Variety (March 1944)

46 ORGHESTRAS^-MUSIC Wednesday, Mareli 1, 1911 r MCA Sees Goodman in Wm Morris Tieup, So Refuses to Grant Release ' Bonny Goddinah's' altoiTipfe tp.:sq- cui'e a release irpiTi his CQi'Pi ol America ; maMagenient'i/CbntrM^^ which has almost two years to run. ; ate'incEeasin8\ .'iiiTa so is the .l6ader*s ■biu'ii because of ,ilia ■.rejections ,lie gets; GoodnTan roeently .went , to the AFM to try .prying himself .'loose,,- sayiiig he WottM cbutiiiue to pay' MCA, commissions;, ,He afeo.;6,f[,eretl tlie agency; SSOiOfltt- foiy^a' rele^^ and- promised lie . wOHldn't sign, with ,any opposition bookers but' would; Iree^ lance. He was re.iected, MCA refuses Goodman a release for several reasons^ (1) he is a valuable name (or that agency's own jiia-po.-ies and (.2) AlCA probably ex-, poets that 'lf .'it'grgfits the release he : vSriU,'. inifeieaiately;,' sign with, the: Williain';. 'Woiiiis- agency; whose band department is headed by Willard Alexander, Goodman's confidant. This is also back of MCA's refusal td-;allOw the leiider a rele^sfe to, freelance,;'too, .since .there's nolh- Ing to Stop iiinkfrom doing ;aU, his work fQiv the/Morris ^gency: without a" management deal. On the Upbeat ■ ,(\1)B Xyman has ^tehipoi arily,, giVtin up msestrpiiig ,Leader, has gi\%n, his .bahd'.fi 'iiiOrith's rest while lie goes to California for a similar purpose., Ho leaves N. Y. March G. Dale Jones' orchestra moves into the Del Bio Club, Saft Pedro, Cal., for three months. ,>(»e Shribman has taken over .pe^- soMl';managelTlent of Chuck Foster's orchestra,' now at the Chanticleer, Herman (Chubby) Goldfarb, man- ager of Woody Herman^ drew a limited following physical in N. Y. last week. ■ ~\\ '■' ■'• .',' '„;.■■■; '<[':. ■ Royalty Suit On tried Last Nite' Song publishing offices of Camp- bell-Porgie, Ino>, Hollywood, ;were attached by the sheriff last week under a suit filed by Ted Grouya. co- writer with singer Jerry Krueger of the song, "I Heard You Cried Last Wght." Grouya charges the pubr lishefs have failed to pay royalties due him on the tune, and demands $15,000 and an aqcounting. - Gampbell'PArgie" asserts it's in the middle of a dispute over Grouya's royalties and that its hands are tied. Claims that A. Edward Masters, at* torney for Frank Vernier, former manager of Gene Ki'upa and current- ,ly handler of : Roy Eldridge, has se- cured a court order preventing it from paying off Grouya until.Vernier is paid 10% ot the song's earnings under an agreement the writer had with Vernier. They state they are perfectly willing to pay Grpuya, but cannot. It seems that when Grouya and Miss Krueger started the song, they gave Verniei', George "Bullets". Dur- gom and Frank Monte, former man- ager of Harry James, a 10%'slice each. Grouya was to assume respon- sibility for paying .off these pieces, and the two writers arranged that Grouya was to split royalties in this way: Grouya, 2c a copy on sheet sales; Miss Krueger, Ic; Grouya, 40% of mechanicals and Miss Krueger 10%. Dean Hudson's orche.5tra returns to' Flagler's Gardens, Miami, Api il 5 lor I four weeks; h e—wound-np-a-mertlh there only couple weeks ago and is no w a t Trocader o -Ballroo m, E vans - Don D'Arcy, ex-Sonny Dunham vocalist, also with Boyd Raeburn's orchestra, which opened Monday (28) at the Lincoln hotel, N. Y. Dorothy Claire, formerly with Dun- ham, is also with the band, as are four ex-Dunham musicians. Doris Day rejoins Les Brown's orchestra, as vocalist replacing the Town Criers. She was with the band in its early 4ays, but retired to marry. Of late she has been singing on a midwest radio outlet, Bill LeRoy band in Pittsburgh Still retains his name despite the fact ■ that he's a lieutenant in Jhe army and has been in the service for nearly two years, Jacques La^ Belle fronts outfit and LeRoy still gets a cut from every jobi ;, >, McHugh Hires Contact To Revive Interest In His Standard Songs Jimmy McHugh has hired a per; sonal contact man on the Coast recently to revive some of his standard tunes. McHugh put on a plugger named Al Saloman, and, according to letters to friends in N. Y., the first tune to come up for" attempted revival will