Variety (December 1954)

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XL V<1nes<lay, December 15, 1954 MUSIC 49 A.K. Komeback Kontingent’ qongsmith Pat Ballard has been receiving heavy mail from his older friends in ASCAP, particularly on the Coast, who like him- U } ia ve gone a long time without hits. Fired by Ballard’s unusual two-clicks-in-a-row (“Oh, Baby Mine” and “Mr. Sandman”), Holly- uoodite M. K. Jerome has suggested a little group to*be called the “ \ K. Komeback Kontingent” of ASCAP, subtitled "Mr. Peat- man Don’t Count Us Out. Yet.” It’s long been a Tin Pan Alley track that “there’s nothing the matter with any vet songwriter that a hit won’t cure,” and Ballard feels that the vast know-how many of the now dormant ASCAPers possess can enrich the So- ciety's catalog if the fellows will just keep writing and laugh off the defeatism that has come from the present stress on current performances. One of the self-styled a.k.’s suggested to Pat that the best way to lick today’s roadblocks to hitdom is to buy a ream of ms. paper, a dozen pencils and keep both busy, rather than trying to second- guess the sudden twists and turns of the modus operandi of getting a click disk. “If you’ve got enough good songs in your pocket, one is gonna end up with a good recorded rendition sooner or later,” sez the vet, “and it costs nothing to write songs—the expense is treating those Brill Bldg, ulcere! Indie Labels Again Turning Up With New Names & Click Material Cap’s ‘Switch Singer’ Hollywood, Dec. 14. Capitol is readying a "switch singer,” the first the label has had to offer. Chirp is Dakota Staten, a rhythm and blues bawler signed recently by Dave Cavanaugh. How- ever, the Coast waxery plans to utilize the chirp occasionally in the pop field as well as in r&b. In- itial releases will be out right after the first of the year. Xmas Music Biz Rolling at Solid Clip Despite Lack of New Smashes The small disk companies are* again coming to the fore as a reser- voir of maternal and talent for the major labels. The indies, hereto- fore, had pushed their way to the top and sparked major label car- boning with their rhythm & blues output, but now they are also mak- ing a dent with their pop releases. New aspect of the major vs. indie battle is that the smallies are now successfully bucking the Go- liaths for hit list prominence. The top diskeries are still quick to cover an indie platter but the smothering of the indie isn’t as easily accomplished any more. Denise Lor’s Majar slice of “If I Give My Heart to You” continues | to hold up strong against Colum- bia’s slice by Doris Day and Con- nee Boswell’s original version for Decca. The De Castro Sisters have retained their solid footing with their Abbott waxing of “Teach Me Tonight” despite solid competition from Jo Stafford’s Columbia work- over. In another Instance, how- ever, The Crew Cuts stole the play on “Sh-Boom” away from The Chords’ Cat label original with their Mercury slice, but the Chords lacked up hefty sales nonetheless. In recent weeks the indies have served as a proving ground for such tunes as “Heart of Stone,” “Unsuspecting Heart” and “Hurt.” “Stone” was kicked off by The Charms on the De Luxe label and was soon covered by The Fontane Sisters for Dot, Vickie Young for Capitol, and The Goofers for Coral. “Unsuspecting Heart” started roll- (Continued on page 54) • Raymond Hubbell Dies At 75; Last Survivor Of Group Founding ASCAP Raymond Hubbell, veteran com- poser and the last survivor of the nine-member group which founded the American Society of Com- posers, Authors it Publishers 40 years ago, died in Miami Monday • 13) after a two-week illness. He was 75 years old and had been living in Florida for the past few years. Hubbell scored as a composer with his first musical show, “Chow ( how,” which was produced in ( hicago in 1902. Before entering the legit musical field, he had been a pianist and bandleader in Chi- cago. He was also a staff composer for the Chicago publishing house of Charles K. Harris. Following “Chow Chow,” which was produced in New York under the title of “The Runaways,” Hub- bell did the music for the spec- tacles at the N. Y. Hippodrome and *°i s even Flo Ziegfeld shows. “The Runaways” w>s produced in N. Y. in 1903 by Sam and