Variety (August 1952)

in U. S„ Chicago, Aug, 26. Chicagoland Music Festival, yearly promotion of the Chicago Tribune, last weekend honored the country's oldest composer, author and publisher, Will Rossiter. In addition, at a luncheon held Friday (22), a portion of the Warner Bros, pic, "I’ll See You in My Dreams,” which deals with the life of Gus Kahn and Rossiter’s early days as a song publisher here was shown. Paul Cunningham, director and secretary of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Pub- lishers, presented him with a scroll. Still active at $5, and in his 62d year as a publisher, Rossiter is currently working on a revival- of an oldie, "At the End of a Sweet Trail/’ which was written 30 years ago by Ethel Hanson. Under the name of W. R. Williams, which he uses for all of his own composi- tions, he wrote "You Haven’t Changed” several years ago, but didn’t plug it until recently, due to the death of his wife two years ago. In addition, he’s just permed "It’s More Blessed to Give Than Receive,” one of the more serious songs he’s done in recent years. Of the more than 2,000 listings in his catalog, Rossiter has written about 500 either by himself or in collaboration with' others. While Rossiter two years ago told VAKUxtY that modem methods of song plugging and radio killed the life of. the modern song, he doesn’t feel that way about tele- vision. Teevee, with its emphasis on production numbers, consumes fewer tunes, and video as a whole, he believes, isn’t depending upon music for 24-houx;-a-day diet as does radio. Hence, the current tunes will have a longer life. Rossiter started in business in 1890 with a tuno of his own, “Sweet Nellie Bawn,” which'all the pub- lishers had turned down. With its success he decided to continue in the dual capacity of composer- publisher. The early hits he issued were smashes like "Some of These Days,” "Darktown .Strutters Ball/’ "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland,” "The Vamp,” and "Turkey in the Straw.” His biggest triumph, "I’d Love to Live in Loveland,” has been revived frequently. Concert pianist Claudio Arrau left N, Y. for Salzburg Saturday (23) and a subsequent tour of South Africa. The top 30 song* of week (more in case of ties ), based on copyrighted Audience Coverage Index & Audience Trend Index. Published by Office of Research / Inc., Dr. John Gray Peatpian, Director. Alphabetically listed. Survey Week of August 15-21 __ Auf WIederseh’n Sweetheart Hill A R Blue Tango Mills Botch-A-Me. Hollis • Delicado Remick Gfcmy... .. Goday Goody Goody .DeSylva-B-H Half As Much Acuff-R . Here Comes That Mood .Life Here In My Heart ........... .Mellin How Close Life I’ll Forget You. — Witmark I’ll Si Si Ya In Bahia.. .' Burvan Pm Yours : Algonquin Lovely To Look At .Harms ’ Lover Famous Luna Rossa «... Bregman-V-C Maybe. ♦ Robbins My Love and Devotion,. Shapiro-B Roganne .... _. ABC Bosses Of Yesterday. ’..,! -. .Berlin Singln’ In the Rain—t"Singin’ In the Rain”-Robbins Sftioke Rings Am- Academy So Madly In Love . Shapiro-B Somewhere Along Way United ' Sweetest Words I Know Life Walkin’ My Baby Back Home ’ DeSylva-B-H •When I Fall In Love. Young • Wish You ^ere Here-^*"Wish You Were Here”.... Chappell You Intrigue Me .Remick Zing a Little Zong—t"Just For You” Burvan Second Group Adlos ,, Peer Am I In Love Famous Because You’re Mine........ «... Feist Busybody ^ Alamo Doodletown Fifers , .Piper For the Very First Time Berlin Forgive Me Advanced Hesitation * Mellin High Noon—t"High Noon” Feist I Love You So Jerome In The Good Old Summer Time Marks Just For You—t“Just For You” Burvan Kiss Of Fire Duchess Live Oak Tree .Burvan Meet Mr. Callaghan. Leeds Once In A While Miller Poinciana Marks Should.I? Robbins This Is Beginning Of the End Robbins Till the End of the World Southern Vanessa ; Morris Watermelon Weather .Morris West Of the Mountains Goday Top 10 Songs On TV Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart Hill & R Blue Tango ...Mills ■ Ding Dong Boogie *. Gallico Half As Much • Acuft'-R Here In My Heart Mellin 1 Hear the Bluebells Ring Leeds I’ll Walk Alone Mayfair Jf ver Famous Should I? Robbins Wish You Were Here—*“Wish Ybu Were. Here’‘ 4 \\\\ Chappell FIVE TOP STANDARDS •S* 1 * 1 ns To Kn°w You.. Williamson tK 6 * 1 *? and New World l No Buslness Like Sh °w Business... Berlin t Filmusical. * Legit musical . 