Variety (Jul 1940)

36 MUSIC W^dnesdny^ Jiilf 24, 1940 MARDEN'S RIVIERA ^EiSfGLEWpOD;- N.'>;)^ Al- TrahdnV iuWi Rose - Perfect^ George Givot, Terry I^aiolor, G}xayi- - dra^Kaly Dancers: (3), ■ Shea and , Rdymond; Le:o .ReisT7ia7u ond PaitKio'S | orchestras; . no cover,; $3.50 , and : $* . ntinmumr: ■ ■ .." . '• - ■ ■ New., lineup ■ of '. Beii 'iVIai'den;'$ ■ otherwise ultra' raadhousej .a 'K^^ hizard: affair, spotty .in its unfoldirig ^ -arid susceptible- ;t^^ >nent ■ with' ^judicious :pfuriin««^ arvd priming Perhaps the major short- coming is Ge6i"ge Givot's. indifferent, effect with' his hackneyed Greek, comedyV. He was. almost in: danger- ous waters at the dinner shbvv.. Cut- tiiVg inay improve hirri a bit;/ . /Ai Trahan, added starter,, .with. Rose Perfect doing the foiling whiere Lady Yukohai Cameron used to fit in, Was a last-minUte addition, which may have accounted for Leo Reis- ■ man^ unshowtnanly:. reading of the mdsic from the. score,: As result, with little eye to what Was going on. the cues were askew and the general effect'riot too good; .Offsetting this, however, was 'Trahan's yeoman sliowinanship arid, generally effective knockabbut comedy.; Shea, and Rayrnbnd with, their standard eccentric hodfology open- •Tei:ry Lawlor, piersbriable: i-edhead songstress, registers with her pops that range from 'Woodpecker' arid ail Irish nuriibeir to 'Spic and Span- ish* (with conga variation^) to 'Qld Man Mose.' Then Givbt< Qv<5rl6ng -.arid-dull;.. Chandra-Kaly Dancers, a riiari and two capable femme aides; in. an unique terpsichorean routirie, blend Indo-Ghiria dancing and Brazilian sambas, done in -bare feet (a la the, Jack Cole Siamesie manner), arid in ; very picturesque native getups. Chandra-Kaly trip ai^e the lone hold- , overs from. the pirevious show'', . with exception of the sturdy Reismari and Pancho orchestras. . > ■ : This is the. third of the Chester Hale: revues, the; 16 girls, all lookers, holding . over, with . acts... changed ' every four - weeks. ; Ideia. is. a .16- . week season,' shows ishifted. every month. . Pbr: the August, racing sea- son;.: when niariy vof the. Rfviera's regulars go. to Saratoga, a particu- , lai:ly strong show 'will be brought iri; headed by Joe E. Lewis to .bflfset the p.uU of the upstate spa. Biz good right along, the hot ; weather. a , natural' hit-the-road inducer. No ; covct; minirriurix $3.50 and $4; latter . *>h Saturdays. . , Abel. Cocoahut Crbve, N; Y. ; (FAItk ciENTBAt HOTEL) ; ' Sally Rand's *Star Studded R^vue,' ivith : Miss . Rcind, Mabel Nelson's Dogs, Roland, Dora Maugham, Biirt Hdrger & Charlbttc Maye, Valentin'- off, Sid Tomacfc & Reis Bros., (2); Buddy Clarke's Orch. 15c-$l, couvert. ■ Mayor LaGuardia's ' .ban is evi. dently the t»arfc Central Hotel's gain, • : Sally Rand moving . into .the Cocoa . nut .Grove, when she fpiind: that the , New- york Wbrld's Fair had posted a .'No Fan, Dancers Wainted' sign. She's .playing the roof room .on a percentage,jir;oviding , the wrible show; plus getting ai cut on the busL ness in the/^ocktail room. Room seats 350. - ".v , .- This 'Star Studded Revue.t for all of its corney title, is; a riifty flash for a popular-priced spbt such, as thils :It has' a couple bf weak, spots^ but . these can readily be remedied. Once past the opening. days' fixing it should be smbothTi'unnirig ■ for the : rest of the scheduled 11-week (plus options) run: . . . • Actually^ Miss Rand is jpresenting 'three shows, changing costumes and . routines for the dinner, supper and ' - 2 a;m. jsessions. It's probably the same system she had in force at the Music Box on the Coast, jwhiere,. with most of the girls currently appiearr ; ing, she ran for a year arid