Variety (Oct 1938)

^Tedneeclay, October 19, 1938 DANGE^CONCERXft 43 15 Best Sheet Music SeDers (Week ending Oct., 15, 1938) ♦I've Got a Pocketful of Dreams Santly-Joy ♦Change Partners ... Berlin ♦Alexander's Ragtime Band ; ABC ♦What Goes on Here in My Heart Paramount ♦I've Got a Date With a Dream Feist ^0 Help Me , Remick ♦Garden of the Moon Harms Stop Beating Around the Mulberry Bush BVC Lambeth Walk Mills ♦Small Fry • Famous You Go to My Head., .- Remick tAt Long Last Love Chappell There's a Faraway Look in Your Eyes Tenney When Mother Nature Sings Her"Lullaby.. Santly-Joy A-Tisket A-Tasket Robbins ♦ Indicates ftlmnsical song. t Indicates stage production song. The others are pops. AGMA Moves Vs. Concert Bureaus; Tieup with SAG Vital Factor Drive to regulate concert manage- ments and agencies has been under- taken by the American Guild of Mu- sical Artists. Preliminary meeting be.twepn AGMA officials and repre- sentatives of Columbia Concerts Corp. and NBC Artists Service was held Monday afternoon (17). Con- tinued sessions "wilt-be held until an agreement is reached, it's understood, AGMA's move to regulate the con- cert managements ties directly in with the current drive by the Screen Actors- Guild to license Hollywood talent agents. While AGMA is not figured strong enough to battle sin- gle-handed against »^S. and NBC concert managements, its affiliation with the Associated. Actors and Artistes of America (SAG parent union) is rated as the weapon that may swing the issue. Leverage Among the 19 points which SAG fs demanding the agencies observe is one, of prime importance to AGMA.' It states that to be eligible for SAG licenses, all agents shall be subject to the regulations of other Four A's affiliates. Since it's con- ceded that both CBS and NBC de- rive a major share of their income from film deals, it's imperative that they remain in the good graces of AGMA. Besides the above ruling, there fire two additional SAG points which may have a direct bearing on the AGMA-concert management" sit- uation. One is that SAG stipulates that its members may deal only with agents it licenses. Other is i^at no agent shall.be allowed, to operate if he, the agency or anyone Interested in the agency' is an em- ployer of talent, except in such a case as SAG may grant a waiver. It's generally recognized in the business that both Columbia Con- certs and NBC Artists Service are employers as well as agents of tolent. Still another possibly vital ele- ment in the current situation is that the Government hearings on mo- nopoly charges are expected to get a hearing in Washington within the next few weeks. Not known whether AGMA plans any attempt to take part in that case. However, it's thought likely that the network- owned concert managements will try to clear up the AGMA situation before the Government hearings open. Figured that AGMA will eeek to license all concert manage- ments and agencies, but what^ other plans or demands the organization has are unknown. Wonders Adds Acts To Rockwell-O'Keefe Roster Rockwell-O'Keefe, Hollywood, cur- rently vmdergoing expansion, added eight new attractions, including four bands, to office lists this week, Ralph Wonders was sent west recently to hypo the branch after a visit by three top execs of the firm. Those taken on include Ed Bush, quartet; Jan Rubini, violinist; Fos- ter-Lewis band, Sol Bright's HoUy- Vraiians band, Ralston Ayres band; Gwen Louise, singer; Stanley Mee- han, singer, arid Tommy Chatfield's band. Band Heviews SAMMT KATE ORCHESTRA (12) With Tommy Ryan, Charles Wilson, Jimmy Brown Commodore Hotel, N. .Y* .Commodore is Kaye's first New York stopover of any length.