Lee Shubert »nd marked the Shuberts’ first legit enterprise. Hubbell did the (Continued on page 54) New H’wood Mills Bldg. Hollywood, Dec. 14. Mills Music will build its own building in the heart of Holly- ''oods music area. Pubbery has bought a site on Vine St., south 4,1 Sunset Blvd., and will begin construction next year. Building will house all of the | facets of the Mills Music enter-1 prises, including American Kec -1 ords. i BMI't Music Editor Milton Rettenberg an export In Hie "tong shark” details the New Beat for Suckers in *Song Shark 9 Racket * * * an interesting editorial feater# , ia the upcoming 49th Anniveraary Number of US-RIETY DUE SOON Dorseys Prep Own Plattery Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey are prepping their own indie disk com- pany operation. A nationwide dis- tribution setup is now being or- ganized and the brothers expect to begin operation by the first of the year. Although the Dorseys record for Bell Records, they’ll also etch un- der their own disk banner. Con- tract with Bell, a lowprice platter line, allows them to wax for a regular-priced label. The Dorsey disk firm will also record other performers. Meantime, the Dorseys are set for a stand at New York’s Hotel Statler, beginning Friday (17). TV Again Aids Disks; 'Love Song’ OK to Hot Start Television again has come to the aid of the disk industry. In a re- | peat of the sales surge on Joan Weber’s Columbia slice of "Let Me Go, Lover” after its showcasing on CBS-TV’s “Studio One” several weeks ago, Bob Manning’s Capitol cut of “My Love Song to You” got off to a hot sales spurt Monday (13) after its plug on Jackie Glea- son’s CBS-TV show Saturday night ( 11 ). Cap had hanked on the impact of the Gleason plug and had shipped 200,000 platters around the country in advance of the show. From reports coming during the early part of the week, it looks like the diskery underestimated the power of tv and will have to keep its presses going full time to meet the growing demand. In addition to the unprecedented advance pressing, Cap also went on the hook for about $100,000 in ex ploitation and promotion. Diskery had rushed out to dealers and dis- tributors around the country 25,- 000 window streamers and 50,000 counter displays. Roy Alfred and A1 Frisch penned the tune especially for the Glea- son stanza. It’s being put out by Gleason’s own publishing opera- tion, Songsmiths. Apparently having learned a les- son from the Joan Weber instance, rival disk companies, thus far, have held back “covering” the Manning slice. After Miss Weber’s breakthrough, several major com- panies cut “Let Me Go, Lover” with their top artists, but the young songstress held her lead de- spite the top competition. The diskeries now figure that the origi- nal exposure is hard to buck. Bluebird Into EP The Bluebird label, RCA Victor’s low-priced longhair line, is ex- panding into the 45 rpm EP field for the first time. First release this month will comprise seven packages selling at $1.19 each. Some of the EPs will be new recordings while others will be reissues. Votoran Muim Fvblithor Reg Connelly finds London's Tin Pan Alloy no difforont from tha Brill Bldg, in a pioco Everybody Tries to Hit The Global Jackpot * * * an Interesting editorial feature in the forthcoming 49th Anniveraary Number of USnitfr DUE SOON Mercury Sets Up 0&0 N.Y. Branch Mercury Records is prepping an owned & operated distributor set- up for the New York area. Move follows the pattern already set by Dccca and Capitol, which have an o&o distribution operation around the country. Merc’s Gotham branch will tee off Jan. 1 and will be known as Mercury Record Distributors, Inc. The new operation will replace Malverne, which had been han- dling Merc’s distribution in New York for the past several years. Art Talmage.s label’s v.p., said plant for an o&o distributorship was initiated to establish closer contact with the music industry in general for Merc’s management personnel. Morris Price, Merc’s veepce in charge of sales, Is coming in to N. Y. from Chicago headquarters this week to organize the branch. PORTER’S‘STOCKINGS’ IN BIG DISK SENDOFF “Silk Stockings,” the upcoming Cole Porter musical, will open in New York next month with the biggest wax barrage given a legi- tuner