be "I'm in the Mood for Love." McHugh also wrote such things as "Exactly Like You," "On Sunny ;Side of the Street'v.and "I Can't . Give:. You Anything But Love," Music men in N,' Y,; say McHugh's move is unusual, but. not without precedent. However, they feel that unless he has made some special deal with Mills Music, which publishes rnost of his standard ,Works,, for rpy,-> allies beyond songwriter's nprmal. re; turns, the expenditure for a personal contact man wouldn't be justified., Warners Books Hampton From Loew s N.Y. Cap Lionel Hampton's orchestra has been booked into Warner, Bros.'; Strand theatre, N. Y., on a contract under which he would appear , there, before the end of this year; He was taken away from the Capitol theatre, N. Y., which is playing him cur- rently and which-had an option for another appearance, following a dispute over the Cap's delay in open- ing the present engagement. Rather than make a settlement, Loew's^ which operates the 'Capitol,- released the band from the option, Hampton was originally due to go' into the Cap in mid-January, but the holdover of the theatre's Xmas show forced delays , which set, him back several weeks. Joe Glaser, : Hampton's manager, asserts the de- lays cost the band;$5;000; and more; since it hadn't been booked for those periods. He asked for a cash settle- -ment~ and-when Loew^s-refused—hi* Crosby Reopens Spot; Other Coast Band Dates Hollywood, Feb. 29. Bob Crosby's'orchestra slated for first week at Casino Gardens, Los Angeles, closed for several months and reopening; with a name band policy. Henry King's musical crew held over until June ;7 at the: Mark Hopkins, San Francisco. Mmil Colemdti leads his band into the St. Francis, San Francisco, )VIarch 14.' Robbins Sits It Out in St. L. Jack Robbins went from rhumba- ing-in-Miami~ to a St, Louis music educator's convention this week. Bernard Prager, general sales man- ager for Robbins, is meeting the bossman in St. Loo en route to a Mexico City vacation for which he lias'just departed. B'way Capitol Woos J. Dorsey The competitive hand sweepstakes on Broadway, in which Tommy Dor- sey and Xavier Cugat have been; ItJt'ed, . away.■■".Irom';:,'^;: theatre which they've been closely alTiliated on bookings, has. now , apparentiv been , extended , to include. : Jimmy Dorsey's outfit. , Uiider terms of. an agreement re,*- pprtedly set bet^yeeh , Jimmy,\D.or,sey' and Marvin Schcnck, of Locw's, which operates the Broadway Capi- tol; Dorsey is due to ; ga into .the Cap the next tune he plays the main 's t ' eni.: ': ; t)o|'.s eyf-lh-yhi^ theatre dates has played the Roxy,, (20th-Fox.), and. before that he had been a Strand CWarners) standby. Previously, Tommy Dorsey had agreed to^ a bPokiiig at tlie Cap, a date soon;tp be assigned him. Xavier Cugat, currently at the Par, and the fprmer, have likewise been standbys at the Paramount, but Cugat is now due for Cap date, Jimmy Dorsey has,' been recalled by Metro for another picture. He is due on the Coast April 17, which will cut his scheduled date at the Frolics, Miami ballroom,, to a week or possibly eliminate it entirely. This contract calls for $9,000 weekly and was originally: for three weeks. Bands at Hotel B.O.'s (Presented hereimth, qs a weekly tabulation, ia the estimated cover cJiarflc business being done by name bands [n various New York hotels. Dinner business (7-10 pm.) not rated. Figures after name a/ hotel give room capacity ond co«er charge. Larger oiuount designate* weekend, and holiday price. Compilation ii based on period Irom Monday to Saturday.) „ , ; -WwKg rust Coivra niinil Hotel riiiyva Wvtk On Uiite Rav Heatherton. .Biltmore (400; $1-$1,50) , 37 1,250 50125 Lani Mclntirc*., Lexington (300; 75c-$1.50) 107 Sonny Dunham,.,Now Yorker (400; ?1-?1.50) 11 Frankie Caile Pennsylvania (500; $1-$1.50) 2 Leo Reisman Waldorl (550; V2) 1 Jan Garber Lincoln (275; $1-.