Variety (Jan 1940)

Wednesday,^JanuaTy-3, 1940 Thirty.fourth VARIETY Anniversary RADIO 89 The Radio Hillbilly Still Wows 'Em By Edgar A. Grunwald The fair and outdoor season of 1939 was a whopper for those blow- jug Indians who long ago (accord- ing to predictions) were supposed to be ready to bite the dust—i.e., the hillbillies. It may be that stix nix hick pix, but—according to all avail- able information in this sector—it is just as true that the rubes still like the rustic blues. Basically, the hillbilly and his jlicker brother, the Texas cowboy, are radio inventions. Some stations have artists bureaus which do noth- ing but book "billies into fairs, straw- berry festivals and other plow-jockey events of similar ilk. During the current season one of the most active of these (aside from the well-known WLS bureau) has been the KMBC booking bureau in Kansas City. Operated by Jimmie McConnclI (who has been in on similar ventures for WLS, WTAM, KDKA and WGY dur- ing the past. 12 years). It made 377 bookings during the first 10 months this year. During the past two years bookings have totalled 625, which means that about 1,000,000 apple- knockcrs have stared at the KMBC hirelings when on p.a. tours. On the basis of this increasing mo- mentum, it is not unlikely that Mc- Connell can soon figure on a year which will total around $100,000 in bookings. Parenthetically, KITE, also in Kansas City, has garnered (omething like 130,000 letters in five months this year as the result of using principally hillbillies for tal- ent. Radio in Every Cell McConnell, who would rather hear the coyote wail of a hillbilly than Lily Pons' soprano, believes that the 'billy—far from being burnt out— itill has plenty of entertainment vi- . talily. McGonnell's argument is thnt entertainment cycles run through several decades, and that the hillbilly therefore has a long way to go be- fore his demise is scheduled to come around. Vaudeville had few hillbilly acts (Weaver Bros, and Elviry was an ex ception) so it was radio that put over the hillbilly. Badio took them out of the Kentucky cabins and cross- roads square dances and popularized them to millions of people. It was through the medium of the ether that the guitar-twongcrs, originally nothing but amateurs playing for their relatives and friends, were lifted from the parlor to the podium, The classic radio hillbilly gang (the equivalents of the original Dixieland Jazz Band in the jitterbug field) were the 'Skillet Lickers* whom Lambdin Kay started on WSB, Atlanta. This aggregation was com- posed of Gid Tanner, Riley Pucket, Clayton McMitchen, and Slim Bry^ ant 'That was 15 years ago. True to the hillbilly style of that time, this bunch specialized in the 'hoe down'—that Is, they played square dance music. There was very little, if any, singing, and the principal in struments were the fiddle, guitar and banjo. Through later radio produc- tion efforts (in part) such frills as the accordion and the girl singer were added. That's another angle that makes the hillbilly unique— he was, and in some places still is, pri- marily a man's organization. In Kansas, for Instance, girls are not • big draw In hillbilly units. A pretty face means less than a snappy fiddle. Cheapness Prime Virtue Radio started the hillbilly, of course, because he was a cheap en- try on the payroll—a fact which still holds good today. To overcome this lack of pay, the nasal vocalists soon found new means of revenue. One of the earliest of these gags was sell [ng hillbilly songbooks. • The dopier T)illies would let publishers put their P'x on the covers of these albums, and thus work on royally. But the smart guys—like Asher Sizemore— printed their own. Sizemore in one Classic week sold $10,000 worth of songbooks (incredible or not his total Jntake in the radio business is said to be over $1,000,000). Bradley Kin Mid, another smartie, sold something 'we 300,000 songbooks between 1927 ?na 1930. Today the songbook gag IS nearly dead, although periodic re vlvals are atlcmp{ed. ,jAs.,a result of this early radio ^st.-vthe hillbillies expanded ?ree directionsf • (1) Around 1930 Jr*^^^<'6<l. 'airs and similar festivals list of revenue-producers ^) they began to spread their ap 3) tt, '""^"strial .