Variety (April 1952)

PfiBBEff Scoreboard OF TOP TALENT AND TUNES Compiled from Statistical Reports of Distribution Encompassing the Three Major Outlets Coin Machines Retail Disks Retail Sheet Music as Published in the Current Issue for WEEK ENDING APRIL 5 NOTE: The current comparative sale*'strength of the Artists and Tunes listed hereunder is arrived at under a statistical system comprising each of the three major sales outlets enu- merated above. These .findings are correlated with data from wider sources, which are exclusive with Variety. The positions resulting from these findings denote the OVERALL IMPACT' de* veloped from the ratio of points scored: two ways in the case of talent {disks, coin machines), and three ways in the case of times (disks, coin machines, sheet music). POSITIONS This Last week. week. 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 2 5 5 6 7 7 6 8 9 9 10 POSITIONS This Last week. week. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 6 5 3 9 4 7 • ♦ TALENT ARTIST AND LABEL Kay Starr (Capitol) Leroy Anderson (Decca) Four Aces (Decca) Johnnie Ray (Okeh). Ella Mae Morse (Capitol) Ray Anthony (Capitol) .T Eddie Fisher (Victor) *• Doris Day (Columbia) Les Baxter (Capitol) ''Guy Mitchell-M. Miller (Columbia) TUNE ,. Wheel of Fortune .. Blue Tango (Tell Me Why ”/ Perfidia I Cry I Little White Cloud [Please Mr. Sun [Brokenhearted .. Blacksmith Blues .. At Last (Anytime . .-(Tell Me Why [Forgive Me ,. A Guy Is a Guy .. Blue Tango .. Pittsburgh Penn. - TUNES TUNE Wheel of Fortune Blue Tango Blacksmith Blues Anytime Tell Me-Why A Guy Is a Guy Cry Please Mr. Sun Perfidia Pittsburgh Pennsylvania PUBLISHER Laurel Mills Hill-R Hill-R Signet Ludlow : Mellow .... Weiss-B Peer Oxford ymmr 10 Best Sellers on Coin-Machines Week of w 5 + +♦ * ♦ M ♦ ♦ ♦ M ♦ M - 1. 2 . 3. 4. 5. 0. 7. 8 . 9. 10 . WHEEL OF FORTUNE (8) (Laurel). BLUE TANGO (7) (Mills) AT LAST (3) (Feist) Kay Starr Capitol <- ( Leroy Anderson Decca " ► \ Les Baxter • Capitol •<- Ray Anthony .. Capitol *> 1 2^01x7* A ccs •»»*• JDccctt H ** TELL ME WHY (14) (Signet) Eddie Fisher ‘.‘.Victor A GUY IS A GUY (1) (Ludlow) Doris Da V Columbia I BLACKSMITH BLUES (3) (Hill-R) Ella Mae Morse Capitol ^ PERFIDIA (1) (Peer) Fou \ Aces ..Decca COME WHAT MAY (7) (Shapiro-B) Patt \ Pa ^ e .....Mercury .. ANYTIME (12) (Hill-R) Eddie Fisher Victor CRY (14) (Mellow) Johnnie Ray Columbia “ Second Group “ PITTSBURGH PENNSYLVANIA (Oxford). - BE ANYTHING <Shapiro-B) ^ I WANNA LOVE YOU BE MY LIFE’S COMPANION (1) (Morris) -- BROKENHEARTED (5) (DeSylva-B&H) 3 BERMUDA (3) (Goday) TULIPS AND HEATHER (Shapiro-B) * -- LITTLE„WHITE CLOUD (13) (Spier)... t PLEASE. MR. SUN (Weiss-B) STOLEN LOVE (5) (Parliament) * - f TIGER RAG (4) (Feist) -- GARDEN IN THE RAIN (Melrose).. t TENDERLY (E. H. Morris) [Figures in parentheses indicate number of weeks song M 4 ft - IS < jM. M » t Guy Mitchell-M. Miller. Columbia Eddy Howard Mercury ( Ames Bros Coral | Kay Starr Capitol ] Rosemary Clooney . .Columbia (Mills Bros Decca Johnnie Ray Columbia Bell Sis.-H. Rene Victor Perry Como Vidor Johnnie Ray Okeh Johnnie Ray. Columbia Eddy Howard .Mercury Les PauVMary. Ford Capitol Four Aces Decca Rosemary Clooney ... Columbia has been in the Top 10] By VINCE WILLIAMS (WJZ, N .. Y., Disk Jockey ) - Most commonly used "pleas” by songplugger to fht disk jockey* musical director and bandleader: "I need one more to make the sheet,” "The tune i$ breaking big in Fairbanks* Alaska.” **My bos$ will fire me if I don’t get your plug.” "My song just made the rack,” "This song will make the artist.” "My song sold 1,000 copies today.” "This song is really, selling in Cincinnati.” "Whatever you do, don’t curve me.” "This song will make you a big man.” "You’re the first to play this song.” (Oh, Yeah??) "The song finished No. 1 on the sheet last week.” • "You don’t know what this means to me.” "Your show is really great”... (Your theme sqpg??...Oh, I * missed that part.) . * "This song will be a bigger standard than ’Stardust’,” **Would you like Joe Doakes for a guest.. .he does a great job on my song.” "When can we get together for dinner or lunch?” "You told me yon cleared my song, but It didn’t show in the clearance.” "What show, fight, ballgame or movie would you like to see?” "I know you don’t like the song, but just this once* please?” "We’re going off the song.. .but.. .can you give it just on© more shot?” "Every label is covering, this song.” "This song is so pretty... it makes me cry,” "I