Variety (Oct 1948)

S6 OBCVESTRAS-3fIJSlC Wednesday, October 27, 1948 Capitol Grabs m AH Directioiis For Foreign Distrib Deals; Eng. Next Hollywood, Oct. 26. ■( Capitol Records Is on the verge of announcing a deal with E. R. (Ted) Lewis, head of British Dec- ca, which has been In the works for several inonths. The Coast maiot expects to release the de- tails of the arrangement some time later tJiis week. It will give Cap distribution in England, where Its, pressings have been in demand for some time. How much Capitol's arrange- ment with Lewis' Decca label will affect the latter's long, but not al- ways smooth, agreement with U. b. Decca is not known. As It stands, British Decca handles the material of its U. S. contemporary in the English record marts, and vice versa. Plus which Lewis' outht last year established the London label in the U. S., Which disburses English-made pressing for the V. S. market only. Capitol's British arrangeni«Bt •will bolster recently completed contracts with Telefunken, of Ger- many, which calls for an exchange of masters between the two coun- tries. This contract gives Capitol distribution throughout Europe, except for Russia and England, now being taken care of by the Lewis pact. Sandor Porges set the English deal, as well as the Tele- funken and two others with Mexi- can firms. Porges Is also due to go to Brazil soon to widen the Capitol distribution arrangement there, Currently, Capitol has an outlet in that country, but it's understood; thai his forthcoming trip will aim ■ for the same sort of master ex Best British Sheet Sellers (Week ending Oct. 21) London, Oct. 22, So Tired Connelly My Happiness Chappell You Can't Be True.. Chappell Galway Bay Box & Cox When You're in Love . .Wood Dream of Olwen Wright Woody Woodpecker .. . Leeds Rambling Rose Dash Ballerina Maurice Buttons and Bows.,. .Victoria La Vie en Rose Gay October Twilight Dash Second 12 All Dressed Upi . .Cineplionic Heartbreaker ;;.;...... Leeds Four Leaf Clover . F. D. & H, Call Everybody Darling-Morrls Suzy . . . Athenaeum Little White Lies Wright Time May Chartge.. Connelly Dickey Bird Song ... .P.D.&H. . Say It Evci-y Day..,. .Merrln Love Somebody ... i...Wood When Organ Played .... Unit ; It Only Happens Berlin KAPP TELLS BOSTON U SECRET OF DECCA'S B.O. Boston, Oct. 26 Decca Records ro.se from a struggling wax firm in the depres- sion days of the early '3Qsv to one of the. country's, three largest ^re- cording companies of today merely by mirroring the U. S. to itself *r" — »„.v,»nf «iii^h fiinv-*and presenting America's culture cliange a^anpment which chai * acterizes most of the company s " other foreign deals. Porges is now in New York, but Walter Rivers, head of Capitol's artists and repertoire division, ar-1 rived here over tlve weekend. Due to the complete lack of activity in N Y., Rivers has come out here to aid Jim Conkling, v.p. in charge | of all a & r. Whether that means ] Capitol intends hitting a faster pace in the recording of new ma- terial locally is undetermined. Rivers will be here at least a month. Col Matches Rivals With 79c for Pops Columbia Records has' decided to match rival recording manufac- turers and peg retail prices of its pop disks at 79c Instead of the flat 75c. Higher figure represents the passing on tax taps to the public, Instead of absorbing them itself. Columbia was the leader in jumping retail prices from 60c to 75c more than a year, ago, but had consistently paid the tax sums Itself whereas, when rivals went to 75c, It passed them on to buyers, Barton to Court To Hold Slipping N.Y.PubGrip Barton Music Co. financial situa- tion, which has been dormant since last December except for sporadic attempts to straighten it out, reached N: Y. federal court last week. To forestall one of two song- writer suits asking for return of copyriglits, Ben Barton filed a peti- tion under Chapter XI of the