(city) folks; and "nade phnno.ijrnph records sIx t^*^' * 8°°^ hillbilly troupe of (Jav can draw around $250 per haUiv, 11^***™ fairs and count about ">« In less populous areas. This Intake becomes so-great that many stations pay the hillbilly nothing at all. In fact, some of the performers work free and additionally give the stations 15% of their p.a. receipts. The Texas cowboy, or ranger, meantime has come into existence. Frequently a better musician than the true hill- billy, he is also frequently more of a phoney. Plenty of the Texas aggre- gation are nothing but re-conditioned AF of M boys who were out of a job and looked okay in 10-gallon hats. Not tiood, But Noisy But the true hillbilly—the guy who comes from the mountains—is a rotten musician, and his basic melo- dies are built on flddle music. Most of these birds can't read a score. They learned their hoe-down from square dances, and their sad songs are really nothing but corruptions of old English folk music which, when isolated in the hills, took on a bit of disguise. Nor is the hill- billy a professional in any sense of the word. He's an amateur, pure and simple. Clayton McMitchen, for instance, was an auto mechanic when he got his radio break. Bradley Kin- caid was a student in Berea College (and for years afterward went back to old Kaintuck to replenish his repertoire from mountain cabins). Gardner Eckler and Roland Gaines were farmers. And others were vil- lage idlers who did nothing at all but drink corn likker and crave dancing. For this reason, most of the true hillbillies never get into any other branch of the entertainment busi- ness. Since they learned to play by ear—usually only major chords in a key requiring no more than three sharps or flats—they stay there. The audience often likes 'em corny. Too good a troupe in Kansas or Missouri would be murder at the b.o. Too poor a one in industriar areas would be ditto. A hillbilly must either make the audience laugh or cry. Anything in between is n.g. However, between the Texas cow- boy and the bookings in bigger cities, some changes have been made. New instruments ere being added to hillbilly bands, the AF of M influ- ence is seeping in, and there is even one all-girl hillbilly band with quite a name (the Coon Creek Girls). This influence is far from universal, but it is increasingly felt. Not so long ago the hoit-toity Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh put hillbillies into one of its soirees. And meantime the fid- dling aggregations have largely dropped the colorful nanies they sported of yore—such as Skillet Lickers, Gully Jumpers, and Fruit Jar Drinkers. Gals are also begin- ning to show silk-encased knees over cowboy boots. But most of the new crop of hillbillies are coming from the same place as their forerunners did—off the farm, and from the pool- room or cross-roads post-oflice St. Paul, Jan. 1. Warden Utecht's drive for a radio in every cell culminated successfully at Stillwater (Min- nesota State) penitentiary. So happy did widespread set installation make the cons, that in an effort to lift its esprit de corps, the slate reformatory at St. Cloud followed suit although officials said they were merely making a start and would not actually have every cell equipped a la Stillwater for sev- eral months.. Utecht has maintained that convicts have it tough enough without having to be deprived of radio fare, Several Stillwater lifers had never heard a radio set before last week—and result- ant publicity in Minnesota met- ropolitan newspapers won't do the warden's scrapbook a bit of harm. Radio, Patriotism and Henry Ford Station Ideas A lot of 'em are joining the thougt\ in special pay-scale bench, union, classes Jimmie McConnell's nomination for the leading hillbilly specialists of the current day—the so-called stars in the field—would include: Bradley Kincaid, Hoosier Hotshots, Texas Rangers (now in Hollywood), Lulu Belle and Scotty, Louise Mas- sey and Westerners, Asher Sizemore and Little Jimmy, Pappy Cheshire, Carson Robison Buckaroos, Girl^ of the Golden West, Red Foley, Arkan- sas Woodchopper, Mack and Bob (blind), Clayton McMitchen, the Ranch Boys, Tex Owen, Zeke Man- ners and Hiram Higsby. Meantime in certain sections of the U. S., the total radio volume of hill- billy fare is actually growing. For as new stations get started, they are apt to specialize in 'billies' to get a quick mail count WOL's Donble or Nothing Washington. Two-way plan to add to listener interest t., WOL and pack "em in at a local theatre debuts this week with the 'Double or Nothing' quiz pro- gram. Contestants will be interviewed in the audience by Walter Compton, MBS announcer, who offers $1 for the correct answer to each question. If the contestant can provide additional' information on the subject he gets cxira dollars for each bit of info. Novel part of the show is the ap- peal to the gambling instinct of the interviewee. At the conclusion of the one minute period during which he is allowed to supply all the facts at his command, Cumpton will dare him to a second question—'double or nothing.' Smarties can double their winnings by a right answer, or lose all. Cautious winners can accept money already won and pass up the chance to increase their take. Deal was arranged between Loew'a Capitol theatre and the Wa.shington MBS outlet Sponsor for the pro- gram—a weekly—will be sought as soon as pulling-power of the pro- gram has been checked. Miss Blackett Debuts To Glenn Miller's Music Chicago, Jan. 1. Hill Blackett of the firm of Black- ctt-Sample-Hummert Thursday (28) imported the Glenn Miller orchestra from New York to supply dansapa- tion at the Blackstone hotel for the debut of his daughter, Patricia. Miller almost failed to make it due to faulty train connections. Maestro, incidentally. Is sponsored by a completitive agency's (Newell- Emmett) account. Phi Beta No Handicap San Francisco, Jan. 1. All this talk of radio and the 12- year-old mentality falls on deaf ears at KFRC. Station has hired two members of the intellectual fratern- ity. Phi Beta Kappa, Announcer Mark Goodson and Melba Toombs, writer-actress, are the thinkers. Liven Up Station Breaks Washington. Fed up with monotonous drone at station breaks, Bill Dolph, manager of WOL, has put them to music. With several discs to choose from, stand- by announcers now let the dialers know what station they're hearing with either a four-verse ditty or a football cheer. Local listeners still haven't re- covered from the shock. By EDWARD SMITH The United States has been de- veloping an acute patriotism during 1939. This quickly reflected iUelf In radio programs. The trend was, in fact fed and led in some measure by radio. Kate Smith's frequent singing of 'God Bless America' with much feeling and nation-wide reaction was symptomatic of the new trend. Most prominent change occurred with the Ford Hour which went American with such a vengeance that it provoked strong—If private— grumblings from world-famous mus- ical artistes who, although of Amcriv can nationality as insisted by Henry Ford, had no inclination to identify themselves with the village singing bee type of musical selections regu- I larly handed them since Hitler in- vaded Poland and anything Euro- pean became verboten. I One Metropolitan opera singer has been drawing 'Coming Through the Rye' and 'Home, Sweet Home' so much she is reported alarmed that it may affect her professional prestige. All suggestions made to the au.'ipices of arias and semi-bravura stuff have lieen politely ignored. Artists take position patriotism and good music ought not to be antag- programs Happy Club for Kids Fort Wayne. WO WO has formed a new 'Happy Club' for children. Idea is to aid in keeping the kiddies clean and to de- velop such habits as regular hair combing, tooth brushing, etc. Jay Ck)uld, 'The Old Songsmith,' is spon- sor of the club. Program heard week-day mornings before kids leave for school. In few weeks In ex- istence show Is already drawing more than 200 new memberships weekly. Clubs have been formed in 25 smaller towns in area. Kids get olTicial membership card, a daily habits chart and a club song sheet Hunting and Fishing Club Philadelphia. Lambert Beeuwkes (cq), sales pro- motion manager of KYW, has mailed 2,500 compasses to sportsmen in 262 towns in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Part of buildup for the station's hunting and fishing club. Radio's New Talent-Wherefrom? By Joe Schoenfeld Commeircial radio's talent picture took a sharp about-face in 1939. The new program trend away from va- riety shows into the gimmick-type of entertainment may soon place radio in the position where It will have to devise a gimmick that will furnish it with new talent In many respects, the changing radio perspective parallels vaude- ville. It may not be exactly ominous that the up-and-coming industry is moving within the same orbit of an art that's nearly dead, but some of the very same things that went into vaude's mickey-flnn were and are evident in the radio trend. ■ Vaudeville was doomed when it closed its family and break-in time, the proving grounds for actors. Commercial radio's forsaking of the once highly popular variety pro- grams parallels this, and commercial radio's reasons are very much like those extant in vaudeville. Major reason, of course. Is the cost, and this, as in vaudeville, includes the sponsors' complaint that actors and/or agent-; skyrocket salaries the moment there's a nibble for a radio guest shot. The squawk that actors' salaries had gone too high was fre- quently heard from theatre opera- tors. It's now echoed by the spon- sors, who also can point to the fact that some very inexpensive radio programs have and hold higher C.A.B. ratings than many high-priced -packafiei. ■ There's much pro and con on tne salary question, and too much of It is familiar for further highlightmg here, but no matter who or what's right, the fact remains that a stopper has been Inserted in the fountain of new radio talent. 