$1 50) 8 Guy Lombardo ..Roosevelt (400; $1-.?1.50) 21 Georgie Auld Commodore (400; $1-$1.50>.. "3 2,150 2,300 3,200 3,100 950 2,150 1,450 Milt Britton Takes Over His Band But Jerome Keeps Maestro Billing Henry Jerome's orchestra has gone under the baton of Milt Brit^ ton, who last week shifted mana- gerial aflfiliation to the 'William Mor- ris agency. Britton has inserted in the Jerome combo five of his. own men to cue the breakup routine he has used for years. Jerome will play trumpet in that section and is to get billing as conductor of the outfit. Orchestra opens at the Lookout House, Covington, Ky., today (Wednesday). STEE PIER RESUMES BAND POLICY APRIL 8 Steel Pier, Atlantic City, resumes its band policy April 8, employing the same policy it used last, sum- mer, i.e., buying best names avail- able for two or' tiiree-week runs, bol- stered by whatever top names can be secured for weekends, Tpmray Dpr- sey will open the Pier April 8. Other bookings are not concluded. Other summer spots, such as: Pali- sades Amusement; Park, Fort Lee, N. J., andrP^easure Beach, Conn,, are not yet stirring. NO SWING HERE request for cancellation of tlie op- tion was granted. Hampton closes at the Capitol to night (Wednesd^) and will record tomorrpw (Thursday) for Decca be- fore setting out on a nine-week the- atre run. He was ■ signed last week for Wprld Transcriptions. Van Alexander Borrows Piano's Use Provided He Play tor Church $21,000 IN GUARANTEE FOR SIX ID. 1-NITERS Tommy Dorsey's : orchestra will 'play six days of onc-nightors in the 'east beginning April 8, the first book- ings of that type the band hag played in two years or so. F,or the six dates Dorsey has definite guarantees ap- proximating $21,000, against percen- tage deals; which gives an idea of how hungry eastern band buyers are for top names, few of which have ch',culated> in the eas the start of the war. . . .;; :■ ■ Following the one-nighters, Dorsey plays two. weeks at Fi'ank Dailey's Terrace Room, Newark, opening April 14, then goes to the Sherman hotel, Chicago, for three'weeks open- ing At>Hl 28, 194,425 24,425 6,300 5,400 8,2,10 38,775 5,375 • Asterisks indicate a supporting floor show. New Yorker and Biltmor hare ice s/ioj^s, Waldorf has Graeme Fields; Commodore, Gteii?i AZitler Afodejiiaires. Ncio Yorlcer and Biltmore •'s Cugat Sizzling Record $130,500, N. Y., Herman Big Chi.; Spivak 36G, Hub Barnet Enter^JIospital, - Ban^ Idle Several Wks. Charlie Barnet temporarily broke up 'his band last week after being given : a second 4-F classification. He's npw in a N. Y. hpspital for a checkup. His band isn't expected to bo out of action more than five weeks/ Leader.will rest;durihg that; time. . Barnet-brpke up his combo so sud- denly that he cancelled dales with only a couple of days': notice. He played Mecca Temple, N. Y., a week ago (22), recorded for Decca Wednes^ day and Thursday (23-24)-, then dis- banded. He candblled two one-night- ers in New England, Shubert theatre. New Haven (28), Arcadia Ballropm, Providence (last night, Tuesday), and five dates in Canada, i Leader received a 4-F at the N. Y. induction center two weeks ago. On following Monday he was recalled, held at Governor's Island for several day.s, and finally given a second re- jection. Van Alexander, arranger and ex bandleader, , played ' piano accom paniment to a, Miami church ciioir during his recent stay in Florida in return for use of the instrument while arranging. Unable to rent a piano the ar- ranger requested use of the church keyboard, and it was granted pro- vided he play for choir practice and services. Oberstein Quits Ford, Wigler Keeps Control Eli Oberstein, head of Classic Record Cp., ^ has withdrawn from: Ford Music" Co., publishing firm he set up late, last year. His exit leaves the company to Sam 'Wigler, who left the Warner Bros, combine to operate the new venture. It will continue under his; management. Ford is affiliated with BMI. It was set up with a yearly guarantee against royalties from that outfit, Col. Pix Music Firm Heat Now On S-Bernstein Columbia Pictures deal for a music company, through which tunes from its pictures will be marketed, has swung in tlie direction of Shapiro- Bernstein. Negotiations are under way for that publishing house to set up a subsidiary company, its first affiliation with a film producer. Sha- piro has never published a film score:, ■ ■ If the deal is completed, Jonie Taps, Shapiro's general professional