Chandler Act, Thursday (21), and Judge Samuel H. Kaufman signed an order puttlng the company's af- fairs under his supervision iHitit the tangle is smoothed out. Initial move in the battle over coin Barton owes takes place today: (Wednesday) when the 10 heaviest of Barton's creditors wiU be asked to show cause wliy Barton should not -retain control of the firm.; Among, them afe; Jewel - Music, Kupperman St Del Guercio, Buddy Kaye, Johnny Earrow and Marty Symes, Sammy Cahn, : Prankie Carle, and, strangely enoughv Bar^ ton himself and one of his partners. Hank Sanicola,* who are listed as owed $7,300 in salaries. In the event this group can stymie Bar^ ton's resumption of operation of the firm, another meeting of the same sort will be scheduled with Jocks, Jukes and Disks By Bernie Woods ' ' the basic reason for Decca's suc- cess, company prexy Jack Kapp last week told students of Boston University's' School of Public Re- lations Kapp also stressed the im- portance of according, the works of Gershwin and other contemporary American composers the same amount of dignity as that' given I general creditors. Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, 'That 1 j„dge Kaufman placed the af- he IS correct jn adopting such a fairs of the firm in the hands of re WELL QUITS DAVIS AHER MONEY TANGLE Murray Wizell has walked out of - his partnership with Joe Davis in the Murray Wizell Pub- lishing Co., after a disagreement over finances, fete has turned his side of the argument over to an at- torney. He owned 25%; of the firm, set up only some weeks ago. Wi?ell-Davis firm was an inde- Iiendent operation aifliated with Broadcast Music in the sense that it Was paid for performances secured. percept is reflected in the heavy sales of Decca both in the domestic and foreign markets. Kapp's topic was "The Social Responsibilities of Business." He'll repeat it in a. similar talk shortly before the Los'Angeles Rotary Club. LEEDS CHI OFFICE FOLDS Chicago, Oct. 26, Duchess Music Co., subsld Of Leeds Publishing Co., shuttered its Chi office last week. ^ Manaser Norman F i n k an- nounced no future plans. feree Peter B. Dlney. Barton has been allowed $75 weekly salary and nominal expenses to get the firm back on: its feet, and its first month's operational costs cannot exceed $500. ' Barton's, plan of settlement with creditors calls for songwriters to be paid first, they to get 100% on the dollar, 25% immediately and the remainder over 10 years. Gen- eral creditors will get 50% on the dollar; 25% of it immediately and the Remainder over 10 yeai-S. Pte- isumably this money will come (Continued on page 39) Jo Stafford-Gordon MacRae "My Darling, My Darllng"-"Glrls Were Made to Take Care of Boys" (Capi- tol). Top tune from Frank Loes- ser's new "Where's Charley?" mu- sical, "My Darling" seems headed for hltdojn. It's a commercial tune In the ballad vein, and jocks and jukes figure to make big use of it. Miss Stafford and MacRae make a provocative twosome of it, backed by the Starllghters and rhythm background, and their recording win fly high. Backing is an un- usual item that may get plays aplenty on Its own. A good melody and a rare lyric, smoothly performed by the duo. : Frank Sinatra "If I Steal a Kiss"-"Senorita" (Columbia). Both sonigs from Sinatra's new M-G-M film, "Kissing Bandit." Neither seems to can'y the power that makes hits, but Sinatra does 'em well, backed by Axel Stordahl's lush strings. Of the two, "Sen- orita" has a better chance. Art Lund "I Still Get a Thrllf 't "Bluer Than Blue" (M-G-M). "Thrill" is getting a hefty push along the revival trail from the recordings it is drawing and If it fails it'll be only because of pub- lic apathy. Lund's recording, done In the sort of rhythm that sounds best with him, is excellently turned and nicely supported by Johnny Thompson's band. It's fine jock fare. "Bluer" is an ordinary item that