Variety (Sep 1942)

Wednesday, September 16, 1942 ORCHESTRAS S9 lOTLLO TOCED" TO nGHT ker Davis, Fly Top Witnesses On Senate Resolution Asking AFM Probe Washington, Sept. IS. Elmer Davis, chief of the office of War Information, and James Law- rence Fly, chairman of the Federa) Communications Commission, will head the parade of witnesses before the Senate interstate commerce sub- committee, which will open pubUc hearings Thursday (17) to consider Senator D. Worth Clark's resolu- tion calling for an investigation of James C. Petrillo and his American Federation of Musicians. Originally scheduled to start yes- terday (H), the hearings were postponed three days. OWI Chief Davis is slated to be the first-day witness and apparently he will be the only one to be heard on Thurs- day Chairman Fly is the only one wlio is listed to come before the Investigation group on Friday. Hearings are then expected to be reopened during the next week. Representatives of the radio broadcasting industi-y. It is under- stood, will be summoned to later hearings. These hearings are being held. Senator Clark said, 'with a view to reporting the resolution to the Sen- ale as soon an possible.' Serving with him on the subcommittee are Lister Hill. Alabama; Charles O, Andrew.<:. Florida: Chan Gurney, South Dakota, and Charles W. Tobey, New Hampshire. ' Speciflcally the investigation is expected to go into Petrillo's order forbidding AFM members to make further recordings or ti-anscriptions for non-private use, and his decree keeping the Interlochen National High School orchestra off the air. These are the orders that provoked Senator Clark into introducing a Senate resolution asking for a wide investigation of what he termed 'the whole nefarious racket.' If the probe is pursued by the Senate, after the subcommittee hearings are completed, it is expected to go far beyond finding out all about the two particular Petrillo orders. Senator Clark wants to search into the whole business of manufactur- ing and producing of musical rec ords and transcriptions to And out whether there are any violations in restraint of trade. He also wants to take a good look into the profits, salaries, bonuses and other financial arrangements of individuals and or ganizatlons concerned with the manufacturing, producing and play Ing for musical records, and into the control of music and music produc tion. SHAW 'RECRUITING' Trying to Enlist Musicians for Naval Aggregation Artie Shaw is making a personal attempt to recruit musicians for a new dance band he's building at the Newport, R. I., naval base. He h8f> been calling long-distance to N Y., speaking to men he has heard arc close to induction and others who are not in an effort to get them to Join the Navy and become mem- bers of his band. So far he has rounded up eight and needs another six. Shaw went into the Navy June 10 and has since been stationed at Newport, a training center. [ AFM Prexy, It's Claimed, Wat Ready to Work Out Some Sort of Agreement on Recording Until NAB Launched 'Campaign of Vituperation'—Made Him 'Fighting Mad' Harry James, Now Top B.O. Band, Into 3-Month Losing Hotel Date Can't Lose LABOR ANGLE BUS OK GOES WITH CAMP DATES One condition under which the Of- fice of Defense Transportation re- cently okayed the iLse of five busses by Negro bands traveling thorugh the south makes it obligatory for each band to do at least two USO Army camp appearances each week. This was brought out Saturday (12) at the first meeting between bands- men managing colored orchestras and officials of the ODT. The two appearances can be done as concerts of an hour or so on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and it's likely that they'll l>e done that way to en- able as many commercial dates as possible. Only one band tour was definitely set up at the meeting. Noble Sissle starts out from Baltimore Oct 9 on a three-week schedule. It was at first though that tours would be limited to 10 days tor each band, bu! the time was considered too short. Each outfit will have a bus for three weeks. Beside the ODT officials and John Hammond and Judge Hubert Delany. co-chairmen of the committee to oversee tours, the only attendants at the meeting were those from the agencies of Joe Glaser, Moe Gale and William Morris. COCA COU SIGNS KAYE FOR 26 WKLY. AHUNGS Bridgeport's Pleasure Park Has Top Season Despite War Hazards Bridegport. Sept. IS. Dim-out and gas rationing didn't keep Pleasme Beach Paik. operated by the City, from its biggest season in history. Municipal resort buttoned up last week with new highs regis- tered everywhere, according to Comptroller Perry W. Rodman. Ballroom was deep in the velvet every Sunday, when name bands played. Topper was Glenn Miller, who rang up an all-time peak of 3.500 at $1.50, heaviest tariff ever asked at spot. Vaughn Monroe was sea.son runner-up with 2.500 at $1.10, and Gene Knipa drew 2,000 at .