Variety (December 1950)

ORCHESTBAS-nniSIC Wednesday, December'20, 1950 On the Upbeat New York Paramount-Famous general man- ager Ed Wolpln leaves Jan. 5 for a two-week vacation in Culia, after which he Coasts to Par studios for two weeks to look over forthr coming scorew the picture subsids will publish . . Three Notes ter newed for four weeks at the Sena- tor hotel, Atlantic City . . . Tommy Valando. Laurel Music chief» off for Nassau vacation, while Jw Zimmo, of ChappeU’s sales depart- ment, heads for Florida . , ^ singer Jack Smith to emcee the “Queen of the Pasadena Rose Bowl Parade’' New Year’s Day on the Coast . . . Disk jockey Jack Lazare switched from WOR, N, Y,, to WPAT, Paterson, N, J, “Hullabaloo.’' new novelty au- thored by Mills contract writers Jeff Curtis and Vernon Cross, waxed by six labels as of last week . . . Florence Gershwin, of Mills Music's sales department, off to the. Coast for a month. ROy Stevens orch, which closes at Roseland ballroom, Dec. 24, re- turns to the New York terpery for plays hit fproatetf hitt •xclufively LATEST RELEASE! ‘‘TENNESSEE WALTZ” • ‘‘SET OUT 78 rpm 39113 33'/> rpm 3-39113 “HARBOR UGHTS” • “SUGAR SWEET” ^78 rpm 3B963 33/i rpm 1-784 45 rpm 6-784 “STRANGERS” # “THE ONE 78 rpm390b7 33'/i rpm 1-837 !” 45 rpm 6-837 *'CHEEKT-ClliEKt HOOPLA** • **eUILTY** 78 fpm 39013 ^ ^ 45 rpm 6-843 “MTRICIA” • “THE PETITE WAUZ” 78 rpm 39030 33'/j rpm 1861 45 rpm 6-861 **TO VMINK YOU*yE CHOSEN ME** **YOU OUGHTA BE IN PICfURES** y8rpm 39036 33'/. rpm 1-867 45 rpm6-867 PLUS "SAMMY ICAYE*t SUNDAY SERENADE** 33'/> Long Playing Record CL 6155 Set C-219 on 78 rpm records on COLUMBIA RECORUS OLD RECQRDS** * 45 rpm 4-39113 a four-week stand Jan. 21 • • . trumpeter Leonard Suea is cuiv rehtly featured as an onstage solo- ist in the current Music Hall, N. Y., show . , . 4at «King*V Cole trio into the Tiffany Club, Los Angeles, for four weeks, opening Dec. 26. Chicago BMI organizing spots in central ! and southern Illinois, with Lake Club, Springfield, the first to pact . . . Ed McAuley, Robbins Music sales manager), in from New York for lookoyer . . . Three Bars of Rhythm and Zaniacs into Crown Club. Chi, this week , . . Kitty Kallen added to Chicago theatre I bill with Red Skelton, Jan. 5 . . , ' Saul Bourne in town huddling with > Hank Markbreit . . . Mercury pact- ed Teddy Stouffer band to cut i eight sides a year in Acapulco, Mexico . . * Natt Hale left Colum- bia as midwest promotion manager ... Betty McGuire band set for i Lockland field, San Antonio, Jan. 3 i for one week . . . George Auld | band and Lee Wiley to Colonial Tavern, Toronto, Jan. 1 for two weeks ... Dick Bradley, Tower Records topper, to New York to spread “Jug O’ Wine” campaign in connection with Bemie Mann disks ... Hugo Malan orch to Mayflower hotel, Akron, Dec. 29 for two weeks . . . Bob Smith, former folk singer, now handling d.j. promo- tion for London ... Ella Fitzger- ald set for Blue Note, Feb. 16, for two weeks . . . Music pubber Ches- ter Conn in from New York hud- dling with WBBM music director, Caesar Petrillo . . . Marty Mills of Mills Music in town. Tops of the Tops ICetRll Disk- Best Seller “Tennessee Waltz” Retail Sheet Best Seller **Rudolph the Reindeer" ^Most Requested” Disk “Tennessee Waltz’' Seller on Coin Machinei “Tennessee Waltz” Best British Seller “Rudolph the Reindeer" Chi Tooters Continued from page 35 Pittsburgh Tommy Carlyn's band back into Bill Green’s for indefinite engage- ment. Saxman Billy Sagone left Teddy Phillips to rejoin Carlyn, and orch’s new vocalist is Chickie Dale, replacing Dolores Randall . Buddy Laine took on A1 Fremont as his arranger, succeeding Bill Cornelius, going into army . . Claude Thornhill booked for one- nighter in January at Colonial . . . Will