Variety (Jul 1939)

40 VARIETY MUSIC—DANCE BANDS Wednesdaj, July 26, 1939 Death Reminders Qhmnated «♦♦<«»♦«♦ ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ Band Bookings I Bill Marshall, July 28, two weeks, Chick Webb Name Dropped —New Drummer in sie^ei Pier. a. c. ^^^^^ Background—Ella Fitzgerald Now Tops —— f Because of what's called a bad psychological reaction' of listening to a band which advertises a dead man at the helm, the orchestra of the late Chick Webb has dropped his name and will henceforth be known as Ella Fitzgerald and her orches- tra. Billing had read Ella Fitzger- ald 'with the famous Chick Webb orchestra,' with Webb's billing equal in size to Miss Fitzgerald's. Band is now at the Savoy Ballroom, N. Y., where it gets four NBC-Blue shots per week. Miss Fitzgerald received her card as a member of New York Local 802 of the American Federation of Mu- sicians last week and in the future will actively direct the band at all times except when playing for acU, when Bardu All, who led while Webb was alive, takes over. Also the band will change Its layout, moving the new drummer to the rear. Webb was always situated out front and the setup remained during the re- cent date at Loew's State, N. Y., after, the leader's death. NEWARK $3 RULE LOOMS JOE WEBER BETTER, LEAVES KANSAS CITY Kansas City, July 25. Joe Weber, president of the Amer- ican Federation of Musicians, re- turned to his New York home last Saturday after an illness which con- fined him to a suite in the Hotel Muehlebach there for more than a month. Attack suffered at the close of the AFM's 40th convention here laid him up. Improvement has bean steady and physicians gave permis- sion to return home last week, al- though Weber was still confined to a wheel chair, Mrs. Weber has been in constant attendance on her husband during the recent illness. Larry Clinton Disbands h Order to Reorganize With Old, New Personnel Sylvan Beach, LaPorto, Texas, Charles Barnet, Auj. 12, Pier B., Celeron, N. Y.: Aug. 13-19, Brifihton Beach', N. Y.; Sept. 21-24, State Thea- tre, Hartford. Les Brown, Aug. 5-18, Iroquois Gardens. Louisville: Aug, 20, Crystal Beach, Vermilion, Ohio; A.u<x. 25. in- definite, Syracuse Hotel, Syracuse, N. Y. Ella Fitzgerald. Sept, 8, Indefinite, Grand Terrace, Chicago. Isham Jones, Auj. 19, Armory, FayetteviUe, Ark.; Au?. 21, Tulsa, Okla.; 23. Mayfair B., Tyler, Texas; 25-26, Olmos Club. San Antonio. Blue Barron, Aug. 9. B„ Topeka: 10, Forest Park Highlands, St. Louis: 15, Idora Park, Youngstown: 20. Meadowbrook Park,. Bascom, Ohio; 21, Joyland Park, Lexington, Ky.; Sept. 6, indefinite, Muehlebach Hotel, K C. Andy Kirk, Aug. 3; Waltz Dream B., A. C; 4. Elk's Hall, Asbury Park: 5, Riverside Park, New Brunswick, N. J.: 12, Woodmere Country Club, Woodmere, L. I. Russ Morgan, Aug. 5, Olmos Coun- try' Club, San Antonio. Hai Kemp, July 28, Ocean Pier, Old Orchard, Me.; 29, Sunnybrook. Pottstown; 30, Pleasure Beach, Newark, N. J., local of the Ameri- can Federation of .Musicians is cur- rently attempting to enact a rule placing a tax of $3 per man on every sustaining broadcast emanating from Its area. It's similar to the ruling In New York. Latter, however, classifies the tax, according to the rating of the station over which the broadcast is aired. Ranges from $1 to $3. Newark outfit is meeting with stiff opposition in trying to put the rule Into effect, however, most of it com ing from Vince Dalley, brother of Frank Dalley, operator of the Mea-- dowbrook. Cedar Grove^ N. J. Mea. dowbrook is within the Newark 16 cal's jurisdiction and if the rule goes throu?h it will probably elimi- nate the Route 23 spot as a stand for name bands and bands being built One of the main reasons for booking outfits in there is the air time It gets, often as high as 10-12 shots per week. Rule and its resultant hardship would put a crimp In Rockwell