Variety (April 1953)

ONCniSTMAS-MVSIC ’Wtfataixf, April *, 195 * Jocks, Jukes and Disks • * — HUM ECHOENFELD, . " , ■ m*mn« Dolores Gray? “Big ,J\laflW ; - lent job but perhaps a bit late to “Say You're Mine,Again* (Decca). catch up with the initial Percy This coupling looks like'a cinch to Faith version on'Columbia. ■ be Dolores Gray’s biggest.:«?Big Peffffy Lee: “Who’s Gonna Pay Mamou,” launched by Link Davis The Check”-“Sorry Baby, You Let on Okeh, gets a rousing'workover My Love Get Cold (Decca). slated for heavy jock and juke “Check” is an okay dialect tune with spins, “Mine Again” gets the a light bounce beat which'Peggy same click treatment as on the Lee sells to the ■ hilt. Fair pros- driglnal indie .Allied label. pects. Reverse is in a flavorsome Perry Como: “Say You're Mine blues and rhythip groove with good Again”-“My One and Only Heart” chances. (Victor).. Perry Como’s cut of Bill Kenny: “Who’s To Blame”- “Mine Again” should walk off with “I Keep Thinking of You” (Decca). most of the marbles on this num- Bill Kenny high-flown tenor pipes ber, a fine ballad .which gets a gets good material on this coupling, catching slow treatment with “Blame” is a good ballad tailored choral backing from the Ramblers, for his trademarked mannerisms. Flip, on which Gomo uses the mul- Flip is another fine tune, Sy OR- tiple-dubbing technique for the ver’s orch furnishing the back- first time, is equally targeted for grounds. the hit lists. It's a light rhythm Five Bills: “Waiting, Wanting”- tune with a fine lyric. , “Till Dawn and Tomorrow’* (Bruns- Band Reviews LAWRENCE WELK and hit CHAMPAGNE MUSIC LOUIS PRIMA ORCH (13) With Kuely Smith _ . Cafe Rouge, Hotel Statler, N.Y. Louis Prima has come into this hotel hand room, for, a six-week stand with a virtually, new lineup of sidemen and the lack of inte- gration is conspicuous. It’s likely that the band will start pulling to- gether ' before this date ends but that wasn’t the case opening night ( 6 ). Prima, as before, is the type of maestro who doesn’t need more than A minimum of support. He clowns, muggs. and dances on the podium and sells his ,crew by the sheer force of his showmanship. His freewheeling antics, inciden- tally, represents a switch from the usual staid behavior of other band- leaders in this room. Prima’s novelty vocalling is the ne witn a nne iyrjc. * im uawn ana -tomorrow ru>ruiiv ,— . ctjmriont nuictnni fpatnr* nf this Tony Martin: "Now Hear This"- wick). This is a promising, vocal 85th ConMeutiv. W..k, Ar.aon musical featoe ot this “April In Portugal" (Victor). Tony combo with the lead tenor having Ballroom, Santa Monica, Calif. orgmliatwa ue nas a Drignt. m Martin, who has been looking for fine pipes which he uses somewhat Exclusively for Coral Records AiS-iSf intrt i likable com- a hit disk for some time, could in the Bill Kenny manner. “Wait- flimsiest tune into a nxame com Exclusively for Coral Records “OH HAPPY DAY" backed by “Your Mother and Mine” have it on this, coupling. “Now ing” is a neat ballad with pop po- by “Your Mother and Mine” ” Hear This” is a Wswinging t^ntial. Flip is less effective with , . ' ’KnTZ takloff on an marching number with a colorful the tenor getting too flamboyant. a 2« i£LSwSf nf Seville ” lyric. “April in Portugal,” which Jerry Gray Orch: “Tompkins “Ohio,” “One Hundred Easy Ways,” ar «,”S2!vnpaHcs} ’TCppIv has been climbing as an instru- Grove”-“And The Bull Walked “A Little Bit In Love” (a likely C J:J? mental,, gets a romantic, highly Around Olay” (Decca). Jerry Gray’s item for a name femme singer to ® ls ? «ivv wax), “Pass the Football," “A Quiet » : Zd rhvt hm num- Glrl, “My Darlin' Eileen" and Sots" Roth ate w Prtaa set an Best Bets yersation Piece “ a funny number the bandstand^ and/that ****™'*°V*}™™ a C ~ 9^ 3 helps to relax the customers. 6 DOLORES GRAY . BIG MAMOU Dacca ...., Say You're Mine Again PERRY COMO SAY YOU’RE MINE AGAIN RCA Victor My One And Only Heart TONY MARTIN NOW HEAR THIS RCA Victor ........ April In Portugal PAT^I PAGE 00, WHAT YOU DO TO ME Mercury Now That I’m In Love TONY BENNETT NO 0*NE WILL EVER KNOW Columbia I'm the King of Broken Hearts without its visual element. As al- helps to relax the customers. The- band itself is relatively ways, Decca s Ust of numbers on sma u f 0F this room, with only 12 the jacket is admirably clear, but men j n addition, to Prima. There if the prhated blurb capsuled the ar g fl ve brasSt four reeds and three situation for each number it would on r hythm and the arrangements be helpful for those who. haven’t wiu be okay ln a 5 i mp i e , dansable seen the show. Hobe. groove once- the sidemen get to Doris Day: “By The Light of the know each other. Henn Silvery Moon” (Columbia). This ■ package of tunes from the Warner RAY HERBECK ORCH (10) pic of the same title in which she With Dolores Crane stars, Doris Day exhibits that lucid, Hotel Muehlebach, Kansas City warm style which has made her a Ray, Herbeck’s crew is a Coast commercial lyric treatment by orch rides a smooth instrumental of such datp? in Martin with tasteful orch backing on “Grove,” a danceable slice with tunes^“If You Were The f Qnlv hntplQ rnnm« for d several by Lennie Hayton’s orch.. a bright arrangement. It could be ggff, ?. s Ain V t w e G ot Fun ” “Baby months^ This is a^ repeat of its Patti Page: “Oo, What You Do a sleeper. The slice of “Bull” is BumbleBee ” “Just One Girl” date in the Terrace P Grill here to Me”-“Now That I’m in Love” probably too late to mean any- ‘TU Forget You” and the rous- about a vear and a half aeo * (Mercury). PafU Page can do no ^ ing “King ChaSticleer” number. Followi^g hls pet phrase 1 ‘music wrong on _ wax. and she turns up tins climbing numbei. Paul Weston’s orch backs ud smart- with mrnnnro “ Hprhppk pops ln with another likely bestseller in “What You Do to Me.” She gives it a sultry Latin-styled rendition with lotsa impact. Flip is a take-. -—.7--™ —---• , off on the “William Tell Over- Town” (Decca). Original-cast al- . Album Reviews Rosalind Russell: “Wonderful ture,” with novelty appeal. bum of this latest Broadway musi- Tony Bennett: “No One "Will Ji^ttP^fan^ nf some fair Yiddish-flavored items, which he gets from the sidemen, gY" Kn°w"-*;rm the King of jn* a platter tad, of “zigany Melody” and "Yaass" . . . featuring Ralph Harden on trum- Broken Hearts (Columbia). May- • kily Ann Carol has a line side in pet, Charley McCamish on trum- As ,l S , fl nn ‘‘Rollin' Rollin’ Stone” (Victor) . . . pet, Bill Groom on piano, and could still nf° m ? ° f 0n the same label, Damita Jo again himself on the tenor sax. Through- score with Ever Know.. It s a the numbers have different^values impresses on “The Widow Walk” out tempo is given priority to simple sad tale ably projected. 9^ stage per- an( j “Missing” . . . Elton Britt make danSability the keynote of FnS i S another melancholy item torc^m:?* For exMnple, Leonard CO mes up with fine country slice the music. This has been the Her- ^tjji Sood Potential. ( M S f eev ?. n r ^ ore ° f “Broken Wings,” currently Brit- beck format for 17 years. IWae RJ°rae:^ Big Mamou - ^Ffftde and the Betty Comden- ain’s top hit (Victor) , . . Charlie In the vocal department, Dolores . (Capitol). Ella Adolph^ Green lyrics are more m- Spivak orch has a good marching Crane has an unusually low regis- 5® ae «*S2 r£ i£r^? 8 ? ir ^fi he runnin S Jelligible on repeated listening at version of “The Army’s Always, ter. She’s adept on the novelties, °r 1 show s opening There,” the prize-winning U. S. handles a ballad satisfactorily and slice while Pete Hanley, for Okeh. n ght, amid the laughter and ap- Army number by Sam H. Stept teams with Bill Steers, of the +Ki S e rSf n +i?f pi a u s e of a_ responsive audience. (King) . ,. Louis Jordan has a like- trumpet sections, on duets. Fol- ^ S0 Bus . seB apparently ly side in “It’s Better To Wait For lowing this seventh visit to the r «« erS o’ a ^ e t°,. concen .