Variety (Sep 1942)

WcJiieaJay, September 23, 1942 MUSIC 41 Hollywood s Ctance to Squawk ASCAP Providing Opportunity for Film Writers In Near Future ASCAP writer members who live on the westcoast will be given an opportunity to air their approval or objections to the new writers' classi- flcttion plan. Vaking recognition of criticism aimed at the board duri.ig g re ' writers' meeting on the Coast, the Tociety'j writer-directors will delegate a group ol writers to journey to the Coast and, after eslab- liihing itself in ASCAP's Hollywood office, invite the local writers i come in study the plan and ask questions. The date of the junket's departure for the Coast will be set tomorrow (Thursday). The organization's writer-directors came in for considerable censure when the matter of the new plan was mentioned at the semi-annual gather- ing of the ASCAP membership in Hollywood Sept. 9.. With I. Wolfe Giibert leading the attack several of the writers present wanted to know vhy westcoaat members were not consulted on their reactions to the proposed plan. The writers' classification commit- tee, which In membership is the same as the writer contingent on the ASCAP board, has the authority, «(cording to the new bylaws, to adopt the new plan without sub- mitting it to the members for perusal, but it would rather have the writers take all the time they want tj analyze the plan than become sub- ject later \o charge of steamrolling. Under the bylaws all the classifica- tion committee has to do now b; to set the date of effectiveness for the new plan. The indications are that the initial royalties based on the new plan will apply to the first quarter o' 1943 and be represented in the checks distributed the second week of April, 1943. The writers' plail is mucli more involved than the pub- lishers' new classification system. Lots of new classes have been added and the classification committee is still able' to determine in no small measure the relative shares of the various members. Music Notes Mao Weaver ana Joseph C. Bana- han, amateurs, won the Chicago Times $1,000 'War Song for America" award last week with 'Mud in His Eirs.' Mills will publish. M. K. Jerome and Jack Scholl writing songs for "Three Cheers f* the Girls' at Warners, Alfred Newman started scoring The Black Swan' at 20th-Fox. Herbert Stotbart handling the «rore on 'The Human Comedy' at Wefro. Franz Waxman drew the .scoring Job on 'Edge of Darkness' at War- ners. 'The Song Of The Hour" I NEED AMERICA (America Needs Me) * ★ ★ All Material Available • BAND • DANCE ORCH. • VOCAI 3 KEYS AMERICAN MUSIC, Inc. •IBS SoOMt BiTd. Hollywood, CaUf. Jolson Continued from pace 2 w(!uld taste much better. Jolson pulled a whimsy from Limerick, ciibling Jewish New Year greetings t. the Hillcrest Country Club, in Beverly Hills, with its dominantly film membership. Sweater Girl Morehouse stated that Merle Oberon, co-starred with Jolson, whammed 'em by doing a Lana Tur- ner, with a sweater routine; that Pi.tricia Morison, Allen Jenkins and Frank McHugh, in support, 'were adequate, but Al was really the whole show. He'd do, alone, twice a.-, much as the rest of the com- pany, just singing and telling stories.' The troupe, in about four weeks, did some 40 or 50 shows, flt'uring an average of twice daily every day. The reported 'tiAing' between Jol- .soii and Miss Oberon (Lady Alex- ander Korda) was brushed ofT by Jolson in a chivalrous telephonic re- ply to the N. Y. Times, which fol- lowed up 'Variety's' exclusive from its London office about friction be- tween the two. Jolson still states that, after having gone solo to the Aleutians and the Caribbean, just with pianist Martin Fried, he felt hi could do his bit better, in enter- taining the troops, than with a stock company. Thus, if he chose to crowd in an extra show or two for defense f.iclory workers, and not only for Ihr British and/or American troops st.-\tioned in Ireland or England, he could function better as a free agent. The show commuted between posts near London, Belfast, Dublin, Lim- ei'ick and other spots. Jolson returned Saturday by clip- pe< and the rest of the company may even be back overnight (as 'Variety' goes to press) due to ob- vious exigencies for secrecy. Jolson flew 26 hours back to America; 22 hours going over, the former being a bit faster, since the hour differ- entials through change of Green- wich time, accoimt for the numeri- cal discrepancy. Star returns to commercial radio Oct. 6 over CBS for Colgate-Palmollve-Peet. Still • Pioneer Jolson's treks to the Aleutians, the Caribbean, England and Ireland rim true to form