a half. Naturally Miss Rand is still the star of her own show* alterriatirig be^ tween fari and bubble dancing, aiid ; wearing a costumie that probjably ' cbmes ■; i n a small can: stamped -'ad- , hesive tape:' She; sells the nudity as alftisti'y, which removes, the cursie of offehsiveriess, though'the ringsiders are given enough of a iiash to dtooi; Practically the eritire show, in fact, is on : the nice side, the^ bnly exr . ceptipn being Dora; Maugham's naughty specials - and even less- : , cariibuflaged asides: Opiehirig night 'Miss: Maugharii, who has . grown quite: portly sindfe .the . twbra-day ,,:.days, became; - v^^^^ jrked at, some .inike : arid. band lapses arid did.ri't: mince words in -front; oJE :tHe ; audience. It ^ was a-:, display pf tampierariient that should-haVe befen • held for the dressing room: foi. lowing night she had. calmed down.; although a bad. raf>e ot\hecklers was ':.;wprkiri^/against; her.-,' :■ ; Two acts, in the shbW,- that .defi- nitely; don't:belong ai'e Roland XNew. Acts'; a Mexican satirist, and Mabel Neliibn's inconsequential dog act that has the added : handicap of being extremely slow. OlTCfe , past these turns the show rUris: cfiiite well, a(l- .tiiough a sock singer bi- hoofer, or bothy can be iised.- ■ .Mostnotable in the: prbduc;tiori is the costuming; also, the nice .rpu.-: tining 'bf the 12rgiri; line and seven shbwgiris; Miss Rand staged the -en-, tire thing, with an assist fi:bm Midge Fielding, the femriie stager pncfe at the Paiadlse on Brpadway, They've managed to weave jn nicely the ball- room routines bf Burt, Harger and Charlotte Maye. .gbbdlbbking team,, Valeritinbff and ;Flower, doing a biaiUet vai-iatibn bf the Coriga, ;and the comedy of the Sid "rbniack a^nd; Reis .Brbtliers; <2): - . .' ' : U^tter trio have a lot of material, but not aU of it ,is of the. best; They're dbing ^^eveial specials,' with 'We Are the Mountiies for M-G-M. lieihc tops, but their twist pri: Irvirig Bierlirt'ii 'Gpd Bless America,' anerit Kate Smith shbuld sing 'Gbd Bless the Bank of America,' is in the ppbrr est ppssible taste. Mpst bf the time they : Wprk ■ like llfe-pf-the-party boys; when they are less hectic and ;more - professional they are -much better. ^ " , Buddy Clarke's^ band, a hpldover in the Cbcoanufc Crbve, is playing, the show and the dancing and doing a nice job of both. Spot's cover has been raised from 50c ib ,75c week- days, but sticks at $1 oyer weekends, and indications thei second night werfe that Miss Rand niay recoup some of that big chunk pf coin she drbpbed in the . Nude Ranch at the San ;Frariciseb Expo: . : . ' ;ScHb, ■ VOGUE itpoM;i^ : ::'.^' ■: -;.|hoteiu^holleNde^ Clewclond, . July 20, JTacfc -Mnrshall, Caryl Gould, Her- bert taytdfs, Grace Morgan, Henry Cincione's Qrch; $1.50 wmimuni. ■ In spite of tough heait opposition. Jack Marshail is doing the sbckiest biz for the Vogue Rooiri that this intimate hotel: spot; has had since Gus Van. Clickb is particularly; un- usual since it's sirigmg comic's first rieturri visit to: hornetpwii in half dozen years. • ,' Lpcal-boy-makes-gppid stufltv as a rale-boomerangs here, but Marshall is puiiing in set of : gbod-spenders who remem'ber nostalgically when he played trombone and clowned in Austin Wylie'S: outfit at old; Gplden iPheasant before he joined .Benny Mefoff's unit. : Gbing sblp, Marshall shows he is a. cbrking : all-around trouper' .whose volatile personality stuff gets clierits on his side quickly, As.;;a mugger, his. rubber-faced iriipersonations of everybody from Pbpeye to Paul Revere are howlers in rpbust mimicry; What gets theni nipst is his smart, vivid panto with a hat,; tied only by a rapid-fire travesty on radio