Lund, does well at ballao speed. Eve Young-Jack Lathrop "My Darling"-'You're the First Cup of coffee in the Morning" (RCA-Vlc- tor). Victor clings to non-musical background and as a result its post-ban disks suffer In compari^ son with those of rivals. Never^ theless. Eve Young and Lathrop do: a nice job on "Darling," one that could have given its better-name opposition disks: a run for the money if musical accompaniment had been available to spark it, Slipover is a bouncy thing that .locks will find useful without be- ing swamped for requests. Doris Day-Buddy Clark "My Darling, My Darllng"-"That Cer- tain Party'' (Columbia). Colum- bia's entry Into the "Darling" stakes will also get a big share of the returns on the tune.- This duo- has established a demand for their work through "Love Somebody," and the success of that disk will help this Into the front ranks-.- if the song sustains the pace. Re- verse brings up a side aimed to cash in on Benny Strong's Tower .sale. It's well done by the tVvo, but Strong' has a long lead' ancL he'll be hard to nose out with the cu.stomers and dialers^' Paul Fennelly Orch "Bella Bella Marie"*"Onee Upon a Wintertime" (M*G-M). "Bella Marie" song is . beginning 4o create a demand for Itself, via the Andrews Sisters (Decca) recording. Fennelly's disk- ing, made in England with Reggie Goff vocalllng, is a good side that easily can earn some of the play on the tune. It's done straight, with strings highlighting a lush background and gives jocks a dif- ferent approach to the melodj'. Backing presents Doreen Lundy with Fennelly's band on a melody that doesn't make much impres- sion. Vauglin Monroe VChocolato Choo-Choo"-"In My Dreams" (Vic- tor). Monroe makes an attractive side out of the "Choo-Choo" song, aided by the Moon Maids, and jocks figure to find good use for the disk. It's one of those things that grows with repetition, and it seems more suited to Monroe's vocal style than to Kenny Gard- ner's, who does It with Guy Lom- bardo for Decca, "In My Dreams" is Monroe's backing; done similarly to his "There, I Said It Again," the nostalgic melody Is very com- mercially performed and it has a fine, chance to ring the bell. Beryl Davis "Just Once More"- "Down the Stafars aqd Out the Door" (Victor). Beryl Davis does a fine job on "Once More," at- tractive rhythm tune excellently supported by Tuttle Gamarata's. bouncy and colorful. accompani-! ment. Tune is good, too, and It all forms good jock fare. Reverse has . good points; a novelty, the ; song makes good listening and is \ equally well perforised and played by the same pairing. Platter Pointers Gene Autry's Columbia disking of "Here Comes Sant# Claus," which sold 1,000,000 copies last year and is said to have orders In for 400,000 this year,: has been reissued. It's backed by"An Old Fashioned Tree" . . Stan Ken- ton's "Harlem Holiday" ■ (Capitol) breaks It up in his usual fashion, backed by "Don't Want That Man Around,'' a .vocal : by June Christy . . Victor released'two .swell sides by Duke Ellington (now with Columbia), titled "Suddenly It Jumped" and "My Honey's LovlnV Arms" ... M-G-M threw another entry Into the "12th St, Rag" race, a great lide by Arthur SmlthV guitar, backed by "Once Upon a Time" and issued along with his "Guitar Boogie" hit, itself backed by "Boomerang". , ... Murphy Sisters made up an excellent pair- ing for Apollo in "To Make a Mis- take Is Human" and"Whose. Heart Are You Breaking Now" , Signature marketed a "White Xmas" side by Bobby Doyle, backed by "Silent Night," and re- issued Hay Bloch's "Ave Maria." Starita Girl Band For German U. S. Zone Dates Bad Nauhelm, Oct. 19. Rudy Starita and his all'girl or- chestra, first name band to fly the air lift into Berlin, has been booked to play clubs in the north- ern part of the U. S. Zone of Ger- many, Allied Shows Section of Special Services-has announced^ . Bookings include Woodside; EM club. Gies.sen; Officer's Club, Weis- baden; Gup and Saucer Club, Gies- sen; Hang Out Club, Hochst; Sig- nal Depot Club, Hanau. The band will be featured attraction at a Hal- lowe'en costume ball in the Grand Hotel, Bad Nauheim, Oct. 31. „,^i?