Hansen, ex-bandleader now managing new Royal ballroom in Wilkinsburg district . . . AL Di- Lernia, whose trio is at William Penn hotel’s Continental Bar, dou- bling into orch playing for “Tech Varieties,” teevee show on WDTV . . . Nick Covato-Jack Peck crazy house band, the Racket Cheers, now touring midwest, signed man- agerial' contract with the Chicago Mutual Entertainment Agency , , . Whitey; Scharbo's band had op- tion picked up at Johnny Brown's Club in East Liberty . . . Nelson Maples, critically injured last win- ter in auto accident, isn't return- ing to Cork and Bottle for some time yet, and organist Dick Nuss- baumer stays oh there. Hollywood Freddy Martin inked for Jan. 19 opening at Ciro's . . . Charlie Ventura's band dropped by RCA Victor . . . Geri Galian etched four sides for Azteca Records . Spike Jones talking a film deal at Columbia . . . Frank DeVpl band postponed it N. Y. Capitol date from Jan. 25 to mid-February . . . Decca renewed Louis Jordan for three years ... RCA Victor or- dered a goldplated disk of “The Thing/' proof that the Phil Harris etching had passed the 1,000,000- mark. Figure, of course, includes the 45 rpm version. Last Victor platter to top the 1,000,000-mark was Vaughn Monroe's “Riders in the Sky,” Song Cavalcade in ’51 Prentice-Hall’s publication pf the “Variety Song Caval- cade” has been deferred to the spring of 1951 because, of the considerable additional mate- rial which Dr. Julius Mattfeld, CBS musicologist, who com- piled it, has added. The vol- ume will round out the mid- century by including the 1950 Calvacade of Hits, plus ah his- torical-biographical appendix. This portion, too, is being ex- tensively revised and reedited by Abel Green, editor of Variety, who has written a special introduction. The proposed $4 publication ... price will more likely be nearer $7, because of the . added material. Those ad- varice-orderers who have re- . mitted $4 to Variety are hav- ing their checks held, for final billing, or they can have, the remittances returned. Other- wise their orders are being kept, along with others which are to be billed upon publica- tion. survey the lot of his own musicians. When the COA withdrawal move is called by Local 10, observers here feel the threat may hot stick, particuiarly since t^e op is so de- pendent on his entertainment. Plushier lounges here are gen- erally lighted six nights a week; neighborhood lounges, which em-: ploy small local units, usually are open all week; and larger hiteries, hotel room, and terpalaces are also a seven-night operation. 'The latter spots customarily bring in a relief band for the seventh night, with smaller lounges using a sub trio or a single/ Among the hardest hit will be the glorified lounges who book name units, and who rely mostly bn attractions for its trade. In addition to a heavy dole for the band itself, the op must also bring in another unit for the sixth night. Generally this would be a bread- and-butter outfit, on which he’d probably lose money for lack of trade. Only other outlet would be to darken the spot for two nights, which he now feels would be equal to bringing in the sub group. Passing-through units, in this case, would also feel the brunt of the five-day week, particularly since the op might feel reluctant to shell out the customary coin for only five days’ service. Where ops are now doling out upwards of $1,000 for small name units, the likelihood is now apparent that they’ll plead for lower flat rates. Equally hard hit, if not in a more vital spot, is the nabe lounge own- er, who’s working on a low budget atid depending on his local trio to keep him in the black. Where he has previously brought in a single on the off-night, he must now either keep the solo for two days