announcers in 'Night in Day.' Character' of- Joe Slobotsky, Polish coal niinei:, is a flne.;piece Of com^y work revealing Marshall's real fbrte. Should do more like it, but this clientele derrii^nds variety and keeps him going like a human- dynamo for nearly 20 rninutes.. ; Caryl '-Gould, very inueh ' photo genie, gives 'em a good eyeful and ^cheerful earful of pop ballads swung high and fast. A little .top' nervbus and. theatrical'at fli'st, but her^ vbice has freshness as ■welt as Verve in things like 'Dp I Lpve You.' Ball room, dub of Herbert Taylors merely passable, in hackneyed rbutines that don't .miss one .cliche, but rhodierate- ly liked. . Henry Cincione's dance- able orch is .holding the stairid until Closes With Anthem , San Fi aiVciscb, July 23. lienry Busse '. playing ; 'Star Spangled B^niier' every night as closer at Palace Hblel, San Fran-. cisco, since band .bpene.d-June 18. Says every band should: do it in these times. ■ Act; di'ew hearty; iommendatibn fI'^om Mayor:Ro.ssi, Who penned letter, of appreciar tion,., which got Busse's picture in the papers. Biisse w i ll go, to Holly wood ■ i ri, ;:Octbber tb, rhake a feature: pic- ture for Columbia and • .short: for Warners,, July 29. when George Duffy takes over baton.: Interludes nicely filled by Grace Mbrgan, whb. plays plenty of £>iano iiv conversational tempos. .X. .Pullen. EMPIRE ROOM, CHI ■■ ■ (PAL1VIEB HOUSE) . •"' :' V. Chicago, July 20. . Ray Noble"brc»i (16), Igor arid Grace Poggi, Temier and Spuift, fexas Ramblers . (i), Valerie thon; Gary Stone, Dick Barstow, Abbott. Diincers, Do^n Francisco Orch; (Mini- tnuni $3, Saturdays, $3.50). On this show is the Ray Noble orchestra. And. that's all, at least where the entertainment conies in; ■ Noble's new group does a fine job on melodic dansapation and general accompaniment for the show. It gets a bit loud at times, but that is indicated. as the fault of: the sound system, and hot the outfit, which is well-founded arid rburided.: Band can do; about anything, with ari instru- mentation that. permits Viennese waltzes to be played in original fbrni ais well as in faster tempos for. the younger hoofologist. : <Band has size arid distihctiori. with the; vioiiris given a pbsition pf 'promi- nence, ;which is .in itself almost a novelty among present-day prchesr tras. In every; way, it is a standbut prchestra and particularly suitable for a subdued, dining and dancing roorn such as the :Ernpire. ,. ] : \ But the rest of the. show;is pn the Pther side . bf the" street, aind lacks every tpuch that makes the Npble prchestra worthwhile. .Where the rest. are concerned, it' is a cheajp show, and the turns are essentially small-time, especially for the Palmer HpUse, which deserves better treat- ment. ', :'• Attempt, is made tp be barri-dance in a smart-alec sort pf. way and the stunt is missed coriipletely. Show displays corn from every angle. Gary Stone is.m.c. and invites every one to the 'dude x-anch show.' Texas Ramblers are a male quartet with fair pipes and practically no show- manship.' They sing standard tunes without rriuch on the ball, being dressed in cowboy suits. Tenner and Swiff, are rope spinners, orie Pf whom is passably gppd ' while the other fbund it tough here to get by with even the most simple stunt. ' Valerie Thon is' a graduate frorifi the Abbott line. She's npW dping a dancing single, but unimpressively. While an attempt was made in the Pther turns ,tp keep' to the dude ranch theme, the dance team of igbr and Poggi are announced as 'guests.