manager, will control the firm and .select i'..s material. It was Taps who first began a deal with Columbia during a recent trip to the Coast, Subsequently, Colum- -bia's intereslriTr-aTmisicTinn 'turned" in the direction of Buddy Morris These talks faded last week when Shapiro reentered the picture. AFM CRACKING DOWN ON COAST UNDER-SCALING Hollywood, Feb, 29. Charging that union musicians are being replaced by non-union players at greatly reduced salaries,' Ameri- can Federation of Musicians will in- stigate War Labor Relations Board proceedings against several night ?pots here. According to charges, musicians are receiving as little as $3 a night and some are working for 414 a week. Union's first move called members out of 18 local cafes and bars, with orders 'to cease playing until the spots accept the prevailing wage scales. > Members were warned that fur- ther work in blacklisted places would result in fines or suspensions. Dozens , of : cafes in various parts of the city and county are Under in- vestigation by APM scouts. (EsftiTiates for This Week) ' Benny Cirtcr, New York (State; 3.4,5 0: 3,V,t l.l0)—With _"Guy_Narvied_ Joe" (M-'G) (2d run). Picture's drauglvt ■ credited fpr most :pf;stroiig .S33.000 or tlvoreabouts. X.ivicr C'liKat, New York (Para- mount; ■3;664!,35,$1.10)-''With Dean; Murphy, othei'^; iii person, arid, "Lady, in Dork'' (Par), Mighty: cpmbination-. pf picture and Cugat band, plus Mur- phy, prpvihg sensatien here. On first week ended, Monday night (28), the grpss soared to $130,500, highest by more than $18,000 that theatie has done in 18 years of operation. Cugat did seven slvows Saturday (2ff) and six, every other day for a total Of 49 on the fiist week. ^ Tommy norsey, Indianapolis (Cir-; cle; 2,800; 40-65)—Plus "Sing a Jingle" (U). Terrific $30,000, all due to Dorsey: combo, bettering maestro's; previous mark hero and approaching Kay Kyser's house record. Lionel Hampton, New York (Cap- itol; 4,820; 35-$1.10)—With Buck and Bubbles, Mills Brps. and Pops and Louie on stage and "Seng of Russia" (M-G). Currently on third and final week, wuh goed pace being main- tained at $55,000. On three-weelc run big preflt-getter. .' - Woody Herman, Chicago (Chicago; 3,900; 50-85 )-^P1uS "Whistling Brook- lyn" (M-G). Strong $52,000, mainly on band's lure,; . . Dean Hudson, Newark (Adams; 1,- 950; 35-99)—'With "Girl from Mon- terrey" (PRC) and, on stage, "Truth or Consequences." Strong $21,000. Ina.Ray Hutton, New York (Strand; : 2,756; 35-$1.10)—'With Three Stooges and "In Our Time" (WB). Of! sharp- ' ly on current (3d) week at around $43,000. Satisfactory, however, and holds ;a ' fot(rth, ;. Johnny Long, Pittsburgh (Stanley; 3,800; 30-751—With Hal LeRoy and "Lpst Angel" (M-G). Long has been a favorite here ever since he first got his start several years ago at local William Penn Hotel, Fact that he has okay picture, support, and with LeRoy as an,added assist, should; mean excellent $22,000. 'Vaue^lin Monroe, Cleveland (Pal- ace; 3,700; 35-85)—With "Beautiful - But BrPke" (CPl), Satisfactory $26,- 000 pn. this, bill,, With band .dping. all tl'.e work. Louis Prima, Prpvidence (Metre- pplitan; 3,200; 36-59)—With "Silent Barriers" (Inrtie), and actS-0J3-stagc^ Okay $8,000 on three-day weekend run. . .. . - , Charlie Spivak, Boston (RKO Bos- ton) (3.200; 44-99)—With "Phantom Lady" (U). Caught the holiday and school's-out biz - and headed for ter-, rific 836,000, Band well-liked here, but pic must, be considered a factor..: James' Army Status Crimps N. Y. Astor Harry James' imminent entry into' the Army has put the summer open- ing of the Astor Roof, N. Y., up in the air. James was scheduled to open, the spot with a; six-week stay beginning May 18 or 25, with Sammy Kaye. to follpw. James' removal leaves the Hotel and Miisic Corp. of America' Wj,th the, dift'lculty pf seenr- ing a replacement ilreng enpugh. Kaye was set to fpllow James some, time in July, and an eflCort is being made to get .him to move up into James' vacated time. However, Kaye is already booked for a string of theatres during that period. mi Dale Evans writing lyrics for the Roy Rogers starrer, "Vellow Rose of Texas," at Republic.