saw you on TV the other night... you were terrific.” "Let me tell you about the old days of songplugging.” "What do you ‘Johnny-Come-Latelies’ know about music, any- how?” "What do you mean you don’t like the song.. .Joe Disk-Jockey picked it No. 1.” "This song is moving like a cyclone in the midwest,” "Sure the song’s a ’turkey’.. .but I have to make a living, don’t I?” "Please play the song... help ease the pain of jny Ulcers.” "Let me show you what the trade papers think of the song.” "This is our ’Drive Week’... give the song a couple of shots, huh?” "It isn’t a drive, but we want to keep the song moving.” "This song will make the ‘Hit Parade’.” "I know you don’t' have a lot of air time.. .and you don’t like the song, but just play ONE CHORUS!!” "If you can’t play it.. .please mention the title!1” ^ "I also have another song...we’re not working on it now... we’re just experimenting with it to find its potential... but if you^jt tlye.time and feel like it.. .give it a sh<>t,,” "I don’t want to pressure you like the other boys, but this song will really make your show. By the way.. .how’s the family?” "You told me you’d have my song on your show, but you didn’t play it, I figured you’d run out of time...so give it * couple of shots next week?” "Everyone says you’re the greatest guy In the business.” i i ■ . ---i"— i.«m Gilbert Back to Coast L. Wolfe Gilbert, chairman of the Coast writers committee for the American Society of Com- posers, Authors and Publishers, planed back to the Coast yester- day (Tues.) after attending a series' of classification committee hear- ings for the past couple of weeks. Main point on the committee’s agenda is still a discussion of the proposals to amend the current 60-20-20 payoff plan. Committee has been at work on a revised plan for more than a year-and-a-half without coming up with any specific recommenda- tions. It’s felt now among some ASCAP execs that the new payoff plan is here to stay despite sporadic squawks from the ranks. Vidpix Chatter ■ — Continued from page 30 ■ -J is slated for end of April start . . . Frances Rafferty emerges from three-year retirement from films, for rote in "Big Town,” produced by Jack Gross and Phil Krasne at General Service for Lever Bros. . . . Marcia Jones has femme lead in "Racket Squad” vidpix shooting at Hal Roach studios . '. . Ralph Cattcll, v.p. of Jerry Fairbanks Productions, left .on business trek to Indianapolis . . . Mona Freeman and John Hudson are starred in "Meet the Little Woman,” Revue Productions’ telepic rolling at Eagle-Lion studios, Norman Lloyd directing . . . Jack Mahoney, the "Range Rider” in vidpix, left on a 20-city personal appearance tour, and returns for his next Columbia picture May 6 . . . Jack Chertok Productions will shoot 52 "Lone Ranger” series at General Service studios . . . Gayle Gittennan will produce "The Dramatic Hour,” four-segment, hour-long series for Hal E. Roach, with shooting date skedded May 19 at the RoachPlot. Roach is now putting polishing touches on recently finished "The Children’s Hour,” four-segmenter starring Maui;***/ i. Coast Palladium MuOs Switch To Vocalist Policy Hollywood, April 8. Hollywood Palladium, longtime dance band stronghold on Coast is | mulling a policy change to add name singles, especially vocalists. Spot pitched a four-frame deal at Liberace, pianist, starting June 17, concurrent with the Benny Strong- orch stand. Spot is also seeking Johnnie Ray for October and Frankie Laine for November. Palladium toyed with the same idea three summers ago, hut while using single singers along with orchs, did not use names of po- tency of those now sought. Terpery Monday (7) inked deal with Tommy Dorsey for a five- week roost starting May 13 at guarantee and percentage-. It’s his first stand there since December, 1943. Since then he’s confined lo- cal bandstanding to his own spot, Oa s i n o Gardens, Ocean Park, which he bought in 1944. He has sunk a total of $350,000 into Gar- dens, which was shrouded more than a year. Jimmy Dorsey precedes T.D. into Palladium Tuesday (15), following current stand of Buddy Morrow. After Strong, Ray Anthony comes in for four frames, starting July 15, followed by Les Brown. Disk Ives’ London Concert London, April 8. A complete ^recording of Burl Ives’ Royal Festival Hall concert tomorrow (Wed.) is to be taped. Ives’ recordings are normally distributed, through Decca, which* it is understood, will be offered this complete version' of his London