- His sweet swing is well tailored to smarter dance floors. • Currently has seven radio pickups a .week, adding up to four full hours. - Crew shows versatility. Occasion- ally unveils rhumbas, tangos and hot tunes. Saxes dominate the in- strumental setup, there being four against two trumpets and one trom- bone. Drums, piano, guitar and tuba comprise the rhythm. An electric guitar is an added starter to back- ground the singers, whether solo or as the Three Barons. Ryan, who doubles from the guitar to the mike to vocaUy herald forth- coming tunes, is the focal point of the Three Barons. Voice is pleas- ing. Jimmie Brown and Charles Wilson handle solo assignments safely. Kaye uses nd femme singer. Leader himself occasionally lips a clarinet, but more often is contented with leading. LUCKY MILLINDER ORCH (17) With Grace Grainger, Trevor Bacon Apollo, N. Y. Formerly leader of Irving Mills' Blue Rhythm crew, Millinder now has his own outfit, a bunch that's plenty solid as is and should im- prove with more time under his baton. Crew was an organized band when Millinder picked it up in Phil- adelphia a few months ago. He's since whipped it into his style. . Millinder is one leader who's not a figurehead. When the crew fades' he's dripping, the result of literally pulling every note from the crew by sheer force of will. Band's arrangements are done by its piano player and a trumpet man, augmented by tricks left over from the Blue Rhythm crew. It's com- posed of four sax, six brass split three and three, and four rhythm. Arrangements call for numerous solo breaks, some on the stand and some, particularly sax men, at the mike. Band is a little loud at times, but not often, and when it is it's solid jitterbug stuff. Backing the singers, crew sinks to the other ex- treme, with saxes topping muted brass for excellent effect. Latter could be used more often. Singers know what the Apollo crov/ds like, and as a result get over very good. Miss Grainger does 'So Help Me' with interpolations of 'In My Solitude' and 'Savin' Myself for You,* among others. And Trevor Bacon socks a few, including the popular 'Y^u Go to My Head' and 'Change Partners.' Music Notes (Continued from page 41) 'Trailer Romance' and 'Lawless Val- ley," at RKO. Blue Barron Breaking In As Theatre Attraction Blue Barron orchestra opened its first theatre date after exiting the Hotel Edison at Youngstown Friday H4). .Band does five'weeKs of'the- atres and one-nighters before re- turning to New York for its Para- mount theatre date starting Nov, 30. Before leaving Barron signed a new vocalist for the crew. He took Tiny Wolf on trial, with option for 10 weeks. Victor Yonnp and Charles New- Wan sold their ditty, 'Sell Your Cares for a Song,' to Sol Lesser for the Bobby Breen picture. 'Fisherman's Johnny Marvin and Eddie Cher- kose did four songs for 'Bloom On the Sage' at Republic. Ditties are 'Balloon Song,' 'I've Never Had a Dream Come True,' 'Old November Moon' and 'I Love the Morning.' Alfred Newman scoring Winds' for Walter Wanger. 'Trade George Antheil is doing the score for 'Union Pacific' at Paramount. Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger cleffed two numbers for Paramount's 'Cafe Society.' Songs are 'Bluebirds in the Moonlight' and 'If It Isn't Pain It Isn't Lore.' WHK Adds Remotes In Raid on WTAM Bands; Lower Air Fee Helps Cleveland, Oct. 18. Six new nitery remotes were set last week by WHK. Most of them formerly aired by WTAM, but pulled out with complaints of getting bad time breaks. WHK promises more favorable network spotting through Mutual. Station has als( cut its staff charges to $50 monthly. Ohio Bell Telephone- further co- operating by offering l:ne rates that are nqt as much as those of other stations. Tops i^ about $100 for first month and $50 thereafter' for line charges to Charlie H.rvath's Trianon Ballroom, which is increasing air- ings of Chet Rykes' and Henry. Bia- gini's house bands t-l. three times a week over WHK. Rudy 'Vallee re- fused to broadcast Sunday (9), but plan is to network Trianon's special one-night orchestras over Mutual this winter. Hotel Cleveland is taking to air for first time via WHK with 45-min- ute periods with Gene. Erwih's orch for three-a-week; including a Mutual break. Hotel Statler, which also goes over WGAR, signed for five v/eekly for Dick Barrie's orch; Ubangi Club's scat band committed to four-a-week, while Aragon Ball- room has reached the dotted-lirie stage for three weeklj Bert Block broadcasts. Green Derby, which tried out novel 7:30 hillbilly hour, shifted to afternoon shots and is temporarily off until a new ■ band comes in. TUCKER MAY FOLLOW LOMBARDO IN CHI Chicago, Oct. 18. Possibility that Orrin Tucker's or- chestra will be booked Into