for the mammy einger, who blazed the trails for a number of significant milestones in show business; most notably talking pic- tures. In show business, Jolson en- joys a niche all his own, but ehow biz laughs off its sentiment with wheezes like Ben Bernie's, who calls him "Elsie Jolson' as a play on that other World War I overseas pioneer, Elsie Janis, To show biz, also, the mammy singer's click in England Is a Ripley and an inside laugh, because it's the first time the comedian ever played abroad, although he"s made pleasure trips often. It was a fetish with Jolson, fearing the comedy tastes of the British, but his click before mixed audiences, and also before strictly English fans—not only U. S. troops stationed in England and Ire- land—proves he can go back any time. Buddy Rich joined the Marines tut wiil keep on drumming with Tommy Dorsey's band, under a brief de;erment. until the completion of 'DuBarry Waq a Lady" at Metro. Sol Meyer and Harry Akst writ- ing the songs for "Chatterbox" at Re- public. TtS PAN ALLEY FRANK r,\r.\NO. I'rM. 1001-1 r ciicHtiiiit St.. I'liiiH., rn. THE ARSENAL OF AMERICAN WAR SONGS ».., <"»'<•••"••• onr 8tli Aiiiilvrrknry with IB Flglitlnc Wor Sonst War songj help bolster morale and will help uiin war" .. . Frank Capano. MOST CONRI8TKNTI.Y I>I,.\\K1» i^ONG IN AMERICA "STRICTLY INSTRUMENTAL" HARRY JAMES (COL.) BOB CHESTER (BLUEBIRD) JERRY WALD (DECCA) JIMMIE LUNCEFORD (DECCA) CHERIO MUSIC PUBLISHERS, INC. KOIN AIMS TO SELL $1,000,000 IN BONDS Portland, Ore., Sept. 22. KOIN is out to sell a miUion dol- lar's worth of bonds in five weeks. 'Victory Harvest' is a full hour show, twice a week for five weeks, produced especially for entertain- ment of outlying small towns and farmers. Each of the tin :-hows will originate in a different town, the first one opening at Oregon. City tonight (22) in the high school au- ditorium. A variety show of music, singing and play sketches, first half hour is unmiked with latter half hooked up to numerous small town radio outlets. Show is scripted by William Mears and produced by Ted Cooke. Art Kirkham will m.c. and John Car- penter is narrator. Oregon's most populated county, Multnomah, is expected to turn over the first '$500,000 and station hopes ."Victory Harvest' interest in visited town will make up the other half million. Small town newspapers have given show page one bally in many instances. Copyright Law ConUoued from page 39 ; semblance, if any, for preparation of a case in the federal courts. Regarding the matter of titles, a hundred songs of the same title may be copyrighted—it is a matter that concerns the individual or fii-m—an identifying heading—and of no im- mediate concern of the Copyright Office, apart from that. Another curiously wrong impres- sion that is held generally is that one can 'use' up to a definite num- ber (any four, for instance) measures of a copyrighted piece of music and not infringe. The degree of infringement is decided by the courts on the evidence by testimony of experts and comparison between the conflicting pieces and may pos- sibly constitute as little as one measure, if, for instance, there is a strikingly peculiar theme covering those few notes. It might be interesting to your readers to- know that in copyright parlance there is no such thing as "song" or vocal number. Everything is a musical composition—WITH or WITHOUT words. Again referring to Mr. Garrisin's letter—'I enlisted the services of Sen. Walter F. George and Sen. Homer Bone and succeeded in hav- ing the copyright laws changed so that a songwriter can copyright a ■lead' sheet or violin score with lyrics. Up to several months ago I could not copyright a lead sheet. I had to have a full piano arrange- ment'—it is evident he doesn't know what he is talking about. The copy- right laws have not been changed in that respect and it has been possible for many decades to copyright a lead sheet with words. I got my official confirmation on this directly from Mr. C. L. Beuve, Register of Copyrights, who in- formed me he also saw thi.