'J3LX& WdncadaT, August S7 T Ws* RETAIL DISK BEST SELLERS National. Rating This Last wk. wk. Survey of retail disk best sellers, based on reports ob- tained from leading stores t« 12 cities and showing com * parative sales rating for this and last week Week Ending August 23 Artist, Label, Title . 1 * S B <5. t w « B & § 5 i3 « § K 8 2 « | § 8 rj r} M <D J <pW ,p» ’-5 £ ft o c w a £ & 3 & | J I s 1 *2 3 *\ * I s 8 S I 5 S Z « * I 9 % 3 ft I CG & Q 13A 14 13B 12 16A 11 VERA LYNN (London) "Auf Wiederseh’n—1227.. r...... .. EDDIE FISHER (Victor) “Wish You Were Here”—2 0-4830, 5 FRANKIE LAINE (Columbia) “Hi$h Noon”—39770 1 ROSEMARY CLOONEY (Col) ~ " Half As Much”—39710 10 ROSEMARY CLOONEY (Col) “Bdtch-a-Me”—39767 6 JO STAFFORD (Columbia) "You Belong to Me”—39811 2 F. LAINE-DORIS DAY (Col) “Sugarbush”—39693 4 JOHNNIE RAY (Columbia) '"Walkin’ My Baby Home”—39750. 9 NAT. COLE (Capitol) "Somewhere Along Way”—2069. . IT PERCY FAITH (Columbia) “Delicado”—39708 7 ’ » - - AL MARTINO (BBS) “Here In My Heart”—101.. .. EDDIE FISHER (Victor) “I’m Yours”—20-4680 SLIM WHITMAN (Imperial) “Indian Love Call”—8156 LEROY ANDERSON (Decca) “Blue Tango”—40220 GO WINTERHALTER (Victor) “Vanessa”—20-4691’ . SAMMY KAYE (Columbia) . “Walkin’ to Missouri”—39769 JOHNNIE RAY (Columbia). “All of Me”—39788 3 57111212 > 3 5 3 7 6 3 4 5 3 9 .. 3 5 7 6 .... 6 1 4 4 . .. 6 ,. 5 6 8 1 t • ff . • .. 2 .. 2 ,, • . • 4 .. 4 1 .. .. 4 .. 9 2 4" 2 .. 4 6 ,. .. 10 .. 10 .. 8 - 1 2 so 3 6 67 •• 4 61 • ♦ 1 54 3 50 • • 8 33 6 9 31 9 10 30 - 7 29 4 5 20 5 .. 17 2 .. 13 7 7 FIVE TOP ALBUMS BIO BAND BASH Billy May Capitol KCF-329 DCN-329 L-329 JOHNNIE BAY ALBUM Columbia CO-6199 * C2-88 B-2-88 LOVELY TO LOOK SINGIN" IN THE [WITH A SONO IN AT Hollywood Ca*t M-G-M M-G-M-150 K-150 E-150 RAIN Hollywood Catt M-G-M M-G-M-113 K-113 E-113 MY HEART Jan* Froman Capitol BDN-309 KDF-309 L-309 10 Best Sellers on Coin-Machines VVeek i of i Aug ; 2 ! . * ^ { Eddy Howard Mercury j 2. WISH YOU WERE HERE (3) (Chappell). Eddie Fisher Victor 3. BOTCH-A-ME (8) (Hollis) Rosemary Clooney .... Columbia 4. HALF AS MUCH (11) (Acuff-R) Rosemary Clooney ....Columbia ■ 5. SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAT (2, (Unttefl) j ! .CoXS 6. SUGARBUSH (5) /Schirmer) Frankie Laine-D. Day .. Columbia •5. WALKm- MT BABY.BACK HOME U4> (DeSylva-B-H) } %£*m^?CoU \ '“oSSS 8. MAYBE (10) (Robbins) p Como-E. Fisher Victor 9. VANESS (1) (E. H. Morris) , Hugo Winterhalter Victor 10. DELICADO (13) (Witmark) l P. Faith Columbia Kenton Capitol Second Group HERE IN MY HEART (13) (Mellin) J AX Martino ■ ■ • j j Tony Bennett Columbia T ZING A LITTLE ZONG (Burvan) Bing Crosby J. Wyman .Decca { FOOL, FOOL, FOOL (Progressive) K a y Starr Capitol J l T Martin Victor t KISS OF FIRE (15) (Duchess) ] r*‘ Mercury t j a EcLfinc’ V.V.V.V.. ... mom \ ■ HIGH NOON (Feist) ... ( Frankie .Laine Colu ™Z\ a , + : \m Haves MOM I SO MADLY IN LOVE (Shapifo-B) Georgia Gibbs ,... Mercury f I’M YOURS (13) (Algonquin) 1 Eddie Fisher \ „ t , T v | Don Cornell Cora T WALKIN’ TO MISSOURI (Hawthorne) Sammv Kave Columbia - lover (5) (Famous) i:::::;:;;;: Peggv v L ... ^:: BLUE TANGO (19) (Mills) \ Leroy Anderson | Hugo Winterhalter Vlcror " I MAY HATE MYSELF IN THE MORNING (Valando) Betty McClaurin Derb » ;; IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME (Marks) ]_,?§ Paul-Mary Ford ...-Capitol ^ SMOKE RINGS (Am Academy) L„ s Pnu i.Mary Ford C^pito 1 ;; SHOULD I (Robbins) Fmtr Aces D.-cca 4- ROSANNE (ABC) y,,. Mercury [Figures in parentheses indicate number ol weeks song has been in the Top 101 ++++++++++ + 1 1 ♦ > i i u m ^ +++ ♦ * *++4 + f ^ 4 + 4 4-