Variety (January 1953)

246 Fortytevenlh P'&RIEjrY 'Anniversary Wednesday, January 7, 1953 Record Artists 7 Fees * Continued from page 244 * ROBBINS MUSie CORPORATION * LEO FEIST, INC. * MILLER MUSIC CORPORATION 799 7th Ave., New York 19, N. Y. was made that put the comic into i the high brackets. : When Caruso made his first plat- ters in Italy 50 years ago, the Gramophonje people (Victor’s European affiliate) thought he was overpaid. • When they learned their roving recording expert had of- I fered the immortal tenor the equivalent of $100 a side, excited j officials wired: “Fee excessive. Forbid you to record.” But the ex- pert recorded, anyway; Caruso be- : came a classic and his records made i millions for Gramophone-Victor. In his very early 20s, John,. * McCormack made cylinders in Eng*' :j land for Edison, Edison Bell and ( Sterling, as well as Odeon disks, s He was glad to accept five guineas J (about $25) each. After he came to this country he became Victor’s biggest Bed Seal attraction. His ] records cost less than Caruso’s and ] sold better. His royalties averaged i over $100,000 a year. Only a few years before, as “J. F. McCormack, 1 the young Irish tenor,” he had been glad to warble ballads at $25 a throw. i Most Underpaid Perhaps the most qnd$rpaj$ celebrity, but the one who eventu- ally got the sweetest revenge, was Billy Williams, “The Man in the Velvet Suit,” who became the idol of the English music halls. Some of the Edison oldtimers like to tell about how when Williams came to England from Australia in 1908 he was so eager to find some way of attracting attention that he agreed to make Edison cylinders exclu- sively for about $12.50 each. His first, “John, John, Put Your Trousers On,” was a riotous hit which brought Williams all sorts of well paid engagements at the halls. Naturally, Edison wanted lots more Billy Williams cylinders, and naturally Williams wanted a new contract and more money. 4 The company’s business manager, a hard headed American business man. refused to alter the figures and held Williams to his three-year pact. He argued the records had been the comic’s making. Williams felt somewhat better when a friend pointed out that his contract was exclusive to cylinders only-r-rhe could make as many disks as he liked. So the man from “Down Under-” began to sing for all the platter factories and be- came the hottest thing on records. When his three years were up, the Edison business manager tried to* get his contract renewed at the same old $12.50 terms. And then, with fluent profanity, Williams told him a few things. While the b.m. quivered in agony, Williams, said he would go on mak- ing Edison records but there would be some changes made. First: When the day of the recording en- gagement . rolled around, he would show up at any hour he preferred, but a well rehearsed orchestra must be kept in waiting from 8 a.m. on, Second: He would sing each song only once, and his fee would be $500. Third: “I never make ■mistakes,” William said, “but if the orchestra blows up during the re- cording I’ll do another take—for another hundred pounds. Every time..I sing a song twice through no fault of my own you’ll pay me all over. Take it or leave it!” It was bitter medicine, but the b.m. felt that Edison must have Billy Williams records, and he took it. Williams was a victim of too much prosperity. He died of a heart attack brought on by overwork. Moving up to modern times—the Andrews Sisters have been among the big money makers for years. Yet Decca is said to have paid them only $50 for their .first waxing, “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen” and “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” But, of course, the record first brought them before the public and laid the foundation of their prosperity. It's Music by JESSE GREER Program Today Yesterday's SLEEPY HEAD SHAPIRO, BERNSTEIN THE BEST! Willoughby Records . IATEST REIEASES: "BABY" "FILL YOUR HEART WITH MUSIC" DATES OKAY WITH DISK JOCKEYS ABELES & BERNSTEIN Season’s Greetings 745 Fifth Avenue, New York 27th Anniversary at the Palmer House RALPH GINSBURGH and His Concert Ensemble MERCURY and COLUMBIA RECORDS Happy New Year! Jimmy Blade and his Orchestra Currently: CAMELLIA HOUSE, DRAKE HOTEL, CHICAGO