Variety (March 1952)

44 OmCIESTR A$2ftVV7$YC artr' Displaying unusual interest In an oldie, Decca Records is launching It revival of “Honest and Truly" with four-way coverage in the pop, hltjes and country field. Guy Lombardo orch and the Ink Spots have etched the tune for the pop field with Little Donna Hightower han- dling the blues assignment and Roland Johnson covering the country market. Lion Music, recently-formed'Subsid of the Big Three music- combine, has made the number its No.l plug. Following the lead of Capitol and RCA Victor, which have been promoting their catalogs via free newspaper and mag giveaways to retailers, Columbia Records has revived its old publication, Coda, for similar exploitation purposes. Under its new format, Coda is a 16-page booklet containing reviews of Columbia long-play releases and byline articles by top longhair artists. M-G-M Records is readying the release of its “Dramatic Highlights from Quo Vadis” album for April 11 to coincide with the Metro pic’s opening at Loew’s Theatres in the Greater New York area. Diskery has distributed 8,000 dummy covers of the album and 150,000 theatre ticket envelopes for promotion tie-ins with the theatres'. Album is M-G-M’s first venture into dramatic waxings. •0 Don Cornell, former Sammy Kaye vocalist who exited to do a single, has hit pay dirt with his first etching for Coral Records. His cut of “I Walk Alone" has already passed the 100,000 mark and is building into the label’s current bestseller. Cornell joined Coral after a hitch with RCA Victor where he failed to make a dent in the pop market. Top artists of all the major disk companies are being enlisted into a campaign to get the vote out for the Presidential elections next November. Produced under the auspices of the American Heritage Foundation, the transcribed .spots win be distributed to disk jockeys in time for the registration period. Latest of the left-field tunesmiths to hop on the pop bandwagon is Nat Shapiro, record promotion man. Tune, “Sing Our Song of Love,” was adapted by Shapiro from a central European folk song. Composer Alec Wilder penned the lyric. Howie Richmond is publishing. MI6HT R WHO, WHO, WHO (Dayvin) — Doris Day (Col.) and | BOUNCER th« Paul Weston Orchestra produce a bright and happy item whioh Billboard says ia “another of her personality-loaded bouncer,“ (Rates 84--excel- lent). Reverse side is the smash, “A Guy Ia^JLGuy." * * * 4 * •’HR$T 0 SENATOR FROM TENNESSEE (Babb) — Dinah Shore teams RATE” uritb Tex Willi&ms (Vio.) on a timely lyrio and bouncy tune called by Cash Box “first rate job," Billboard rates it “excellent" for deejays and says this "novelty bouncer should intrigue,* ***** MAKS R I’VE TURNED GADABOUT (Ridgeway) — Spike Jones •l» (Vic. }‘makes a strong bid here. Billboard sees it '■ as “a truly fine Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart opus — done up brightly by the Jones Group,* A straightforward Job without the typical Jones* gimmicks. ***** CUCAT M THE ACAPULCO POLKA (Pemora). SCORES ♦ THE HILLBILLY MAMBO BAND (Pemora) — Xavier Cugat (Mer.) features Abbe Lane'in what Cash Box calls “a fast moving polka* and "a novelty mambo • , . mixture of Lat in-American and hillbilly flavor- ing.® Billboard names disk “a happy item.* ***** •••EST R BEWARE (Montauk) — Dolores Gray (Dec.) scores a »ir Cash Box "BEST BET® and is rated by Billboard "a warm vocal on a pleasant ballad, performed as a beguine by the (Sy Oliver) ork,® ***** "EXCELLENT” £ MORI I GO OUT WITH SOMEBODY ELSE (Weiss A Barry) — Billboard places this item in the “excel- lent* class, reporting, “The Four Knights (Cap.) show their fine, smooth blend on a lively and melodious ballad.