General Amusement, too, which books most of the bands which lo- cate there. It's been more or less an RGA exclusive for some time, Charles Barnet orchestra, a Consoli- dated Radio Artists band, replaced Jimmy Dorsey there' last night (Tues.) but the booking was done thrnu^h Rockwell. Barnet is In till Aug. 12, when the former Frank Dailey orchestra, now led by Bill Marshall, Is scheduled to take over until Sept. 5. Glen Gray's Casa Loma outfit follows thereafter for seven weeks.. If the tax rule is instituted those bookings probably won't stand. Dailey.'Incl dentally. Is to resume directing his brM with this date. Glen Island Casino, Pelham. N. Y., is similar to Meadowbrook as an RGA stand valuable because of Its wires. Glen Miller's now there with Woody Herman, now at the Paramount theatre, N. Y., scheduled to go in Aug. 25. Murray's Tuck ahoe. N. Y., in opposition to Glen Island, was grabbed this year by Music Corporation of America for wire buildups. Van Alexander sup planted Red Norvo there this week. Both Glen Island and Murray's are outside N. Y. Local 802's jurisdic tion. Larry Clinton's orchestra,, which finished a. long stand at the Park Central hotel, N. Y., last night (Tuesday), was disbanded on corh- pletion of the date and Clinton will rebuild his outfit. Some of the men let go (about half) will form, the nucleus of the rebuilding. Clinton will retain Mary Dugan, who re- cently replaced Bea Wain as vo- calist, and will add Terry Allen, male vocalist formerly with Red Norvo. Ford Leary was former sax- vocalist. There had been a report that Clinton and Les Brown would com- bine their bai^ds and send it out un- der another's direction with Brown to assist Clinton on arranging, etc., but that's seemingly untrue. Clin- ton will do his Sensation Cigarette radio program and work only week- ends for several weeks. Set for the New York Paramount Aug. 30. Krupa Re-Panthering Gene Krupa orchestra returns to the Panther Room of the Sherman hotel, Chicago, Nov. -4 for at least six weeks. It's a return for Kt-upa who was in the room this spring. Harry James orchestra opens there Sept. 9 and stays till Krupa re places. Arthur Michaud, Krupa's handler, is negotiating for a New York hotel spot for the band, It being due to be closed late this week. Network Plugs. 8 Al. to 1 AM. Following is a totalization of the combined plugs of current tunes on NBC (WEAF ond WJZ), and CBS (WABC) comjmted for the week from Monday through Sunday (.July 17-23). Totol represents accumulated per/ormonccs on the tuio major Tietiuorfcs /rom 8 a.m. fo 1 a.m. iSymbot • denotes film song, t ie0tt, all others are pop. GRAND TITLE PUBLISHER TOTAL White Sails ..Feist 58 Lamp Is Low I...Robbins 42 Stairway to the Stars Robbins 42 I Poured My Heart. Into a Song. ..'Second Fiddle Berlin 40 This Is No Dream „ .' BVC ,. 32 All I Remember Is You. Remick '. 31 Comes Love... tYokel Boy Chappell ;... . 31 Moon Love Famous 31 Back to Back.. .'Second Fiddle. .Berlin 27 South American Way. ..tStreets of Paris Harms 25 Well All Right.. Leeds 25 Ain't Cha Comin'Out Chappell 24 Especially for You ...Shapiro 24 Go Fly a Kite...'Star Maker... Famous 24 Lady's in Love with You...'Some Like It Hot. ..Paramount 24 Strange Enchantment... 'Man About Town Famous 24 Don't Worry 'Bout Me... tCotton Club Revue.. ..Mills 23 Rendezvous Time in Paree,. .tStreets of Paris,. Harms 23 Sunrise Serenade ' Jewel Blue Evening... , Miller In the Middle of a Dream Spier To You. ..Paramount Beer Barrel Polka. ,, Shapiro ... Is It Possible...tStreets of Paris ....Harms Jumpin' Jive Marks Wishing, ..'Love Affair.. Crawford . You Taught Me to Love Again. Soier Cinderella Stay in My Arms ....Shapiro Oh You Crazy Moon.. Concert in the Park Witmark Man with the Mandolin.... Santly .. If I Didn't Care.., Chappell 23 22 21 21 19 19 19 19 19 18 ..Witmark 18 n,iVr«..rlrJ. A.'.