^ a ^ e . on ^ one and Love” (Decca) . . . Bob Craig’s dra- Muehlebach; Herbeck crew goes to JJSJ _9iV, balla( ^ enunciation, without worry about matic style has two okay sides in Phoenix and will return to the f r n tt so her distinct brand of “Daniel In the Lion’s Den” and Coast in May. , Quin, n TT V60 y ocallz ™g ^ in some respects bet- “The Masquerade Is Over” (Decca) • rrSSSv t 9 1 u° n disk .despite the absence . . . “Little Red Monkey” gets an CARL SANDS ORCH. (9) •TftSSv 11 ” vi . suft l antics and personality, effective clavioline treatment by With Rosemarie Larcon „n K nnnih p vfinp M S 1 ta « d °ut songs on the record in- Frank Chacksfield’s Tunesmiths, a Hotel Statler, Boston •number fi “A1 hnmiermm “ wHb f elude the already establish ed,-pop, British combo (Coral) . This is Carl Sands’ first Hub date spelling-out lyric cutely’handled nil r* • mm * m sL K srwMd,. Fl “Ks--. a ^ «eu vsmwrY 1() Best Sellers on Coin-Machines 1 1 . . . . . . 1 i .ikAi ing “King Chanticleer” number. Following his pet phrase, “music Paul Weston’s orch backs up smart- with romance,” Herbeck goes in ly with Norman Luboff’s choir as- strongly for the proven standards, sisting on most of the tunes. as well as the hit parade favorites, . giving them a straightforward mu- ' Platter Pointer* sical treatment with reed em- phasis. What makes the Herbeck Leo Fuld bows on Mercury with music good is the particular work Quin, first Hub date by maestro Flanagan and the Singing Winds. “Moons”»also gets a commercial slice, Harry Prime soloing. Jackie Paris: “If Love Is Good to Me”-“Only Yesterday” (Bruns- wick). Jackie Paris has a definite Nat Cole quality which might handicap his own impact as a stylist. He's competent in this genre, however, and has a fine number in “Love Is Good to Me.” The flip iya fair ballad. Dennis Day: “My Sweetheart Mamie”-“There’s Plenty of Fish in the Ocean” (Victor). “Mamie” was kicked off by an Eddie Cantor TV plug and this 1941 tune in an 1890 groove gets an appropriately warm, oldfashioned workover by Dennis Day and choral group. Flip is an okay novelty. Ferrante & Telcher: “That Old Black Magic”-“Beezwhacks” (Entre). This piano duo whip up strange sounds out Of their "gim- micked pianos and their slice of the standard, “Old Black Magic ” generates a unique excitement which could give this side a big juke play. Flip is a double-quick rendition of a w.k. classical theme, “Flight of the Bumble Bee.” Henri Rene Orch: “Street of Shadows”-“The Song From Mou- lin Rouge” (Victor). Fine instru- mentals on two pic themes. “Shad- ows” is a bluesy number which gets an atmospheric workover with Alvy West’s expressive sax provid- ing a big lift to Rene's rich or- chestration. Flip ifyjinother, i $xc£lriJ 1. DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW (9) t Patti Page Mercury 2. TILL I-WALTZ AGAIN WITH YOU (14) ..“ , Teresa Brewer Coral 3. PRETEND (6) Nat (King) Cole Capitol 4. DON’T LET THE STARS GET IN YOUR EYES (16) Perry Como Viqtor 5. TELL ME YOU’RE MINE (12) . ^,, Gaylords Mercury 6. SIDE BY SIDE (10) Kay Starr Capitol 7. HAVE YOU HEARD (12) Joni Jaxnes M-G-M A STORY (3) F. Laine-J. Boyd Columbia 9. KEEP IT A SECRET (IS) ; Jo Stafford Columbia 10, YOUR CHEATIN’ HEART (5) Jo?ii James M-G-M Second Group CARAVAN Ralph Marterie ....,. .Mercury WILD HORSES . Perry Como Victor 3 HEART b‘ * • '••• Frankie Laine Columbia NO HELP WANTED Rusty Draper Mercury MY JEALOUS EYES Patti Page .. . . Mercury WHY DON’T yOU BELIEVE ME. Jmi jJ les ^wt Y t W ^ R v/ytt# WANDER * Ju ^ ius LaRosa Cadence ” Mindy Ca rson Columbia I’M SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD Paul-Ford . . rnnttni yov BELIEVE ME pam pa^ A FOOL SCC»AS A i^ Cemeia ° ibbS Mercury IT WITH YOUR HEART 7 Bob Carroll t .Derby IOT tob HY Ralph Flanagan Victor L Figures in parentheses indicate number of weeks song has been in the. Top 101 in several seasons and the current aggregation is a well-rehearsed group dispensing, a slick