* ***** SPIRITED £ THAT EYERLQYIN' RAG (Johns tone-Montei)—An old- fashioned instrumental is turned out by the Buddy Morrow Trio (Vic.) in "fine fashion" says Billboard. "Has spirit aad fun . , . could be a coin gatherer." ***** "VIIRANT” £ THEY SAY YOU CRY (Algonquin)—Merv Griffin (Vic.) BALLAD comes up with a ballad which Cash Box says is an "expressive-feelingful Job." Billboard calls it "vibrant piping backed by restrained orking." ***** M «ST % THE ROCK ISLAND UNI (Algonquin) -Making his sing- irr’ Ing dobut, Art Ford "(Essex), the deejay of "Milk- man's Matinee" fame (KNEW), earns a strong Cash Box "BEST BET." Opinion is that Ford "givei out with a sook treatment ... a fast moving ditty." BROADCAST MUSIC, INC. S80 TITTH AVENUE • NL W VORK 3 *> * * IMitoijliy,, March. 19, 1953 a f| me. ■ W - A 1# Survey Week of March 1 The top 30 songs of week (more in case of based on copyrighted Audience Coverage Index tc Audience Trend Index. Published by Office of Research , Inc., Dr. John Gray Pbatman. Director . Alphabetically listed , A Kiss To Build a Dream On—f“The Strip” Miller Always Anytime ► Hui & Be My Life’s Companion Morris - Blue Tango * — Come What May Shapiro-B Qjy Mellow Dance Me Loose . Erwin-H Did Anyone Call Rcmick Down Yonder LaSalle I Could Write a Book—*“Pal Joey”.. Harms I Hear a Rhapsody—*i“Clash By Night” Broadcast I Wanna Love You • , Finburgh Life Is a Beautiful Thing—t“Aaron Slick” Famous .Little White Cloud That Cried Spier Marshmallow Moon—t“Aaron Slick” Famous Orice I Loved You « Roncom Oops—+“Belle of New York” Feist Perfidia Peer Play Me a Hurtin’ Tune Pickwick Please Mr. Sun Weiss-B Retreat :Porgie Silly Dreamer Witmark Singin’ In the Rain—t“Singin’ In the Rain” Robbins Slowpoke Ridgeway Tell Me Why Signet Trust In Me Advanced Tulips and Heather. Shapiro-B Wheel Of Fortune Laurel Wishin’ Midway Second Group A Garden In the Rain .’ Life A Weaver Of Dreams ^....Kassner At Last At Last Duchess Bermuda Goday Blacksmith Blues Hill & R Broken Hearted DeSylva-B-H Don’t Send Me Home Hubert Glorita Life Grand Central Station .Harms Honest and Truly Lion How Close Life I Talk To the Trees—*“Paint Your Wagon” Chappell I Wanna Say Hello Johnstone-M I’ll See You In My Dreams—t“See You In Dreams” Feist I’ll Walk Alone Adams-V&A My Love Life My One and Only Love Sheldon Poor Whip-Poor-Will Gallico Silver and Gold Blue River Take Me Home ,,, Remiek Undecided -. Leeds Until (Anema E Core) i Leeds Top 10 Songs On TV \ Anytime Hill & R Be My; Life’s Companion Morris Blacksmith Blues Hill & R Cry Mellow Little White Cloud That Cried Spier Noodlin' Rag BVC Please Mister Sun Weiss-B Slowpoke ‘ Ridgeway Tell Me Why .Signet Wheel Of Fortune Laurel FIVE TOP STANDARDS Back To Donegal Leeds It’s a Great Day For the Irish Feist MacNamara’s Band .. Vogel Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral Witmark When Irish Eyes Are Smiling Witmark Jazz Panorama Scraps Label in Crackdown On Bootleg Waxings Another wax pirating operation Jazz Panorama, scuttled its l a y last week' as a result of the indm 1 try’s multi-pronged crackdown on the bootleggers. The Jazz Parnu rama outfit, run by Sam Meltzer notified the office of Harry p ox ’ publishers’ agent and trustee, that he was no longer in business.’ 