* They are a ballrborii coiiple ^who are more adagip than; ballrppm. They wprk hard and earnestly l)ut' lack distinctipn. Dick Barstpw leads the chbrus line at the finish and handles hiriiself well enpugh as a dancer. Particularly meek is the. current Merriel; Abbott line .with, colorless ' routine. About the best stunt of the layout is Some front-overs by the •chorus. Abbott line was always long Pn acrbbatics and shprt on routine beauty, and the. current Abbott chorus emphasizes that point. Don Francisco band is a fill-in specializing in tropical instrumentar tiort and rhythms. ; Gold. -music ■. The pro-ASCAP riiusic .riieuj who are fingerpoihtirig at BMI'S belief it can .pick; Song .hits wriUen by amatetirs^ point to an amateur song writing cpntest which.; the late Lbtr^ampnd, head of., Fampu.s.; aijd..ParamoMnt Music Corps., tied in w^ True Confessions. Sam Coslpw was to: set the melody for the best lyric,; the winner to get a standard rbyalty contract, a guarantee of a Glenn Milier recording: arid a synchrpnization ,into a .Para- mbunt film subject (presumably a short). ' The coritest npw pyer. pf the 39,000 Submissipns the eight judges' firiailly selected a lyric titled 'This Is (j'lir Last Night. Tbgether,' by Mrs. Pauline Bouchard, 93 Hearth, avehue; Cbhpes; N: Yi,'iivhP ;has yet to] be notified pf her win via 'a fbrthcoming "True Confessions! edltiohl' - : . - '' : " The essence of, the cpntest is-that t general riiedipcfity bf all 39,000 cpntributipos made, it almpst inippssible .. to> pick approaching .quality ■ and ,GbslpW is /nbw faced'^^,^ Bouchards' wordage into, acceptable sl^ape fpr publiciatip . Columbia Recbrds ;is currently supplying bands pn its new Okeh label with; 18xl2rinch penriarits tp. be• hung, pne on each side o f the bandstand, when one of its crews is. working. Pennants, made up in 'blue and; white, read 'Hear Us on Okeh Records'. '■'v : ' . Victor Records currently has; a method of aldyeVtisihg with their recbrd- irig. putftts atsb. Fbr sonie; tiine; they've .;been ,supply Victor bands .with bass drum heads on. whidh aire, painted Us tradernar . ; • ; . • Network Plugs. 8 A.M. to 1 A.M. ' Following ii a totalization of the com}}ined plugs of current tuneg on NBC, (WEAF and WJZ) and CBS (WABC) computed for the week from Monday through Sunday (July 15-21). Total represents accumuMed performances on the; two viajftr netruorks from 8 a.m, io 1 a.m. Symbol • denotes fihn song, f stage niusicaIs, all otheri arepop. Pdte^^^ after .Ilje tifle iiidioaie* iiow tnatiy; weeks the song has shqW^^^u^ PUBLISHER ♦Andy Hardy Meets Deb.. . . . Feist . listinigrs. .: TITLE I'm Nobody's Baby (6) I'll Never Smile Again 1.6) . . : ;...... ; , . Sun Sierra Sue (11)..-.;. . ^:'r.v^^ ■.. • ■„.... Shapiro .., I. Can't Lbve You. Any.More (.12)....,.;. i ......v Olmari ;;;, Fools Rush In (8). .. ' BVC Nearness of You (6)......;;. .. v;...; < .... r • Faridous .. I'm Steppin,? Out With Meri^ory Tonight (6);;. .... .,.. :.Rbbbins Meet the Sun Halfway (11) ., .*lt I Had My Way..;..,. Sahtly Make-Belieye Island .(13)..;■..;.. .■.■.;.•.'.'. ;, ..Miller tLbuisiana Pu.rchase.; Berlin .:.' ........ .. ; ;:. .......;. Witmark YbU're Lonely, I'm Lonely (lO) .; Devil May Cai e' (8). Mr; MeadPwlark (5);. .... . . .....;'. ...................;s . Mercer . . . Hear My Spng Vipletta (9).: ;.,..'. v, .. ; :.. . Crawford . Madairie La Zonga (6)...;...-.. V.............. BVC :.;.;. Playmates:(17)....... ...i. '. - .;......-... . wSantly; ■',.. Imaginatipn (15)....,.:...... . .... .•.'■.V........,. v. ABC .;;:. Breeze arid I (12).;.. ..'... ............... v.;... Marks Where Was I'? (16)... >'Til We Meet Agairi.:. :;......Rernick... I Can't iResist You (9):..: i ...;.;,;..:. v...,:. ..-..Acer i.. When Swallpws Come Back: to Gapistrahp (4).. .. .