^.„10 Best Sellers on Coin-Machines H;ll!fbH. Dudero's K. €. Post Kansas City, Oct. 26, Gordon Dudero, longtime leader of a small orch, has given up the baton to take over the ofl:lce for McConkey Orchestra Service here. Formerly of St, Paul, Dudei-o has bought a home here, and will make the move permanent; He takes over from "Andy" Anderson, who lias gone to the Los Angeles ollice to handle small bands, Dudero made the svi'itch from • bookee to booker after closing out a seven-week stretch in the Drum Room, President hotel. McConkey last week also opened an olTice in Denver, adding to his New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas, K, C. and Hollywood coverage. 1. TREE IN MEADOW (11) (Shaplro-B) { SL^T ;;.V.: .''ffi 2. IT'S MAGIC (17) fWitmarki ) Doris Day Coltn?ibia 3. MAYBE YOU'LL BE THERE (13) (Triangle). ; ^Gordon Jenkins .Decca • • •:' • •' • • • • J Eddy Howard. ,. Majestic MY HAPPINESS (23) (Blasco) ' {^d^^:^'"''''':!: i .cS 12TM STREET RAG (10) (Sha»iro-B) Pee Wee Hunt Capitol UNTIL (2) (Dorsey) ." Tommy Dorsey Victor LOVE SOMEBODY (18) (Kramer W.) D. Daj/B. Clark Columbia ( Jacic Evierson . . Metrotone . • • • • • • r • J Harmonieats . ,. ,.,, *., Uriiuersal BUTTONS AND BOWS (3) (Famous) '. Dinah Shore ColuTObio YOU CALL EVERYBODY DARLING (16) (Mayfair) j 15rd7ca-rsis(crs;!! !".^Decca 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. HAIR OF GOLD (10) (Robert) 9. 10. Coming Up SLOW BO.\T TO CHINA (Melrose) Koy Kyscr Colmnbta R.OIBLLNG ROSE (Laurel) {S !:!!!:::::coi!^^ I Orioles Natural ' '•:'■":'.'■■ W:'.*.'vt Eliefc JiHtzgferatdt.- .■.■•:'>^ v'.ti;:DecC£t ■ . v.';: . ■•: '/■;'•■"'' i Xiifc Spots. .. .. .Decco .........,. •.' • ' •;.:, \Art.ne Shelton. . . ,^London FOB YOU (Wltmark) , '... Gordon Jenkins Decca :: J Dicfc Haymes.. ., .Decca IT'S TOO SOON TO KNOW (Slorris) SAY SOMETHING SWEET (Mills)... EVERY DAY I LOVE YOU (HamSis) CUANTO LA GUSTA (Southern) YOU WERE ONLY FOOLING (Shaplro-B) .. AH BUT IT H.4kPPENS (Bourne) > BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS (T. B. Harms) I Jo Stafford Copifol ( Mirando-Aiidreios 'SiSi.. . .Decca {Xavier Cugat Cohoiibia Blue Barron MG-M Frankie Laine Mercury Mooney . : ./^Mc-M' j Vaughn .MDuroa ■ i ^^yi6tot I Nellie Luicher.. . . , ,,., Capitol COOL WATER (American) >i, LIFE GETS TEEJUS (Miller) Carson Rohinson M-G-M IFigures in parentheses indicate number o] tcccfcs song has been in the Top 10.1 INA RAY BUTTON DUE TO REORGANIZE ORCH Ina Ray Hutton goes to the Coast soon to organize an orches- tra there and bftgln work out of the Hollywood office of Joo Glaser's Associated Booking Corp. She'll start one-nighters around mid-November and already Is ; booked on a string of • them, Eemme maestro will locate at ithe Last Frontier, Las Vegas, for four weeks opening Dec. 31. Miss Hutton has been in the- east since last sprinfr, having worked a long date at the Latin Quarter, New York, and. .eastern one-nighters. Paxto^'s N.Y. Cap Date Forces Nix of Biltmore George Paxton's orchestra signed for a three-week run at the Capi- tol theatre, N. V., last week and a day later was sought by the N. Y. Biltmore hotel to follow the cur- rent Russ Morgan. He couldn't get out of the Cap date, which' opens Dee. 9 with flimite Burt Lan- caster headlined, and was forced to bypass the Biltmore. Capitol date Is Paxton'si, fourth In as many years. Beneke at Dallas Expo Dallas, Oct. 26. Tex Beneke band has been booked for 9 days here at the Agrir culture Building at Fair Park dur- ing the Dallas Industrial Exiposl- tlon Dec. ,4-12. . ' Appearance is being sponsored, by the Dallas Manufacturers and Wholesalers Assn.