or plug in the music box. Since he depends largely on his regular unit to make ends meet, any alter- native would be to little avail; and two nights of slow business is too big a gap to hurdle during the bal- ance of the week. Niteries have been using one of a few local relief bands to work its shows on the seventh night. The same relief band usually alternates among several spots for six nights. In a sense, the steady substitute must reduce its rounds to five, or the maestro must form another unit—that is, a substitute must be found for the substitute. Many small unit bookers here have already reported some ops, independent of COA announce- ments, are ready to suspend enter- tainment operation's entirely, and others are shuffling their budgets, bringing in trios on weekends and using singles the rest of the week. This is almost a complete turn- about. One lounge owner, with a $550 weekly budget, has now gone on a single policy, paying his solo $150 a week then bringing in the small coiiibo on his heavy nights at the regular $19 scale. This, ad- mittedly, is a vast. Improvement for the solo 88’er, for example, Who reportedly will be much in demand when the fliU impact of Petrillo's edict is felt. It's believed the lot of the local sideman, however, will not be per- ceptibly improved, though his wel- fare inspired the five-day week. Only new openings that may be- come available will be In the dozen or so spots which use full bands. These reportedly cannot sWallow the great horde of Local lO’ers who still want work. / The long-range power and stand- ing of Local 10 is further endan- gered by holdbacks. Observers feel that where dishonesty between orch and op. in dealing with the AFM, has been virtually at its smallest human percentage, the probability of increased holdbacks now looms likely. Many sidemen are steadily employed here, some having sunk coin in homes, and all are good game now for cooked-Up [rates to insure their employment. 5 DISTRIBS ADDS BY LONDON IN THE WEST London Records has buttressed its releasing setup* over the past couple of weeks with the addltipii of five distribs in the midwest and far west. New outlets are Oregon^ Record Sales, Portland; D&E Dis- tributors, Des Moines; Music Serv- ice, Great Falls, Montana; Lleber- man Music, Minneapolis, and Gramophone Sales, New Orleans. Under policy of sales chief Joe Delaney, London has been fran- chising distribs in all the key cen- ters in effort to pinpoint the com- pany’s releases. Lee Wiley, Hackett Set for Col Album Columbia Records has signed jazz singer Lee Wiley and trum- peter Bobby Hackett to do an al- bum. Pair will be equally featured on the disks. Joe Bushkin and his string group will accompany. Kaye Returns to GAC Sammy Kaye, who’s been a free agent for over six months, last, week signed an exclusive booking contract, with General Artists Corp. Agency will handle theatre, niteiy, dance, radio and television bookings for Kaye. Bandleader did not renew with GAC after his old contract was up earlier this year. Instead, he had GAC booked most of his theatre and nitery dates, but also accepted bookings from other agencies. ffoofus rocordoJ and fnaturnd bf WMMV OORSEV Oecco MR. GOON-IONEl-tARNEV lANTl M*rcury PHIL HARRff EGA Victor JOHNNY MERCER Copitol lEt PAUL Copitol. PRANK PEHV TINO M.G.M « lEC ffiST ;S': THE WINTER SENSATION! SLEIGH RIDE PROGR4M NOW! "I DON'T MIND BEING ALL ALONE" (Wh.n I’m All Al.li. WlHi VmiI MILLS MUSIC, iNC. Ul'f. BroadwaY . Naw York If SHAKtSHARl ^ “IH£ PLAY'S THE THING" , PlAV THE. YIIN6 Heor PHIL HARRIS an RCA Victor HOUIS MUSIC, INC. 1 29 W, 52 nd S' . NYC Phonogrdph recordi wanted mode be-^ tween 1920 and 1940. Any quantity, or deo!er*a etock. i. SCHNElDEk, 128 W. 66Hi St. New York City, N. V.