^amc admish. Sammy Kaye drew a weekly spot on Coca Cola's new broadcast sched- ule. Band will do its first of 26 Wednesday night shots Sept 30 from Milwaukee for an audience of de- fense workers. Harry James had been set for every Monday evening, but his contract was adjusted to call for one program every four weeks, since he was signed to replace Glenn Miller on the Chesterfield broadcasts. Kaye is currently at Frank Dailey's Meadowbrook, Cedar Grove, N. J. A close associate of James C. Petrillo, president of the American Federation of Musicians, disclosed Monday (14) that the present in- tensity and bitterness of the con- troversy over the union's shutdown on recording might have been avoided if the National Association of Broadcasters had not launched what this associate described as a 'campaign of vituperation' against the AFM chief. This attack, accord- ing to the Petrillo aide, had the af- fect of not only arousing Petrillo to a 'lighting mad' pitch, but made ttie AFM's locals more determined than ever to see the thing through. The union, added this aide, now feels that the issue ha:>, with the help of anti - Administration newspaper:;, been converted into a fight against organized labor. The aide indicated that Petrillo had been primarily interested in working out some sort of contract or arrangement whereby the life term of any library transcription, and perhaps phonograph record, would be limited so that employ- ment for musicians, if only those engaged in recording work, might l>e increased. Otherwise things would'have remained status quo for the duration of the war. Petrillo, the aide revealed, had hoped that the transcription, phono- graph record men and others con- cerned would come to him for a survey of the situation as happened when his predecessor, Joseph N. Weber, i.^sued a similar recording deadline in 1937. Instead, accord- ing to AFM's current plaint, the NAB took up the cudgel and un- loosened what the aide further de- scribed 'its strategy of vilifying Petrillo.' The latest Incident along this line that has caused much re- sentment by Petrillo and his con- freres was the distribution of a re- printed newspaper cartoon picturing Petrillo as an organ-grinder. The AFM has modified its rule on the recording of commercial, or cus- tom-made, transcriptions to the ex- tent of allowing them to be made A musicians union slant on the Petrillo situation is that even if the AFM loses it will be a stra- tegic victory for the union presi- dent It will prove, regardless, that Petrillo is fighting for the musi- cians' best interests. AFM LAYS OFF R-MB CIRCUS IN CHICAGO Chicago. Sept. IS. The Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey circus opened in Chicago last night (Monday) without incident as far as the American Federation of Musicians was concerned. There had been indications that the circus would run into union difficulty when it got to Chicago, the home town of James C. Petrillo, AFM prez. Union officials disclosed that no ac- i tion would be taken with regard to the circus' use of canned mu.sic in- stead of live musicians until- after the senatorial committee's probe of the federation's ban on recordings. It was also thought that it would be more politic to defer any recrim- inations against the circus until the anti-trust case, which the U. S. De- partment of Justice has brought against the AFM, has been disposed of in the local Federal court. Hear- ing of the issue has been postponed until Oct. 12 at the AFM's request because of the inability of Joseph A. Padway, the Federation's chief counsel in this case, to be present on the date originally scheduled Sept. 16. Clint Noble Into Army Cleveland, Sept. 15. Clint Noble is turning his orches- tra and band-booking agency over to Walt Bergener, one of the maes- jros in his stables, when he enlists the Army Oct. 1. Entering volunteer officers' corps. Robinson Yens Baton Les Robinson, alto sax pla.vcr, who has been with all of tlic coun- try's lop bands at one lime or ai»- olher the past few years is bent on leading a band of his own. Now with Jerry Wald's orchestra at the Lincoln hotel, N. Y., Robinson fig- ures to stay behind and begin or- ganizing after Wald leaves town Oct 1. Robin.son was a member of Artie Shaw's hit band of a few years ago and since then migrated from one top-bracket outfit to another. Nit» Bradley replaced Frances Wayne as vocalist with Chsilie Barnct. by single programs or epi.sodes, pro- viding the shows have an angle tied up wfth the war effort. Otherwise the taboo on custom-built transcrip- tions remains unchanged. Acting for Sidney M. Kaye, of NAB counsel, Carl Havelin. an em- ployee of Broadcast Music, Inc., last week asked the station reps to sub- mit to him a list of the business they have had cancelled as a result of the AFM's recording ban. Only two noted so far have been the re- corded versions of the "Again.st the Storm' and 'The Shadow' serie.';. Petriflo Ban bdirectly Shuts Out Waxing of Army Relief Show Tunes Local 802 (N. V.) of the American Federation of Musicians has told the Army Emergency Relief committee. spofLsoring the Madison Square Car- der benefit Sept. 30 that 'the union is your.";.' so far as recording a .spe- cial album of the six original tunes ai'thorcd by Sgt Kurt Kas/.ncr and Pvt. Charles Murray, Ls concerned. Tills i.s suppo.'ied to^be a .