Variety (Apr 1939)

32 VARIETY MUSIC—DANCE BANDS Wednesday, April 26, I939 Whiteman Seeks Injimcdoii to End His NBC-Consofidated Contract Tiff Paul Whiteman Is bringing his controversy with NBC and . Consoli- dated Radio Artists, Inc., to a head by applying to the N. Y. supreme court for an injunction restraining the two from representing them- selves to be his booking agents. The bandman also wants the court to affirm his cancellation of the NBC management agreement as of April 14, 1938, and order Consolidated to make an accounting to him of monies collected on his engagements. Whiteman likewise seeks to have Consolidated stopped from filing claims for fees with the American Federation of Musicians. Whiteman contends in the complaint that NBC's assignment of his contract to Consolidated was not valid. He also raises the question whether Consoli- dated obtained a license for con- ducting a theatrical employment agency as required by law in New York City. Flnky Tomlin to L. A. Blltmore Los Angeles, April 25. Pinlcy Tomlin orchestra, current at the U. S. Grant hotel In San Diego, opens at the Biltmore Bowl here on May 1. New combination consists of four brass, four sax, four rhythm. Jeanne Darrell is in for the vocalizing, with John Scott and Bud Dant handling the music arranging. Band Bookings Red Nichols, May 13, Wabash Col- lege, CrawfordsviUe, Ind. Russ Morgan Casa Manana, Fqrt Worth, July 21, two weeks. Les Brown, St. Paul Hotel, St. Paul, eight, weeks opening Sept. 28. Carl Moore, June 10, White City Park. Fletcher Henderson, May 29, White City Park, Herrln, IlL Eddie DeLange, State Hartford. May 27. Vincent Lopez, May 7, radio guest shot on Fitch Bandwagon. Consolidated Radio Artists again has an exclusive on Elana Jettick Park, Binghamton, N. Y. Set: Buddy Fisher, May 12 through May 28; Gray Gordon, May 29-June 4; Les Brown, 5-18; Lee SheUey, 19-July 2; King's Jesters, 3-16; Al Kavelln, 17-30; Rita Rib, 31-Aug. 13; Sonny James, 14-27; Mike ReUly, 28-Sept 4. Russ Morgan, Field House, Fayette- «ille. Ark., May 22. Blue Barron, Scranton, May 29; VPI, Blacksburg, Va, June 22; War- ner theatre, Phila., week June 23; Elitch's Gardens, Denver, opening July 21, Phil Spitalny, May 4-6, Rhode Island Auditorium, Providence. SONGS FROM ROBBINS Gordon and Revel's Newest Sona Smash I NEVER KNEW HEAVEN COULD SPEAK 20th Century-Fox Picture. "Rose of Washington Square" Here's One For The Money THE MOON IS A SILVER DOLLAR By Mitchell Parish and Sdmmy Fain From Billy Rose's "Aquacade" at the N. Y. World's Fair, 1939 YOURS FOR A SONG By Billy Rose, Ted Fetter and Dana Suesse Still The Tops DEEP PURPLE By Peter De Rose and Mitchell Parish KOBBINS MUSIC CORPORATION __799 SEVENTH AVENUE - NEW YORK- IRVING YATES WITH CONSOLIDATED IN CHI Chicago April 25. Charles .Green, president of Con- solidated Radio Artists, was in con- fab with new local chieftain, Russ Lyons, last week on a general re- organizational ' shift of the Chicago setup. Irving Yates came in and will take over local operations of the vaude and nitery bookings of the CRA. It is understood that the CRA will also expand its radio talent booking locally, a side of the office which has been dormant for some time. Kapp Unloads Part Of His Decca Stock ' Washington, April 25. Large slug of stock iii Decca Records, Inc., transferred to an un- known recipient by Jack Kapp, of New York, according to Feliruary reports of Securities & Exchange Commission. Decca director listed 6,250 shares of common stock as disposed of un- der a 'gift' transaction. Was holding 26,841 shares at the end of the month. Sense of Philly (Continued from page 27) be to us?' Peter said he is sending out a questionnaire asking what suc- cesses or failures stations have had with this type advertising, so that he may intelligently answer the Asso- ciation's query. Beware Free Wax Joe Miller warnea the broad- casters to l>eware of increasing of- ferL of free, transcriptions and pro- grams. He said most of them had buried in them, some ever so subtly, advertising plugs, and that com- panies were using them instead of paying for time. He also warned of an increase in oilers of advertising for which payment was contingent on inquiries. Turning to labor, Miller declared that.in his opinion asking for over- time exemptions under the Wage- Hour bill for employees earning less than $200 a month would be a miS' take. It would make the industry look bad ai)d lose friends for it, he said. Satisfactory compromise is be- ing worked out, he said, by which time-and-a-half oS may be given an employee within a specified period following overtime work. C. O. Langlois, of Langworth Com- pany,, which purcliased the NAB library, and Carl Haverland, of Davis & Schwegler, music publish- ers, I>oth spoke on tax-free music. Haverland said his firm was pre- pared to purchase tunes directly from the writers and sell both sheet music and.recordings to