the Em- pire Room of the Palmer House fol- lowing Guy Lombardo, who's cur- rent. Lombardo slated for New York return Nov. 11 to take over in the Roosevelt hotel. Omaha Abolishes 2% Tax Omaha, Oct. 18, Omaha union musicians have voted to eliminate a 2% tax on their earnings. Several previous ef- forts were made to eliminate the tax, and at this week's meeting a resolu- tion cancelling the tdx was made by Pete J. Christman, secretary of Local No. 70, and was adopted. Elimination affects some 300 Omaha musicians. Meanwhile traveling bands playing in Omaha are taxed 10% by the national organization, of which 4% continues to go to the local union. These assessments are expected to provide enough revenue. Christman said. A union musician In Omaha earn- ing $35 a week for 52 weeks has been taxed $36.40 per year. CLEM WILLIAMS REORGS Philadelphia, Oct. 18. Clem Williams band, formed dur- ing the summer by wealthy scion of a Philly socialite family who had a yen to swish a stick, is in process of reorganization. Now doing one- nighters, has switched vocalist and four instrumentalists, Patti Morgan, former warbler with the outfit, has joined Val Olman's gang at the Belmont Plaza, New York, and has been replaced by Selda Castle, formerly" with Mai Hal- lett. Miss Castle is wife of Clif Strickland, ex-saxer with Artie Shaw, who likewise joined the Clem Williams combo last week. Others added were Bobbie Fishel, ex- Goodman trombonist; Skinny Stat- ic drnms, and Tony Diango, sax. Lecture Mgrs. Open Dme to Block Moss Plan for Employment Agency Permits Limiting Their Fees to 10^ The West Reforms Ballet Caravan currently on a nationwide tour, is having difficulty booking one of its pro- ductions, 'Billy the Kid.' Ap- parently the saga of the cele- brated western gunman isn't considered highbrow enough for aiudiences of his native ter- ritory, for Frances Hawkins, who books the ballet from New York, has received a number of written complaints. Consensus of the squawks is that the west desires 'refined entertainment.* Quick Action Averts CanceGation of Kirk; Hal! on Unfair List Hartford, Oct, 18. Temporary lifting of a ban on Foot Guard Hall by the stagehands union allowed Andy Kirk's band to play for a dance given by the Colored Elks of. Hartford Thursday night (13) at the hall. House had been placed on the . union blacklist this summer by the stagehands after a summer strawhat, Capitol Players, and some Italian operas had performed there without hiring the union hands. Band, owned by Joe Glaser, had not been warned that house was on the unfair list. Late Thursday after- noon it was so notified and Glaser made a hurried trip here from New York City to confer with Union of- ficials, arranging for the temporary lifting of the ban because the ban had not been publicized. More than $1,320 was grossed at the dance from an approximate 1,200 people attending the affair. Ducats were $1.10 each. House is the only one in the city available for large dances.. Musi- cians' union, cooperating with, the stagehands, has banned other dances from being held "there. Foster Named to Succeed Gaines as St. L. Orch Exec St. Louis, Oct. 18. Donald Foster, manager of 'the Cape Girardeau, Mo,, chamber of Commerce, last weeir-was^f^ps^inted' secretary-manager of the St. Louis Symphony by the Orchestra so- ciety's board of directors. Foster succeeds Arthur J. Gaines, who resigned last July to become manager of the Minneapolis Symps. Gaines' resignation followed a cut in his salary last Spring when per- sonnel of the Orchestra and office also were given a wage slash. Later it became known that while these cuts were being made the salary of Vladimir Goldschmann, who soon will start his eighth consecutive sea- son as conductor of the local Symph. had been upped. NO LECTURE DATE CURB Clark Getts to Include Coast This Winter in Addition to Usual Dates A parade of lecture personalities will make the jump to the Coast un- der Clark Getts management this winter. Ordinarily lecture bookings are pretty well held to the populous east and midwest. Heading west will be Walter Hampden, Theodore Dreiser, Muriel Draper (mother of Paul), Helen Howe, Christopher Morley, Frank Crowinshield, Margery