Variety (Mar 1936)

Ifednesfoy* March 25,1936 MUSIC-NITE CLUBS VARIETY 49 LONDON'S FLOOR Cabaret Theatres Appear in Rio Along American Basis, I). S. Talent io de Janeiro, March 12, Converted theatres in the United States have Influenced night-club Styles here. New lux grill in the Urea Casino has a rising and re- volving stage, semi-circular bal- jjpny and tables in tiers holding Z 000. Club is housed in a large new wing' on the casino buildings de- signed like a theatre, complete with foyer and lounge. Dance floor is in the center, leading up steps to the stage. New Urea grill is tops here now, outdoing the other casinos in lavish- ness and trick lighting effects. Show-goes on twice nightly, with a lfi?piectr orch dishing darisapation at other times. Popular feature is Sunday cocUtaUr-matinee ' with a halfrhour show. Club, coming on top of the. sharp- ly increased movement in foreign vaude talent, more or less guaran- tees a considerable demand for American artists. Casino is pres- ently under an agreement with the William Morris office and Bobby Vernon (Stone and Vernon) where- by units are produced in New York to-play the Urea here and theatres and clubs owned by the Argentine impresario Lombartour, in Buenos Aires. Bill -opened with a bill of 35, mostly American, headed by Birdie Dean, acrobatic dancer'. There is also a femme dance pair from Lon- don and a Danish combo, male and • four'-girls. Seating arrangements allow a clear; view, of the stage from each /table* Curtain and stage lighting alio contributes to. the theatre 11- '•luisloh, though curtain- manipulation is somewhat amateurish. Orch Is on a rolling rostrum brought down stage for the dance music and pushed back when the show is on. Circular rising .stage is come- thing entirely new here and pro- voked considerable comment. Idea is excellent for. acrobatic numbers and pageant's. Mistake was made, how- ever, by inaugurating the stage with a line number, which showed it to SONG HITS AHEAD! Shirley Temple Introduce!* Three New Songs In Her »xt Fox ricture— "CAP TAIN JANU ARY" "At the Codfish Ball" "The Right Somebody to Love" "E arly Bir d" Shirley Temple Songs Enjoy Enduring Success r MOVIETONE MUSIC CORPORATION SAM FOX PUBLISHING CO.. Sole A 9 cn(j 1250 SIXTH AVENUE » c/v &0 clDiNO (AftblO citv) NEW YORK no wobble perilously. Probably cinch to dance on either. Other casinos are meeting this new competition with more money spent on foreign talent. Atlantioo has a troupe of twelve, booked through Hal Sands, with the Delong Sisters topping. Copacabaria show opens March 14 with Helen Knott, Chester Towne, Alice Kovan, Renee Villahj Adelaide and Sawyer, Pearl Newman, Gretchen Kimmel, Helen Torripson, Lilian Loraine, Paul Cau- dent. Al Morrison .orch continues at this spot. Disc Reviews (Continued from page 48) right by 'The Touch of Your HxncV and 'Lost,' but Np. 7630 is nbt such a happy couplet: . 'Desire'' from the Dietrich picture .and 'Gloomy_. 1 .Sun- day.' Latter is sub-captioned' 'the famous Hungarian suicide song' and is just that, a dirge in slow foxtrot rhythm which makis it very dubious for dansapation or any other song treatment. The lyrics are those of frank frustration arid avowed self- destruction, and while the original Budapest version, got some morbid notoriety it's not attuned to the American temperament and should be skipped. Bob Allen, however, tells all about it vocally in the lyric interlude. Bob Crosby with his band is brighter on Decca 728 with 'Don't Wanna Make History' and 'So This Is Heaven'; on No. 727, 'Goody Goody' and 'What's the Name of That Song?' by Vee Lawnhurst and Tot Seymour who, on the strength, of their recent crop of pops, rate- as the No. 1- femme songwriters of the day. Bing's i brother Bob Crosby knows his own idea of barytorieing the vocals and he has., a good dansa- pation team behind, him. Henry King on Dacca 743 does a tender waltz version of 'A Waltz Was Born in Vienna' (Loewe- Crookef) and then comes the dirge- ful 'Gloomy Sunday' for the com- panion piece. None the less King's dance style *s smooth and smart. Joseph Sudy vocalizes. Leo Reisman's usually ultra dans- apation asserts itself with refresh- ing nuances on Brunswick 7624 in his mariner of