1 Unlike the Dante Bolletino’s Jolly Roger label, which is beint hit with treble damages claims for publishers royalties, Meltzer is i n the clear on this count since he had paid the necessary licensing fees. Columbia Records, which launched, the action against Bolle. tiiio as a test case, agreed to waive any money damages from Meltzer on his promise to close up shop. SPA, Pubs Take Hiatus On Resolving Issues With the initial meetings of the Songwriters Protective Assn, and top publishers failing to settle any of the outstanding issues between the two sides, further confabs have been postponed for a minimum of three weeks. Both sides have been trying to clarify provisions in the basic writers’ -contract which has produced some dispute in-the in- dustry in the last year. Postponement was caused by thi fact that two of the publisher reps, Louis Bernstein and Jack Breg- man, took off for Florida vacations, Selvin To Tour Ben Selvin, general manager of Southern Music, is skedded to head out on 5-week European trek April 23. Ralph Peer, firm's prez, is due back from a six-month European stay the first week in April. It** Music by JESSE GREER Program Today Y«st«r day's t Filmusical. * Legit musical. * ■ ■ 1 ■ ■■ m i I Bandshow Review Guy Lomlmrdo Orch (AUD., SAN ANTONIO) San Antonio, March 11. Guy Lombardo Orch (14), Twin Pianos, Lombardo Trio, Cliff Grass, Kenny Gardner, Kenny Martin, Bill Flannigan, Carmen Lombardo, Gene Sheldon, Don Cherry, Three Ganjou Bros. & Juanita. Some 4,500 persons at $2.60 top paid $7,500 for the cdficert and show of Guy Lombardo and his orch which ran for 150 minutes at the Municipal Auditorium here (9). Lombardo presented a well balanced show with a variety of standards and current pops.- Many of the tunes were requests from some 100 Korean war vets attend- ing. Others were old Lombardo faves and Carmen Lombardo cleff- ings. In addition to several instrumen- tal medleys which displayed the versatility of the Lombardo band, there were vocal solos, trio and quartet warblings, and the Twin Pianos. Kenny Gardner pleased with his specials on “Dangerous Dan McGrew” and “Frankie and Johnny,” both of which- he was forced to reprise. Other soloists were Cliff Grass, who scored with the novelty, “I Ain't Gonna Take It Slttin’ Down,” Kenny Martin, and Bill Flannigan and his guitar. The Lombardo Trio, consisting oi Fred Higman, Grass and either Carmen Lombardo, Flannigan, Gardner or Martin, also were spotlighted. Fred Kreitzer and Buddy Bren- nan at the-Twin Pianos were fea- tured in several of the orchs’s num- bers plus tunes that have become associated with them, notably “Humoresque.” Don Cherry made his first major appearance before a home state audience, playing several Texas stands with this unit. He displayed his pipes in fine style and was brought back for several encores. Comedy instrumentation was supplied by Gene Sheldon, a banjo- ist who had the audience with him all the way. His antics, general hayseed appearance and pantomine were top-drawer. He had to beg off. The Th/*ee Ganjou Bros., dressed in 18th Century costume, kept the crowd on edge via their tossing of Juanita around the stage, v There was a brief period of mike trouble at the start of the show, but this was repaired with no time lost. Band was well arranged on' the stage and was a relief from other outfits who "blast” away at the audience. Show ran smoothly and was well staged. Andy. Lift to Wcitminster Kurt List, composer and critic, has joined Westminster Records as assistant musical director. , Diskery is an indie firm special- izing in longhair repertory. Coast musical director Victor Young arrived in New York yes- terday (Tues.) for recording ses- sions at the Decca studios. FLAPPERETII MERCURY #5756 HARMONICAT5 (Mills Music) ON RECORDS - RADIO-TV A GUY IS A GUV Doris Day ColumH* Ella Fitigorald ...... LUDkOW MUSIC. INC. 6U Fifth Av#.. Haw York