice, the result is one of natural harmony.

In addition to their vocal music, the Weatherwax Brothers appear as a trumpet quartet that is the delight of all.  In the preparation of this feature of their programs a vast amount of painstaking care was exercised, with the result that it has instantly commanded the admiration of all lovers of rich, heroic music.  Trumpets are comparatively seldom used in this country and it is a novelty and a treat to hear them, especially when well played.  The trumpets used by the Weatherwax Brothers were made especially for them by Frank Holten & Co., Chicago.

Unlike most other male quartets there are two readers in the Weatherwax company.  Lester in Pathos and William in Comedy is the way one newspaper recently put it.  All selections and readings are of a high order—a feature which cannot be over-emphasized in any company.

During their program in connection with some of the Riley selections presented, the incident of the visit of the Weatherwax Brothers to Riley's home is related.  It is no exception for their audiences to burst into storms of applause at the mention of Riley's name.  Mr. Riley received the Weatherwax Brothers on the occasion of their visit to Indianapolis most cordially.





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The Weatherwax Brothers Quartet

PRESS AND COMMITTEE COMMENTS
I. O. Wilson, Cedarville, Ill., Nov. 28, 1914, writes: Their whole program was of a very high order—just what we wanted.

H. R. Hause, Clinton, Mich., Dec. 9, 1914: The voices of the Weatherwax Brothers blended so finely and their trumpet selections were so well rendered that it would be difficult to say which of their numbers gave the best satisfaction.  Not only did they give excellent satisfaction in their entertainment, but they were as friendly and gentlemanly a lot of men in this line of work as it has been our pleasure to meet in a long time.

C. P. Jordan, Sutherland, Ia.: Their voices have the family blend that makes their quartet work so popular.

Mrs. J. R. Sackett, Saginaw, Mich., Jan. 12, 1912: The Weatherwax Brothers Quartet gave a most excellent entertainment.

Mr. E. E. Warren, Greenfield, Iowa, Jan. 12, 1911: Weatherwax Brothers Quartet here last night gave excellent satisfaction.

J. W. Alderson, Mineral Point, Wis., Dec. 21, 1914: It is very rare that anything has ever pleased the audience so well.

C. A. Jackson, Sparta, Ill., Feb. 4, 1913: The Weatherwax Brothers who appeared here last night gave better satisfaction than any musical we have had.  They took the audience (the largest audience we have ever had) by storm of applause.

J. J. Thomassen, Mendota, Ill., Jan. 29, 1911: I have been connected with the entertainment course here for a number of years and cannot recall any attraction which brought out so much praise as this one.

A. J. Temple, Cameron, Ill., Jan. 5, 1912: It seems as if I could not find the proper word to describe the degree of satisfied enthusiasm with which people received them.  Both their vocal and the trumpet music was certainly fine and their readings—well, some of the folks say that William's rendition of the essay on Grass was worth the price we charged for the entire course.  You certainly need not be afraid to recommend the Weatherwax Brothers Quartet in the highest terms to any committee.

C. F. Smith, Pomeroy, Ohio, Feb. 28, 1913: The Weatherwaxes were simply superb.

Rev. J. A. Hoffman, Bowling Green, Ohio, Mar. 7, 1913: The Weatherwax Brothers more than met our highest expectations last night.  Their work was high class in every particular and the announcement of their return next year would be hailed with delight.

E. O. Tobias, Principal of Schools, Brockwayville, Pa., Jan. 1, 1915: The Weatherwax Brothers were with us last evening and gave the best concert we have had in our town for the last five years.

Frank A. McClung, Superintendent of County Schools, Butler, Pa., Jan. 4, 1915: The Weatherwax Brothers took the house by storm.

E. L. Rogers, Y. M. C. A., Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa., Jan. 7, 1915: The Weatherwax Brothers Quartet sang and played here to a capacity house in spite of the fact that it poured without.  Their program was excellent and well received.

Dr. Frank E. Hirsch, president of Charles City College, Iowa: Having listened to the Weatherwax Quartet on various occasions and again yesterday evening in the concert at the Opera House, I desire to express my appreciation of the high quality of their work.  The points that appeared to me the most pleasing yesterday evening were the strength of the separate voices and the agreeable harmony and blend as they joined in the quartet.  The readings were well given and were enjoyable because they represented both the serious and the humorous in proper variety.


The Enterprise, West Concord, Minnesota:
Their solos and quartets were received with unstinted applause.  Their selections and readings were of a high order, and we are safe in saying that a better male quartet has never appeared here.

Rev. E. H. Rassmussen, writing from Kasson, Minn., says: I have heard many noted male quartets, but rarely, if ever, have I listened to male quartet music that equaled the singing of the Weatherwax Quartet.


The Wyoming Tribune, Cheyenne:
The Weatherwax Brothers will probably be voted as the best musical aggregation brought here this season, in the way of vocal music.  They are certainly good and their rendition of three or four numbers last night including one humorous selection, and a humorous recitation by one of them, set the audience in extremely good humor and resulted in much applause and many encores.

E. E. Warren, Mgr. of the Warren Opera House at Greenfield, Ia., writes: Weatherwax Brothers Quartet here last night.  Gave excellent satisfaction.  People immensely pleased with the boys.


The Marion Record, Marion, Kansas:
The Weatherwax Brothers Quartet pleased exceedingly.  They are fine fellows, and they can sing.  And the reader was a daisy.  Come again.


Daily Tribune, South Haven, Mich., Dec. 1, 1914:
Years of singing together have enabled them to blend their voices remarkably well, and we doubt if a male quartet ever appeared here whose voices blended so perfectly.


The News-Republican, Hays, Kansas, Jan. 18, 1913:
The entertainment given by the Weatherwax Brothers consisting of instrumental and vocal quartets and readings was a success.  From their vocal renditions one could plainly see the advantage a quartet has when its members sing together for years.  'Brother Will's' readings were delightful.


The Daily Sun, Niles, Mich.:
The Weatherwax Brothers male quartet that furnished the musical setting for the afternoon and evening sessions, was the best that has so far made its appearance on the course.
The four brothers have a valuable asset in their voices, which range from high tenor to bass, with an exceptionally good baritone voice.
This program, both afternoon and evening, was of the highest class and the selections were very pleasing.



Evening Post, Frederick, Md.:
The Y. M. C. A. entertainment course was inaugurated last night with the appearance of the Weatherwax Brothers Quartet.  The entertainment furnished by them was of the highest order.



A Piano is not necessary for the Weatherwax Brothers Concert
(All photos of the Weatherwax Quartet in this circular are by Walinger, Chicago)






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Weatherwax Brothers in a Rendition of The Little Brown Church in the Vale
AS one of the features of their program the Weatherwax Brothers render The Little Brown Church in the Vale with most telling effect.  The Little Brown Church, which figured in the famous poem, is situated in Iowa, only about fifteen miles from Charles City, the home of the Weatherwax Brothers, and they have often visited it.  One of the boys sang there once with Dr. Pitts, the author of the Poem.  The larger photo on this page shows the quartet during the rendition of this famous selection while on the same page also appears a photograph of the historic little church itself.


The Little Brown Church in the Vale


(Photograph by Will T. Smith, Charles City, Iowa)