« ? «;iin<!Pi Park' ^n Apple for the Teacher.. .'Star Maker Santly Bridgeport; Aug. 2, Sunset ParK, nj Remember...'She Ma ' ' " - — Carrolltown. Pa.; 3, Coney Island Cincinnati; 4, week, Eastwood Gar- dens, Detroit; 11, week, Westwood Gardens, Detroit: Waldorf<-Astoria hotel, N.Y., Aug. 24. Married a Cop Miller My Heart Has Wings .Red Star. -Start the Day Right ; Harms ... In an Eighteenth Century Drawing Room Circle ... I'm Sorry for Myself... 'Second Fiddle Berlin FISTS FLY AT DANCE. But Affair Not pn Police Blotter In Indianapolis Indianapolis, July 25. Duke Ellington orchestra, playing here Wednesday (19) for dance at Tomlinson Hall sponsored by Indian apolis Negro Press Club was the scene of plenty of action when 11 squad cars of local gendarmes were called to the scene of action to quell a riot Two prominent Negro poli- ticians were arrested on charges of drunkenness and assault and battery, but no reports of the fracas were available to newshawks on the po- lice beat. Cars were called by short wave radio to hurry to the dance, and be fore the S. O. S.'s. were finished at least 50 blue coated minions of. the law were on the scene. Pittsburgh Canned Music Issue Awaits Clare Meeder Pittsburgh, July 25. With Clare Meeder, president of Local 60, away on a three-week va- cation, temporary truce has'been de- clared in musicians union's , war'on hotels and cafes using canned'music for entertainment. Managers of dance spots have agreed not to make any more installations pending Meeder's return, at which time some sort of deal is expected to be worked out. Meeder has been burning plenty at local places for dropping live music in favor of the canned variety and with town minus stage shows in the- atres for first time in a decade, plight of Pittsburgh's professional musicians is becoming increasingly acute. At pre.icnt, moi-e than 2.000 of them are unemployed and that total is growing daily. Understood that upon his return, Meeder will Insist that dance spots use local bands more than the 13 weeks a year they agreed upon last season. Club he- intends to hold over their heads is a ban on all radio xe- motcs witliout paying, a move which for a time last year played havoc Privy Council Position Not Fully Known How far the Privy Council has gone in upholding 20th Century-Fox on the 'Man Who Broke the Bank-at Monte Carlo* case will not be known until -the British Empire's highest court has filed Its formal opinion. The Council last week refused to up- set a decision of the Canadian Court of Appeals which held that the film producer had not infringed on the rights of the copyright owner of the song version of "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo' by using it as the title of a picture. The lower Canadian court had ruled in favor of Francis, Day & Hunter, the suing publisher, and awarded it $1,000. The original suit had been insti- gated by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., agents for F. D. & H. in America, after Fox' had Ignored its demand that the producer take out a license for. the use of the title. The Canadian appeals court in dismissing the suit ruled that there had been no in- fringement of title and that the song itself had been thrown into the pub- lic domain as a result of the copy- right owner's failure to comply with the Canadian copyright act in eftect at the time the song was written. This phase of the decision threatens the validity of hundreds of thou- _sands_of_jTiu_sical works which were published prior to" Jan! 1, 1924,'with the result that British, Canadian and American publishers are awaiting with much interest the finding on this particular point by the Privy Council. Several of the major American publishers have made a practice of insuring themselves on the title angle of their musical publications by having a play written around the lyric and copyrighting the script as a dramatic work. This was not done in the case of 'Monte Carlo.' IT 17 IS 14 14 14 14 13 , . _- 13 Let s Make Memories Tonight. ..tStreets of Paris.. Harms 13 ~ ' ■"13 12 12 12 12- 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 Running-Through My Mirid ABC Old Mifi Wheel Ager. .... Shabby Old Cabby, ..Shabiro . Siri^; Song of Sunbeams.. .'East Side of Heaven.. Santly .. We Can Live on Love.. .tStreets of Paris Harnis .. A Man and His Dream...'Star Maker -.Santly .. And the An.