■^lunt whereby Ethel Merman, Connie Bos- uell. Bing Crosby, el al., would wax the tune.s, proceeds to the Army Fund. However, it develops that Manie Sr.ck.s, chief of Columbia recording, who was willing to coopciatc, isn't sure (1) that the artists mentioned U'nder contract to competitive com- paiiie.'^j would be available; and ■2), Harry James' orchestra—considered the hottest b.o. band in the country at the moment—which can eain from $10,000 to $15,000 weekly in thcatre.s, possibly more on percentage deals, is going back into the Lincoln hotel, N. Y., Oct. 2, and will lose money every week for three months. James' return to the Lincoln is based on an option on his services held by Mrs. Maria Kramer, operator of the inn, an obligation that was to have been fulfilled last spring, but deferred to enable the band to make a film for Universal^ ('Private Buckaroo'). Few of the top bracket bands make money on hotel dates (payrolls of top bands are too high and hotel payoffs too short), even though in many in- stances they are given percentage deals award'ing them a portion of cover charges over a certain number. What makes James' situation more Ironic, however, is that the Lincoln's Blue Room seats only about 250 (James drew close to 7,600 covers at the 1,000 capacity Astor recently). Even if the Lincoln doubles its cur- rent cover charge to $1.50 and $2, James can't pMSsibly take out enough to underwrite his payroll for 25 mu- sicians and singers. However, as with other bands, James' losses at the Lincoln will be more than made up by other work. Beginning the end of this month and in October James will broadca.<;t for three different sponsors. Last week he was signed for a wee)<)y Monday night broadcast for Coca- Cola. Later Glenn Miller went Into the Army and he was giTen the Ches- terfield program (starting Sept. 29), while the Coca-Cola commitipent was adjusted to one program every four weeks. On Oct 4 the band will do the first of two programs with Jack Benny, with the sponsor having an option for two more. James is a peculiar breed of band- leader-7-or so some of his contempo- raries think. He doesn't like playing theatres or one-nigbters, and avoids them as much as possible, despite fact they're the most lucrative field.; for a b.o. band. James prefers not to work too hard (a decision likely based on the present tax situation). He's in good financial shape, after a long struggle through the red, and feels that there's no percentage in killing himself doing six and seven theatre shows a day, or travtling aroutid the country on one-nighters. He has done comparatively few thea- tre and one-night dates since his band hit. He prefers golf and base- ball. Max Drcyfu.'!, of Cliappell. i.sn't .sure he can properly plug the tunes. Dreyfus is willing to publish them, but in the light of an advance- scheduled campaign of future song material (on the .strength of which the recording companies ru.shed them onto wax, before the Aug. 1 Petrillo deadline), there's no likeli- hi^od thc.se six Army .songs can be plugged. This ha.t tooled off Sacks so far as Columbia is concerned. Meantime, the Army .<how looks assured n( its $230,000 goal, with the Garden .scaled for $101,000 for the regular .'^eat.s: another $100,000 for .spon.sor.s' boxe*; with the difTcrcntial to come from program, etc. Over SRj.OOO Ls in the box already. It's b(cn decided to forego broadcasting sponsor.sliip becau.se the musicians, stagehands, actors, etc., ere donating their services. Local Kid Doesn't Make Good, but It's A Big Bother to Band While Jimmy Dorscy's band was playing Shea's Buffalo theatre ■ week ago the leader turned around during a performance one evening to find a youngster of aljout six con- fronting him. Kid had sneaked onto the stage from the audience and without any preliminaries stated, 'I want to sing.' Having no alternative the leader allowed the young.stcr to do two numbers, after which l>oth he and his mother, who then came onto the stage, were ejected from the theatre. Mother and child were the same who had bothered Dorsey, and prob- ably other bands, l>efore for an audition of the kid's talent. When Dorsey played that house last year he was persistently pestered. This time, however, the prospective stage mother took matters into her own hands, dolling the kid up and shoo- ing him onto the stage when Dorsey's back was turned. Next day the leader received a imsigncd letter without salutation which capped a paragraph of verbal insults with, 'If you had let th« audience decide we would have seen who was thrown out of the theatre— us or you,'