In recent years. Chappell Music already has set 30 separate diskings on the showtunes. Every major label, except Columbia, is on the “Stockings” bandwagon. RCA Victor will release the origi- nal cast set. Tuner, which stars Don Ameche and Hildegarde Neff, is set for a Broadway preem Jan. 21. Show' currently is trying out in Phila- delphia and then moves to Boston. Feuer & Martin are producing. OUT SOON! The 49th Anniversary Number Of Forms closing shortly .Usual Advertising rates prevail Special exploitation advantages Copy and space reservations may be sent to any Variety office NEW YORK 36 154 W. 46th St. HOLLYWOOD 28 6311 Yucca St. CHICAGO 11 612 N. Michigan Avo. LONDON, W. C. 2 B St. Martin’s Place Trafalgar Squaro Although no spectacular holiday tune smashes have turned up this year, the Christmas music biz is currently rolling at a solid clip. As expected, disk sales have be- gun to zoom, particularly in pack- aged goods, while sheet music sales have come out of their year- long doldrums for concentrated action, at least until the end of the Christmas period. Topping the Christmas lists again, as it has so often in the past 12 years, is Irving Berlin’s "White Christmas.” Among the new entries. “Home for the Holi- days.” cleffed by A1 Stillman and Robert Allen, is the leading copy seller, sparked by Perry Como’s disk version for Victor. The Stillman-Alien team are also repre- sented with “I Saw Mommy Doing the Mambo,” which is in the sixth slot on the 10 best Xmas sellers this year. The perrenial favorites, “Rudolph the Red-Nosod Reindeer,” "Win- ter Wondei/land” and “Silver Bells,” are lodged firmly in the three, four and five slots. Another new tune. "Christmas Alphabet,” by Buddy Kaye, is also showing up strongly this year in the No. 7 position. This tune is being pushed via the McGuire Sisters version for Coral and is being pub- lished by Kaye. The phenom of 1952. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” is No. 8 this year while two other standards, “Santa Claus Is Com- ing to Town” and “Frosty the Snowman,” complete the top 10 bracket. Several dozen tanes, mostly novelties, were entered in the Christmas tune sweepstakes this year but, as usual, the casualties far outnumber the clicks. Break- through with a Xmas tune is re- regarded as one of the toughest hurdles in the music biz since the plugging time is so short, being limited to four weeks after Thanks- giving when the jockeys begin laying on the seasonal items. The prospect of coming up with a Xmas standard, with its perennial heavy payoff in copy and disk sales plus performance points, continues to be attractive odds to most publishers. Top 1954 BMI Hits Get Swank Kudosing at 3d Annual ‘Award Dinner’ The top BMI hits of 1954 w’ere given the usual swank kudosing by Broadcast Music Inc. execs at the Roof Garden of the Hotel Pierre, N. Y., last Wednesday night (8) in the third annual “award dinner.” Some 200 BMI toppers, publishers and writers attended the affair, which w-as hosted by BMI prexy Carl Haverlin. BMI hits of the past year, in al- phabetical order, are “Crazy ’Bout You Baby,” written by Rudi Mau- gcri (Sunbeam Music); “Good- night, Sweetheart, Goodnight,” by James Hudson and Calvin Carter (Arc Music); “Here/' Dorcas Coch- ran and Henri Rene (Hill & Range); “If You Love Me,” by Marguerite Monnot (Duchess Music); “I’m A Fool To Care,” by Ted Daffan (Peer Int’l); “Jirted,*' by Robert Colby (Sheldon Music); “Let Me Go Lover”; by Jennie Lou Carson and A1 Hill (Hill & Range). Also, “The Man Upstairs,” by Dorinrda Morgan and Hal Stanley (Vesta Music); “The Man With The Banjo*; Fritz Schulz Reichel and Robert Mellin (Mcllin Music); “Santa Baby,” Joan Javits, Phil and Tony Springer (Trinity). Also “Sh-Boom,” by Carl and Claude Feaster, James Keyes, Floyd McRae and William R. Ed- wards (Progressive-St. Louis Mu- sic); “Shake. Rattle & Roll,” by Charles Calhoun (Progressive); “This Ole House," by Stuart Ham- blen (Hamblen); “Woman.” by Dick Gleason (Studio), and “Young At Heart.” by Carolyn Leigh and Johnny Richards. Majar Builds Roster Majar Records, recently formed indie label, bolstered its roster last week with the patting of thrush Betty Ann Grove and crponer Jack Smith. Their platters are due for re- lease early in January.