'Same Old Faces' A VAniCTT story last summer stated that the 'same old faces' were com- ing back on the air for commercial radio in the fall. These naturally in- cluded Jack Benny, Edgar Bergen, Bob Hope, Fibber McGee and Molly, Burns and Allen, Fred Allen, Al Pearce, Joe Penner , and Tommy Riggs.. They are radio's lop comedy names, which should more forcibly bring home to radio the importance of the variety, shows in bringing put new clicko air personalities. Five of these nine names—Hope, Bergen, Burns and Allen, Penner and Riggs —ail came into radio via guest shots on Rudy Vallee's program. It's also notable that one of the current top names in radio, Alec Templeton, skyrocketed from guest appearances on Bing Croby's Kraft Music Hall. Latter, incidentally, is now virtually the only program on the air using guest performers, but even here the practice has been cur- tailed. The showcasing and development of new radio talent received its se- verest blow with the demise of Val- lee's one-hour show for Standard Brands after 10 years' highlighting of new personalities. The switch in the routine of Kate Smith's program, from guests to set personalities and the Group Theatre players, also will be felt. Miss Smith is probably most Identifled with bringing Abbott and Costcllo, former burlesque comedy team, into radio prominence. She also gave Henny Youngman, comic, a strong buildup, but this didn't take concrete form. Exit, More Gocst Shows Another personality Identifled with building up talent is Eddie Cantor; but he, like Vallee, Is now oil the air. Cantor played up Deanna Durbin and brought out Bobby Breen, both now in films. The former is one of pictures' top b.o. names. Besides the fact that the passing of the guest-shot programs will ham- per the discovery of radio talent, it also means the loss of a lucrative field for actors and agents alike. The Vallee and Kate Smith programs weren't hard to crack by vaudeville, legit and screen talent with such bookings paying" from $500 to as high as $1,500 and more per appearance. Lou Holtz's run on the Vallee pro- Kram in its closing months, at $1,000 per week, is an example of the In- come these shows afforded. Carman Miranda, current in 'Streets of Paris,' at the Broadhurst, N. Y., likewise re- ceived $1,000 weekly from Standard Brands for several weeks. Her sal- ary in the show is $500 for eight shows weekly, the radio salary was for one show weekly. The past season Indicated further the sponsors' tre;id towards gim- micks, and audience-participation programs. They're cheaper and their popularity hasn't appreciably dimmed—th^y also perhaps riin a more uniform course in the way of entertainment—but when this cycle passes, what next? The same old faces? are ohistic. Unbalanced feared as a blow at the artist. Another artist on the Ford series, a tenor, was joshed by his musical associates when the aria 'La Donna e Mobile' from 'Rigoletto' which sounded swell in Italian as "La Donna e mobile, qual piu mal ventp, muta d'accento, e dl pen.siero' was whacky in English as 'Woman is fiickle, light as a feather borne on the breezes, as in fair weather.' Deliberately Second Rate While the salaries remain as high as they do. It Is not likely that the squawk will be carried to the point of dropping the program. However the singers hope somebody may tell the sponsor American audiences are"* not so backward musically that they cannot appreciate and desire th« .same music which fills the concert halls of these singers or instrumenta- lists eyery time they make a public appearance. A case in point was Marian Ander- son who guested on the Ford hour Dec. 24, with Fritz Reiner conduct- ing the symphony orchestra . Not for nothing is this Negro femme a topper on the concert lists. Rich, full con- tralto voice, pure and colorful tone and emotional depth are hers. But as is usual with the Ford series. It. was a case of a great talent presented ■' at its commonest common demonina- tor. A spiritual, 'Mary, Where's Yo Babe?' sung without accompaniment, was impressive and stirring, but the rest of the selections she was given to sing could have been handled by almost any proficient vocalist. The Ford hour is thus at the moment probably the outstanding example in radio of a wealth of artistry habitu- ally squandered on deliberately second-rate material. Connecticot Radioites No?e« Waterbury, Conn., Jan. I. . Harry DeVorken dispatched by WBRY to commercial managership of New Haven substation, replacing Ralph Gottlieb, who's gone to WGBI, Scranton, Pa. Ted Huston, an- nouncer, has shifted from WBRY to WMAS, Springfield, Mass., to take place of Stuart Wayne, another former WBRY spieler who's switched to WTHT, Hartford. Edith Sacco, sister of Tony Sacco the composer, has joined WATR as staff pianist. Truman Craine has shifted from WNBC, New Britain- Hartford, to WMAS engineering de- partment. WNBC's hired Bill Mur- tough, formerly of WMCA, as well as announcer Harry Robator, ex- WMAS. WFAA, WQAM Bonus Dallas. Jan. 1. All staff members of station WFAA got a Christmas bonus check. One week's salary. Ditto WQAM, Miami Miami. .Ian. 1. Cash bonuses, amount undisclosed, were distributed at. station WQAM by F. W. Borton and W. W. Luce, the toppers. An optimistic note for 1940 waa also sounded with the statement that if busine.ss keeps up the bonus next Christmas will be larger.