foxtrotology with 'That Never-tb-Be-Forgotten Night' arid 'It's Great to Be in Love Again.' Clark Ross vocalizes to Reisman's smoothly sprightly baton. Bob Howard swings himself at that ole piano recounting about 'Garbo Green* and 'Much Too Much' on Decca 722, while on No. 720 he's 'Spreadin' Rhjthm Around' paired with 'Wake Up and Sing.' It's chiefly Howard at the ivories and vocalizing but the sax and brass work stand up and out in great style. . Red Norvo and his Swing Sextet do the 'Decca Stomp' (Norvo) arid 'Gramercy Square' (Allan Grant's smoother number) 6rT Decca GDI, Strictly- a swing classic, "orvo's xylo is very swingo. Cleo Brown's unique pianology with a bass-guitar-drums backer- upper shines on Decca 718, 'You're My Fever' and 'Breakin' in a New Pair of Shoes.' IN HOTEL SPOTS Mostly American Acts or Backgrounds — Staged Miniature Revues — Straight Cabaret Biz Still Held Down by Mourning Bernstein, Bornstein, Buck and Burkan Of ASCAP Indicted in Seattle Action MAY PICKUP DUE Dave Franklin has his 'Our Gang' themer published. London, March 16. Revival of the floor show business i London's larger hotels has turned more losses into profits than any other recent idea, and has re- sulted in a. number of what were previously class night spots playing to relatively empty tables, Idea originated at the Dorches- ter House by Cliff Whitley. Restau- rant, shortly after it opened, was not attracting . the business expected of it, but has now. been copied at three of the important hotel spots with sound results. In every case busi- ness spurted beyond expectations 'and has, in some spots, turned red figures into healthy profits. Shows, generally spealting, have a chorine background, with, a troupe of a dozen or more assisting a trio of principals, most of whom are cabaret names. Requiring little production and running from 20 to 60 minutes, these staged cabaret Shows have been proved to. bring, in a much larger clientele at a paying cover charge—in the cases of shows like the Dorchester a minimum of $5 being charged. At the. Dorchester a clear profit on the supper show of around $5,000 is earned weekly, which is good, considering the expense of the background holding it up. Ritz operated by Henry Sherek and most aristocratic of hotels has taken the vogue in hand with its Cafe Chantant which, in the cur- rent week, features George Beatty and Vic Oliver alternating as m.c.'s; Paul Meeres and Barbara Meade, Paxil Herhried and Joe Kay's band. The May Fair, owned by the same group as the Dorchester but operated by Sherek, has a similar type of show, backgrounded by Harry Roy, hot maestro. Grosvenor House has the most spectacular of the floor shows, a largely American troupe supporting mostly American players. Grosve- nor has a new floor show due March 10, all American, staged by Francis Mangan, with 12 Ned Way- burn girls. So far the Savoy group has not fallen Into line, preferring to stage a floor show consisting of two or three specialty turns, with no pro- duction values outside of the act itself. Understanding, though, is that the Savoy is contemplating going after floor production to compete with the spots in Park Lane. Mourning Meanwhile most of the straight cabarets, still influenced by the Plugging Record Record high for plugs was set by Harry Link's exploiteers at Irving Berlin, Inc., for the week ending Friday (20), with 141 major network perform- ances of Berlin tunes, of which 113 were 'Follow the Fleet' music. That in itself is a new high. 'Let Yourself Go' and 'Face the Music and Dance' were No. 1-2 in the, charting, both' from 'Fleet.' 'Goody Goody,' - 'It's Been So Long,' 'Lost' and 'Eggs in One Basket' (also Fleet'), in that sequence/ gave Berlin's three of the first six. Chez Ami Opens with Givot as 'Courtesy' M.C. Buffalo, March 24. After postponement due to the blizzard, the Chez: Ami re-opened Friday (20), with George Givot rh. Ci'ing; The rest of ..the show includes Marguerite and Art, Melva White, Florinrie Manners, GWeri Shaw En- semble, Long Sisters and Benny Griffin's band. * Givot was in for only two nights as a. 