^els Sing : BVC Begin the Beguina ....Harms .. Don't Look Now.... Chapoell Let's Disappear. Worns ... Moonlight Serenade. Robbins When Winter Comes.. .'Second Fiddle Berlin .. Night Must Fall... Marks .. Rumpel-Stilts-Kin BVC You Are-My Dream Marks ... Jimmy iMcHngh's ditty,. "Love Opened My'Eyes,' will be sung Inl with the nitcrics. Radio's their chief 'Rio' at Universal source of advertising. GOODMAN JIVE FOR BEVHILLS SWANKERY Hollywood, July 25. Swank Victor Hugo restaurant in Beverly Hills has booked in Benny Goodman's swingeroos Aug. 3 for a three-week stand. First time for a jive crew in the spot. Goodman will do a swing concert in Hollywood Bowl Aug. 3 to aid iPhilharmonic Continuance Fund. Victor Toung and Paul Webster sold their song, 'Birth of a Snow- bird,' for use in Sol Lessor's 'Every- thing's on Ice'. IS Best Sheet Music SeDers (Week endincf July 22, 1939) Sunrise Serenade . .1.,..; Jewel Baer Barrel Polka .'. Shapiro •Wishing ("Love Aftair') .Crawford Moon Love ....Famous White Sails Feist Stairway to the Stars ...'........... .Bobbins If I Had My Way Paull-Pioneer Concert in the Park Witmark If I Didn't Care Chappell Blue Evening ; Miller •Strange Enchantment ('Man About Town') Famous Three Little Fishies Santly •I Poured My Heart Into a Song ('Second Fiddle') Berlin Little Sir Echo BVC Lamp Is Low ..Bobbins • Filmusical. On the Upbeat Jimmy Dorsey orchestra draws the finals of the N.Y. Daily News Harvest Moon Ball at Madison Square Garden, N.Y,, Aug. 30. Elim- inations' ure currently being con- ducted by the paper. Artie Shaw had the assignment last year. Wayne King orchestra bows out night before and returns to Chi after three-week run. Benny Carter's orchestra -DX'd a jive program to BBC in London Monday (24) from NBC. Carter has a following In England personally. Ink Spots quartet play Shea's, Buffalo, week of Aug. 18 and Hipp, of the Hotel Roosevelt, N.Y., Grill I. Balto, Aug. 25. Latter date is the tonight (Wednesday) after which the room will be closed until the annual return of Guy Lombardo in the fall. Johiiny Davis is scheduled to re- place Jackson Teagarden orchestra at the Blackhawk Cafe, Chicago. Lennle Hayton's new orchestra and Johnny Long's band have been signed to.record for Vocalion. Bob Chester's new band, currently in rehearsal, is signed to Music Corp. of America and Bluebird rec- ords. Frankle Masters' orchestra will back the Eddie Anderson (Roches- ter )-Betty Grable unit when it comes east for vaude dates. Husk O'Hare and his reorganized band hit the road again Saturday (29) when they open an indefinite engagement at New Penn, Pittsburgh roadhouse. Henry Blauth closes second there in six weeks. Claire Martin sang with the Bob Zurke band on the Magic Key pro- gram Monday (24) and cut several records with it last week. She's Bobby Hackett's vocalist He's now at the Trocadero, N.Y. nitery. Phil Harris orchestra has signed with Bluebird Records but doesn't start recording till falL Recently left Brunswick. Johnny Green has deferred his scheduled date with the Philadelphia Symphony orchestra, originally set for July 31, until next summer due to. the press of radio work. His band is now on three radio shows. Sid Martin's orchestra set for the season at the Mountain House, Haines Falls, N. Y. Benny Goodman making more changes in his band. Buff Esty (Continued on page 47)