Frank Weder plays “Over the Rainbow” at his home in Sun City Center. Lisa Stark photo.
Frank Weder’s three-step formula for success in life is simple: 1. Dress right; 2. Be on time; and 3. Do more than is expected of you.
Sitting in the living room of his Sun City Center home listening to fascinating stories of his life experiences (punctuated by piano interludes such as Over the Rainbow), one can’t help but wonder how such a deceptively uncomplicated plan has resulted in such an exciting past.
“I’ve always followed this feeling in my gut when it came to making decisions,” Weder said. “And my gut has never failed me.”
At age 90, Weder is happy to talk about his long and fulfilling career as a pianist, songwriter and composer, his musical tours with some of the most beloved orchestras and big bands in the nation, his experience owning a Volkswagen car dealership, his forays in Italy racing Fiats, as well as his military service in Japan with the U.S. Navy during World War II.
But it’s his music that has sustained him throughout the years, and remained his primary pursuit. “I started playing piano at age 5 after watching my mother play,” he said. “Music has been my number one passion ever since.”
As a child, Weder was quickly recognized as a musical prodigy by his parents and teachers, rapidly outgrowing every piano instructor he had.
“I was small and thin as a kid, and got bullied a lot in school,” he related, describing how a classmate pinned his arm behind his back one day, breaking his shoulder and nearly ending his piano career. Surgeons saved his arm, but two years later the same bully came back and thought he would try it again. “I let him have it this time,” Weder said. “I don’t think he expected that out of a skinny kid like me, but there was no way I was going to let him get away with it again.”
Weder went on to study at the New School of Music in Philadelphia, and continued his piano playing into his military career, playing with the Navy Seabees Band trio, which nicknamed him “Junior” because of his small stature.
During World War II he was stationed on the island of Saipan, which Japan considered part of their last line of defense for the Japanese homeland. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. fought to secure Saipan from the Japanese, with high casualties among both military personnel and civilians.
“I remember finding the wallet of a Japanese soldier with a picture in it of his wife and children,” said Weder. “I realized that, other than being on opposite sides of the war, we could have been friends. He was just like me.”
Weder said the experience changed his life. “Life is precious, and you have to use it to express yourself and to love what you have,” he said. He speaks fondly of his wife Dee, “a precious gift from God,” whose beautiful voice accompanied him in performances up until she passed away last year. Healing from her loss is still a part of life for Frank, who finds comfort in playing CDs of Dee singing classic songs such as Just the Two of Us, My Funny Valentine, The Nearness of You, and Georgia on my Mind.
In addition to playing piano with the Navy Seabees, Frank performed at the Host Resort & Conference Center Golf Course in Pennsylvania for 12 years, and at the Deer Head Inn in the Poconos Mountains for five years.
He played a variety of venues, large and small, touring the U.S. with the Billy May Orchestra, the Glenn Miller Band, Sammy Kaye, Buddy Morrow, Steve Allen, Eddie Fisher, Bob Hope, Bobby Rydell, Henny Youngman and many others too numerous to mention. He keeps a thick volume with an alphabetized list of artists and bands he has accompanied to retain memory of them all.
For the past 10 years, Frank played in a duo with wife Dee at Florida venues like the Sykes [Beercan] Building in Tampa, and the Marriott on Sand Key in Clearwater. He has composed over 500 original tunes, and continues to write an average of two songs per week on his grand piano in his home at Kings Point.
These days Frank enjoys performing every Friday and Saturday evening from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Sandpiper Grille and Restaurant in Sun City Center. “I play all original music,” he said. “A lot of people my age like the older Big Band music, but I prefer contemporary jazz, like Chick Corea and Arturo Sandovol.”
Frank receives praise regularly from diners, but said he never lets it go to his head. “I don’t have an ego — there are so many players out there greater than me.” He grins and adds: “After all, you’re only as good as your last performance.”
Sandpiper Grille is at 1702 S. Pebble Beach Blvd. in Sun City Center.
For more information, visit www.thesandpipergrille.com or call 813-634-7900.