• ::. .. Witmark . All This, and Heaven Tob (5); ■. ♦ATHT. .;,. . . . , . . Remick >J.: Fable of Rbse (4).... ..........;v,.. •. • •; . Harms /; God Bless America (1)........:....................;.. Berlin ...... April Played Fiddli^ (5) . . m I .Had My Way ;....:.;.. Saritly .. i Orchids for Remembrance (3).............. .v.....;.. ..Miller Please Take Letter Miss Brown (3)...... . ... .'.v...-..... Paramount Blueberry Hill (2)..............;.....................ChappeU . It's Lovely Day Tomorrow (2).; .tLbuisiana Purbhasei .rBierlin ... .v. You Can't Brush Me Off (8).. itLouisiaha Purchase, . . .Berlin .... , Hbw Can I Ever Be Albne? (6)... t American Jubilee... Chappell .. Polka Dots, Moonbeams (4).... . , .............. /Berlin ,.,.:: Yoiirs Is My Heart Albhe (12)...+Land of Smiles.;. ...Harms . Blue Lovebird (10)...*pillian Russell.. . . .:;..;.; <.v. . . Feist; . . . . Tennessee Fish Fry . (10):^. . tAmer . Chappell .. A Lover's: Lullaby (7) ........ ^. '. . . .... Jewel ; /:.. orand TOTAL 31 . • 29 , 29 . 25 .. 24 . ■•/18- .18 .17 . 17 . 19 : 16 . 18 15 . 15 .14 . '14 ... 14 . .13 ; 12; 12 12 . 12 . 11 : 11 11 10 . 10 .- 9 ■ 9 . •■ 9' , 8 .• :i8;: ■■■ ■ 3 •'8 Band Reviews •Strictly, from the; jobbers' bulletins; sans single radio plug, Larry Spier, Inc's new publicatibn, 'Your Flag and Mine,' has sold 17,000 copies in less than a week. Benny Davis and Hariy Akst wrbte it. • Ppints ui) to the trade that Americarii music buyers are yery patriptiip-iminded. PHIL HARRIS ORCHESTRA (15) With Ruth Robin, Earl Evans 'Turnpike jGaisiiio^ Linco Phil: Harris does not step out of character from the Jack Benny shpw when roadshowing about the coun- try. He's out now, because he fig- ured he cbuld. .rriake more income tax fodder on the road than he could by staying on • the cpast with promise pf' a small part in the Benny - Allen betweeri-radio-seasons flick, . 'Love Thy Neighbor.' Thus far,; the Harris judgment has been vindicated, and. he's had' excellent turnouts ! on his string of 38 one- riighters, how better than half com- pleted. . Harris uses -his' band' merely- to fill in ;the hples ;while; he's drawing breath, vpcally. fondling the mike for all^ br most of every number. He likes to slip . in such pieces as .''Man Who Comes Around,' to . which' he adds near-dirty : seasonirig,; arid . his manner in the warmer humSug-^ gests his stick shaking,, cprisidering: the upturned faces of femmes near, the rostrum, js improper usage of hiis time.. !Ruth; Robiri, the . girl chirper, is okay, and Harris, in his cprilinUal gaibi cheats the audience out of Earl Evans, Who gets in only •a cdiiple of tunes. He can sing. The Benny cracks about Harris* brass section aren't dreamed,' be- cause they, really are heard. He has three trombones. Ken Morgari, Irvin Verret, arid Bill Fletcher, and three trumpets, George Kennedy, Roy Wager, and Ralph Dadisman, When unsmothered in respect to a vocal, they can bear db'wn. Two pianos are Charles Bagby, and Skippy Ander- son; guitar, Frank Remley; drums, Sam Taylor; basis, Stan Fletcher; arid the saSces. Jack Mitchell, Wayne Songer, Earl Evans, and Jack Echols. However corny in style and geri^ era! packaging; Harris is .wise in not departing.from expectancy. He does, see,to it that all arrangements are easily, danceable,, but he overwprks himself. Miich better for him would be vocals every third; or fourth set, with Evans and the Robin girl giv- ing him a rest He starts with a rostrum cluster in the early evening, but fails to see it start thinning put at the halfway mark and take cue therefrpm. He's pkay fpr the sitters' whp just want tp listen and watch. . Harris is a hard worker, tries to reach put tp everybody., and gets pyer well enough: He's an ideal pne- night^ stander, giving a