Wilson and Princess Kropotkin. Also, Michael Strange, who will carry a harp to accompany her poetry readings, and Miriam Mar- mein, with a pianist, for a dance re- cital. Drive to stymie New York License Commissioner Paul Moss in his ef- forts to license lecture managers will be formally started today (Wednes- day) when representatives of the orinclpal lecture bureaus will meet. Confab will be held in the offices of David Marshall Holtzraann, attorney. Besides the 'big four,' Clark H. Getts, Harold R. Peat, W. Coulston Leigh and William B. Feakins, a number of smaller managers will be repre- sented. Efforts of Moss to license the lecture managers is in line with his cam- paign to force all employment bu- reaus and talent agencies to take out licenses. According to Holtzmann, the general employment agency law does not apply to lecture managers^ , who, he claims,- are not employment agents within the accepted meaning of that statute. Instead, he says, lec- ture bureaus distinctly come under the management classification, since they handle all the lecturer's plat- form activities, including bookings, advertising and in many cases pay his traveling expenses. > The lecture managers wouldn't ob-. ject to the license fee, which amounts to $25 a year, but oppose! being classed under the employment agency law beeaiise they would thea be limited to 10% .commission. Pres- ent scale of commissions in .-the. lec^ ture business^ ranging from 25.% to 50% in some cases, is claimed by them to be fair. Aeason given for the necessity of higher percentage^ is the cost of handling the speakers and the difficulty in'building many of them to boxoffice draws. The big lecture bureaus, it's pointed out,' must maintain large staffs in the homeoffice as well as representatives in principal cities and on the road. Fees for single appearances for* lec- turers run anywhere from $100 to $1,200. Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dale Carnegie are among the highest paid. Principal weapon in the hands of Moss is .fact that the N.Y. courts have repeatedly thrown out cases brought by unlicensed agents. That has made it impossible fbr agencies to bring court action in disputes with clients; even when such clients refuse to pay commissions for en- gagements admittedly obtained by the agents. If Moss is successful in making the employment agency law apply to the lecture managers, they will be forced to obtain, licenses to protect themselves. It's figured such a develoijnignt_3vould lead to a gen- efal" revision of the lecture bureau setup. Since the' managers would be forced to charge 10%; they v/ould probably be forced to charge client* for all expenses, including even fees to road men and out-of-town repre- sentatives. Del Symph Despite 44G Deficit Plans Concerts Detroit, Oct. 18. Although facing a $44,000 deficit^ Detroit Symph intends entering its Silver Jubilee season with a full program, plus incidentals connected with celebration o£ iSymph's 25th anniversary. General manager Murray G. Pater- son, who revealed that only two o£ Symph's six independent concert series approach paying for them- selves; said that special campaigns are under way to sell ducats to Fri- day afternoon series and to get pledges from bigwigs to make up deficit. GOEIN OPENS IN CHI Hollywood, Oct, 18. Igor Gorin opens his concert *tOur in Chicago as guest vocalist with the symphony orchestra there. Route takes him through the east and south. He'll return here late next month. He'll do several radio guest shots in thn east and is booked for a few on his return here^ St. L. Symph Willed lOG St. Louis, Oct. 11. The St. Louis Symph. Society, which is constantly beset by finan- cial troubles, last week was en- riched by $10,000 through the will of Mrs. Alpha Ruf, Widow of a mil- lionaire patent medicine manufac- turer. Mrs. Ruf's death terminated a trust established In her behalf by her hus- band and released his estate of ap- proximately $2,000,000,- Decca Bxtends Uerry Macs Decca has signed the Merry Macs, group of song sylists now on tho Fred Allen hour, to a year's record- ing contract. Vocalists were hancocked last week after completing six sides un* der a previous arrangement