stations on a flat fee. The tunes would be plugged, just as others are now, to push them up into the hit classifica- tion. Clifford Chafey of WEEU, Read- ing, was elected NAB 'regional di- rector for the third district He suc- ceeds Clair McCollough of the Mason-Dixon radio group, who asked to be excused from serving again because he is already kept busy by work on the NAB copyright com- mittee. Inside Stuff-Bands Band business is currently seeing a recurrence of a former evil. Cut- throat booking is Again showing up. in the methods, used by some offices to break exclusive holds on spots .by rival agencies. In some instances big name, crews are being offered operators at prices far below normal.' with lesser name outfits to follow on the same deal sometimes at scale! Offering the big boys of course is the wedge. Practice naturplly tends toward lowerijig .the ttkp all around for bands on any plane as.rival bookers have to materially come down in order to compete. .Operators wouldn't b? business meji if they didii't take advan> tage of the situation which put^.the bands.in the middle. In short band- men take it on the chin wi\ile.9ge|icjes wsr .up. and battle for supremacy. Leonard Feather, English hot record fan and radio script and magazine writer, arrived in New York latter part of last week, and is arranging to make all-star swing records fpr English release. Four sides will be cut tomorrow (Thursday) .qt. .Decca. Records' N. Y. studios. They will be re- leased in England only. Feather has lined up Benny Carter, trumpet; Bobby Hackett, guitar; Pete Brown, sax; Joe Marsala, clarinet; Arthur Shapiro, bass; Cosy Cole, drums, and Billy Kyle, piano. Each will alternate to other instruments for tte different sides. Robert Goffin, president of the Jazz Club of Belgium, arrives in New York on a lecture tour Monday (1). He's said to own one of the most valuable collections of hot records in existence. Goffin has authored some 20 boolcs on various subjects beside his jazz^ activities. His tour will cover talks on famous criminal cases in Europe, modern literature, history, poetry and a number of subjects dealing with the aforementioned writings. - On the Upbeat Burton Lane, Coast lining up a band. songwriter, after exiting from Cedar Grove, N. J. Bin Harty, drummer-manager for Ray Noble, east to round up crew for English maestro while Burns and Allen air from New York. Paul Barton into Bill Green's Casino, Pittsburgh, Monday (24) for indefinite stay, replacing the Sterling Young outfit. Bernle Cummins goes to Cavalier hotel .in Virginia Beach for two weeks next month after winding up 15-week stay at William Penn hotel, Pittsburgh. Tiny Wolf, who has been on tour with Blue Barron for several months, has returned to his home in Pitts- burgh and is organizing a band of his own. Jean Wald's femme orchestra out of Pittsburgh has had option picked up by Hotel Fort Hayes in Colum- bus, O., for four additional weeks. Emerson Gill extended indefinitely at the New Penn Club, Pittsburgh. Gets two NBC shots a week. Connt Basle returns to the Famous Door, N. Y., for 16 weeks about the first of July. Date is Basle's second in the spot Four Inkspois set for the Apollo, New York, week of May 5. Chick Webb's band recorded 'Have Mercy' last week. Cutting started at 1 ajn. Saturday when the band got in from a date. Milt HerUi trio has added a Nova- chord for its NBC sustainers. Woody Herman orchestra plays three Monday nights in a row at the New Yorker Hotel, N. Y., as relief band for Henry Busse starting MoH' day (1). Herman's set for a week at the Paramount Newark, May Meadowbrook, Gay Lombardo orchestra Is the first band set for the Professional Music Men's annual benefit at the Alvin theatre, N. Y., May 7. Marcella Hendricks, blonde bal- lader, will be at the Zuider-Zee at the N. Y. World's Fair with Dick Kuhn's band, now current at the As- tor hotel, N. Y. WHITEMAN MAKING 60 SU)ES FOR DECCA Back from out-of-town touring, Paul Whiteman is waxing some 60 sides for Decca. A feature of the ne-.y recordings will be two Irving Berlin albums. ■ Whiteman is also making another G iorge Gershwin album. Cirl Is Partner And Arranger of Orchestra Unusual orchestra is the recently organized male outfit co-lead by Eddy Dell and a girl pianist tagged Imogene (Jean Rose). Latter is half owner of the band, its arranger, singer, and ivory tickler. Composed of 11 pieces, two of which are pianos because of Imogene's singing. Out- fit works under the tag of 'Eddy Dell's Music Styled by Imogene.' Month old and with a number of one-nighters under its belt the out- fit goes into the Hotel Abbey, N. Y., May 25. If OLD SONG SUGGESTIONS JIMMY McHUGH'S "WITH ALL MY HEAHr' I.EO FEIST. INC. 9r »THREEUmEHSHlCS^: "THREEUTTLEFISmES" *"siiir « ;r'^™*«I!r''™ mS YOllft HttflT nu i ZT SflnTLV-J0V-S€L6CT, inC.-1619 B'UJflV, R. V. C. CHICAGO • HOIlYWOOD • BOSTON • mUtDELmj^^SvOiul^^Jui^JU^c?