'courtesy showing' for his cousin, Jack Brood, Who operates' the nitery. , March 24. American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers came under fire in the State of Washington on a new front last week when the Snohomish County prosecutor, A. W. Swanson, Indicted leading- ASCAP officers In the Snohomish Superior Court in Everett. Branding ASCAP as a 'monopol- istic institution' and charging its officers to be in" 'conspiracy and in- timidation in restrait of public trade/ Swahson named as, defend- ants Louis Bernstein, Saul Born- stein, E. C. Mills, Gene Buck , and Nathan Burkah of New ..York, and John ~L. Stanley, local ASCAP man- ager. Swanson said that he .would seek extradition of the defendants. Judge Ralph C. Bell set the bail for each at $1,250. Action is an outgrowth of tho vigorous attack recently made on the music society by the state's radio interests and Attorney General E. P. Donnelly. ASCAP' at present is operating under receivership in Washington, and its fight to wlit back complete control for itself ia pending in the state courts. Donnelly had previously stated that ASCAP officials would be liable to criminal prosecution if they en- tered the state, but this move by Swanson is the first: attack on the ASCAP officials themselves. Robhins' W.C. Contractees Hollywood, March 24. Johnny Mercer, songwriter, has been put under long term contract by Jack Bobbins. Move"is in line with Robbins' policy to build up. a complete organization here to supply film music. Recently put under contract by Robbins-Feist were Ferde Grofe, Lou Alter and Rube Bloom, BUFFALO'S SHOWS Buffalo, March 24. Both the Vendome and Savorlri" have new floor shows -currently. Vendome has Brown and Brown and Petro and Teena, with Alma Smith and O. C. Collins held over. Sayorin's showing Bon Gay and DoOley, Lois Long, Francis Sisters, Mary Jane Lewis, four Racketeers, Jack Lamont, m,c, and. Al Jenkins' orchestra. Prof. Righter Quits Prof. Charles B. Righter of the University of Iowa, music depart- ment has resigned as director of the WPA music project for the prairie region, including Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and the Dakotas. Righter refused to comment on the- WPA music program other than to; say, 'Like oil and water, relief and music can't be mixed and help music. The human side must be considered.'- He said duties.at the university, the state" high school, musio festival details, and all-state summer music groups will require all of his time. Guy Maier of Ann Arbor, Mich, will probably suqeeed. death of King George, are not grossing up to average, with prac- tically the only exception the Troc- adcro, which enjoys a steady pat- ronage. Class Joints Cafe de Paris, one of the de luxe spots, with a regular ritzy clientele, is one of the ■exceptions. Cafe spe- cializes in one American name. Cur- rent month has Marlon Harris. American, back in the solo cabaret spot. Miss Harris is one of the most popular vocal artists in this town. Revenue is expected to pick up in May, coinciding with the relief from mourning of the Court circles and the advent of the official Lon- don social season. ( FLASHES Riding Hlgl) on 1\ie Air Wavefli "AllWUfe" "Green Fields and Bluebirds" "Laughing Irish Eyes" Ton Tunes From The Pickfonl-T/atfcy Production "One -Rainy Afternoon" "One Rainy Afternoon" ''Secret Rendezvous" SAM FOX PUBLISHING COMJ&NY SIXTH A V EM UE.' MtWYOKH As a music man with 30 years experience, both in the.music publishing business and as a manager of artists and musical organizations, I be- lieve I am qualified to define SWING MUSIC, the meaning of which has caused so much controversy, I maintain, unreservedly, that the definition of SWING MUSIC is "Fats" .Waller. "Fats" W'aller is SWING MUSIC. They're synonymous. The sensational success of "Fats" Waller on records, in. the theatre, on radio and in pictures made the whole world SWING conscious. "Fats" Waller, best seller and exclusive RCA-Victor recording artist. "Fats" Waller, biggest novelty broadcasting over the Columbia Broad- casting System and under direction of their Artists' bureau. "Fats" Waller, newest personality on screen in 20th Century Fox Pictures. Personal Representative for "Fats" Waller (Naturally) "Fats" W aller HEADLINING, LOEWS ST ATE, NEW YORK, this week (March 20) HOLLYWOOD LEXICOLOGISTS PLEASE NOTE!