-- letter in your publication. Trusting the information in my letter is of enough interest to you and your readers to make it worth while, I remain, Lcn Fleminp. Equity-AGVA Continued from page 1 the affairs of AGVA on a 'loan' basis from Equity. That was a little more than four months ago, when Gerald Griffin was dismissed as executive secretary after charges that he was anti-semitic. First "loaned' for three months, Greaza was recently extended in the AGVA setup for another three months. Several administrative changes have been put into effect since his tenure, and it's also oeen apparent that he's the first AGVA official to gain the confidence of the organization as a whole, but Greaza obviously feels that the variety per- formers just can't continue a union of their own. That's an old story which dates back to the White Rats, the NVA and the American Federa- tion of Actors. It won't be the first time that an Equity takeover of the variety actors has been suggested. Biggest stum- bling block in the past has been the voting privileges of vaude actors in Equity. Whether Greaza's report solves that is still unknown, but ob- viously that's a problem because the variely performers outnumber legit actors to a tremendous extent, and, if given full voting privileges. Equity would soon be another vaudeville rather than lefiit-tmlon: OWI Organizmg Camps^ Bigger Output of Fighting Songs Washington, Sept. 22, Huddle with all the Tin Pan Alley elements that might be mobilized Into conceiving and popularizing anxiously awaited new war songs is tentatively scheduled for next week, though no specific date has been fixed. Present plans are for W. B. Lewis, radio head of the Office of War Information, and possibly other Federal officials concerned about making American pulses beat faster, tp get together with publishers, writers, band leaders, theatrical pro- ducers, film executives, and broad- casting program directors as soon as details of Government desires have been put on paper. With radio matters taking up all of his time this week, Lewis still is Says Maddy Detroit, Sept 22. What the Country need%,today is more marching songs and less boogie-woogie. Dr. Joseph E. Maddy, president of the National Music Camp and chairman of the Mich::;aii Council of De- fense committee on wartinie civic music, said before a meet- ing of the council. 'The national airs of our en- emies are marching songs, those of America and England are not,' he said. 'Hitler claims his sol- diers march 33% farther when they sing.' not thoroughly equipped with the information about Federal hopes, suggestions and plans to call such a conclave. He hopes to crystallize all the thinking as soon as he finishes his trip to the Coast and winds up explaining to Congressional appro- priations experts the radio bureau's money needs. Session of Federal agency repre- sentatives Interested in the song angle of psychological warfare brought exchange of many ideas last Tuesday (IS), but the varied thoughts still have not been put in writing or whipped into a program that can be laid before Tin Pan Al- ley. Lewis must precipitate all the inspirations and discard the imprac- tical proposals. Jack Joy, designated to be the go- between and to line up the various trade groups, sat in on the talks, as- suring the Federal representatives that the different Alley elements are ready to pitch Into the 1942 effort Ui get the American people humming and chorusing rousing, unifying tunes. Government desire to revive th« 1917-18 contention that 'a nation that sings can't be beaten' was evident last week during Senate hearings on resolution proposing .an Inquiry into the conduct of the American Federa- tion of Musicians. Senator Charles O. Andrews of Florida veered around to the subject while questipning FCC Chairman James L. Fly about pos- sible elevation of the standard of radio music. They agreed on the necessity of fresh crop of stirring songs that would intensify the pub- lic war effort. Fly acknowledged (he desirability of something more than swing numbers, commenting Tin Pan Alley 'folks are doing a very splendid Job and I believe they wlU have some very significant songs coming out of ther6 shortly.* MORE SONGS FOR CROSBY Hollywood, Sept 22. Less gab and more music has been decreed for a Kraft Music Hall when Bing Crosby resumes Oct 1. Thi* is good news for son^luggers with each program to have eight or ten numbers. Less work for Carroll Carroll, who for years has been pounding out thousands of words for each broad- cast OlmaiilsJIowKaycee AM)any. Sept 22. The name of Olman Ifusic Corp, has been changed to luycee Musie Co., Inc. The application was filed by th« N. Y.1aw firm of Miller & Miller. The Olman catalog was bought several months ago by Lou Levy from the Lombordo family. The Kaycee title was formerly, applied to the catalog which Levy had pre- viously purchased from the Jenkins Music Co. of Kansas City. BREGMMJOOfiO&ClllJiu]. m. Smash All Performance Records! No. 1 I'VE GOT A GAL No. 2 SERENADE IN BLUE ON ALL "LISTS " Establishing An All-Time High!! The Songs by MACK GORDON "'HARRY WARREN From 20lh Century-Fox's Pictnre "ORCHESTRA WIVES"