bit pf music, Wt.of Show, and. the chance to look upon one . who is associated with celebrity. ■'.:: Aft.' CLARENCE. PROFIT TRIO Hotel Times Sq., N.Y. : crarence Profit swinging on the black-and-whites is nbt'new. Hi.s trip ■ first. came tP attentlpn at the Village Vanguard in New. York's Greenwich Village. and Tiei ■ Is .siini^. larly putting a new basement grill- room at an' 8th avenue hostelry, the Hotel. Times Square, bri the map, be- cause the jive disciples.iare seeking ^but that. spot. It's a: nice air-condi- tipried room, very inexpensi,ve, with drinks from: 30c and never a cover or mihimurii, hence 'a great fall-iri spot. More cbinfprtable than the 52d street traps, the kids aire being lured, by Profit and his aides (bass and- •guitar) plus Bob Howard. Latter is a commercial songologist whp errs on overdping his stuff. He; was long at Will Rpckell's Swing. Street spot, Mammy's Chicken Farm, arid is a fixture Pn WOR-Mutual. .. . Trio is the real swingpphile lure. Profit's piariolbgy and arrangeriierits • far eclipse Howard's digit dexterity on the Steinway, • but the latter is a better .personality : with endless vo- calizing of pbps. Profit's.threesome is equally expert for, the hoof, but particularly good for straight alii-; gator• appreciation. • Having a WOR ■ wire, the' colored trip . and the. Har- lemesque Howard have becpiri* must-see spots for the niusic pub* lishers. ' Abel, ISHAM JONES ORCHESTRA Terrace Griil> Hbiei Muehlcbach Kansas City, Mo^ , Band which the veteran leader and composer, Isham ' Jones, has under his baton currently was a.ssemblei last .fall. • It's a group of youngish rplayers whp by this time form a well-Jtriit organization. Jones has his, crew styled for commercial dandinj primarily, fitting nicely into such a spot as this. Present crew of 1.2 is Ipng pn brasa and reeds, cbmplying with the .cur- rent trend to the Glenn Miller style. Leader plans to; individualjize; his band with the addition of a fiddle trio shortly, arid plans to use the strings 'prominently in all. arrange- ments. While the violins' may be overshadowed in ballrooms and larger halls, Jones figures them to fit ideally into the more intimate spots such as the Grill arid is intending to specialize in this style Of music; Ac- cording : to the customers' requests, jive is on the way out and patrons are seeking ' imore; and more the sweet tunes .with-a. lilting rhythm. While his orch is heavily equipped in arrangements of this type ait pres- ent the leader expects new string: section .to /SWeeten aind smooth the out , Singing chbres are- haridled by Connie .Starr, a riecrerit addition, and Warren Govingtbri. Miss Starr joined troupe in Omaha where she vocalled Via Wow. Dbes nicely by tha rhythm type of spng with a voice tendinig' toward the Mildred Bailey style. . Thus she handles 'I .Can't/. Love You Anympre' ■fp'r better, ra- sults than 'Star Dust.' Gal has c|a.ssy appearance in additiph. Covington obliges in the baritone range on ballads. Likewise a riiore recent ad- dition to the band and a decided asset.- '.::':'-,.: ■:: .;;. .--x'"- ' .■• Brass section lists Joe:Gutrart,: Ra.v:; Aspinal and Phil Marack on the trumpets with GPvirigtPn sliding the trombone. In the reeds Bill Hit?:, Leri Hartzell, Russ Hartzell and Robert Trctz tppt saxes and double on clarinets and flutes. Ed Hariip .s;trumS bass. Lew.: Jbhnston .ta|)S. drums, Sal ■ Bellomb thumps piano,, and AI' Orient.: fingers piano;. Jones takes an occasional. at;the keyboard, : and concentrates on arranging sno composing, currently plugging i new 'dream' ballad. ,.; ' ' ' '■, Following two 'weeks in the CrilL crew'is sk'edded for a week on the stage Of the Tpwer theatre. Quin.