brand of rhythmical and llstenable musie •With this room operating Sands floorshows, customer terpology it of prime importance and the Sands’ troupe fills that requirement in topnotch fashion. Consisting of three brass, one trumpet man* doubling on mello- phone and the other on alto horn two tenor saxes and a baritone* drum&, bass and the maestro at the ’88, group achieves a deep, mellow sound. Tempos are mostly of “so- ciety” type with book comprising standards , and more popular cur- rent ballads played in medley fash- ion with'a neat, danceable beat. Vocals by attractive thrush Rose- marie Larcon register nicely as do those by saxman Joe Davis and trumpetman A1 Reeves, who spe- cializes in Latina'stuff. Arrange- ments are built around the suave pianoing of Sands who also adds to the general overall'pleasing ef- fect by occasionfdly tinkling the celeste. Elie. JACK KERNS ORCH (4) Hotel President, Kansas City One of newer small combos to come into town is the Jack Kerns crew at the Drum Room of the Hotel President originally for two weeks but to stay -several more. Outfit has been together about six years, most of it in hotels and lounges in the midwest. Leader Jack Kerns concentrates on the dafice beat and largely fea- turing the standard’s and old faves. . They put in enough Latins, waltzes and novelties to give the proper variety to evening’s output. Pattern is to take the up-tempo tunes with a near Dixie beat, and give ballads sweet styling with emphasis on dansability. , Aggregation is led by Kerns on trumpet, with A1 Gaffney on tenor sax, Sammy Arnold on drums and Charley Lawyer on piano. Kerns takes his turns at vocalling a mild ballad, and rhythms are embel- ’ lished at times with vocal from the group. Quin. Longhair Disk Reviews Beethoven: Sonata No. 23 in F Minor and No. 2 in A (Columbia, $5.45). Pianist Robert Casadesus in a sterling performance of the “Appassionata” (No. 23), full of power and drive as wOll as sen- sitivity. Sonata in A, gay and light, is sharp contrast, charmingly done. Ace disk. Liszt: Concerto No. 1 and Men- delssohn: Concerto No. 1 (RCA Victor, $5.45), With Jose Iturbi doubling as pianist-conductor with the RCA Victor Symphony, the Liszt is played with skill and po- etic feeling as if it" weren’t an old, hackneyed warhorse but the dash- ing; romantic piece it otherwise is. Melodic Mendelssohn . work is played gracefully, crystal-clearly. Schumann: Davidsbundlertanze (M-G-M, $4.85). Suite of 18 var- ied, colorful, descriptive pieces played warmly, zestfully by a gift- ed young American pianist, in Jo- seph Battista. Some surface noises detract. Bartok: Dance Suite and Koda- ly: Dances From-Galanta (London, $5.95). Kodaly’s lush Hungarian music, of gypsy origin and flavor, richly played by the London Phil- harmonic under Georg Solti. (Some passages are blurred). Orch is as polished with Bartok’s engag- ing, strongly rhythmic suite. Tchaikovsky: Quartet No. 1 and Borodin: Quartet No. 2 (Capitol, $5.72). Hollywood .String Quartet in two appealing performances, an early Tchaikovsky Work with its lovely, familiar Andante Cantabile, and the more sweeping, brooding Borodin with its fine third-move- ment Nocturne. Beethoven: Overtures (Vox, $5.95). Vienna State Philharmonia under Jascha Horensteln plays the “Prometheus” dashingly the “Leo- nore No. 3” solidly, “Coriolan somewhat sluggishly, and “Eg- mont” in lively fashion. Rossifli-Respighi: Rossiniana and Cimarosa-Maliplero: La CimaroSi- ana (M-G-M, $4.85). Pleasant old- Italian music from Cimarosa and Rossini attractively played by the Covent Garden Orchestra under Warwick Braithwaite. . Charming disk. « Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 1 and Rhapsody on Theme of ■‘Paga- nini (RCA Victor, $5.45). These re- pressings of fine performances played by the composer with his favorite symph (Philadelphia Or- , ohestra) make a*flavorsome, choice souvenir. There’s poetry .as well as . nostalgia here. " " Broil