Variety (April 1953)

u OKCHESTRAS.MI7SIC Inside Stuff—Music % Albert Von Tilzer, who hit the alltime bestselling song lists with Take Me Out To The Ballgame,” which he wrote in collaboration with Jack Norworth, is getting unusual coverage of his most recent tune, “I’m Praying To Saint Christopher,” by London Records. Label has assigned the tune to its two top femme diskers Vera Lynn and Anne Shelton. Only the Shelton platter, however, will be distributed in the U. S. Von Tilzer, who’s now living on the Coast, penned the tune with Harry MacPherson. Incidentally Albert is one of six brothers who entered the music biz. Jules and H. Harold "Gumm (latter adopted his mother’s name) are now associated with Harry Von Tilzer Music. Jack, Will and Harry are deceased. Columbia Records' extensive use of the old Adams Memorial Pres- byterian Church on East 30th St., N. Y., for a recording studio was spotlighted, in Meyer Berger's “About New York” column in the N. Y. Times last week. Columbia’s engineers claim that the church's di- mensions of 96 ft. long, 65 ft. wide and 45 ft. high are ideal for wax- ing. purposes since any dimension of greater than 100 feet produces echoes. Top asset of the church, however, is its old wooden beams which mellow the overtones. RCA Victor is marking the 50th anni of the first Red, Seal recording tomorrow" (Thurs.). It was on April 30, 1903 that Ada Crossley, at Carnegie Hall, N. Y., cut “Caro Mio Ben” for Victor. However, it wast not until the following year, when Enrico Caruso joined the company, that Victor’s Red Seal recordings were launched in the mass market jgince 1903, estimated that over 325,000,000 classical disks have been pressed by Victor. The count for all Victor platters is well over the 1,000,000,000 mark. i Click of Red Buttons’ initial comedy disk for Columbia Records is cuing Jackie Gleason to get off his serious maestro kick for Capitol. Records and etch some of his comedy numbers. Capitol Records will probably release two special material tunes, “And Away We Go” and "Hmmm, Boy,” which Gleason has used on his TV appearances. Tunes were written by Charles and Henry Tobias in collaboration with Glea- lon. Tobey Music is the publisher. * . . . . K.C. Philharmonic Opens 27G Fund Drive Kansas City, April 28. Philharmonic Orchestra last week inaugurated a campaign to raise $27,500, deficit on its 1952-53 operation. Amount is balance of £111,000 needed to complete the mstaining fund, provided by indi- viduals and civic fifms and organi- zations to give the orchestra sup- port needed in addition to ticket sales. Past season was described as suc- cessful by Dale M. Thompson, pres- ident, who said expenses totaled $270,328. Receipts amounted to $158,351, including some other funds. »Disk Companies 7 Best Sellers*. CAPITOL ARTIST 1. PRETEND Nat (King) Cole DON'T LET EYES SHOP FOR HEART 2. APRIL IN PORTUGAL . Les Baxter SUDDENLY 3. BLUE GARDENIA Nat (King) Cole CANT I 4. I'M SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD .. .L. Paul-M. Ford SLEEP 5. SIDE BY SIDE Kay Starr NOAH COLUMBIA 1. STRANGE THINGS ARE HAPPENING ..tfed Buttons HO-HO SONG 2. SONG FROM MOULIN ROUGE .Percy Faith SWEDISH RHAPSODY 3. I BELIEVE v Frankie Laine YOUR CHEATIN' HEART 4. TELL ME A STORY F. Laine-J. Boyd LITTLE BOY AND OLD MAN 5. I LET HER GO Frankie Laine RAMBLIN’ MAN CORAL 1. DANCIN’ WITH SOMEONE Teresa Brewer BREAKUP IN THE BLUES 2. MANY ARE THE TIMES .. Don Cornell THERE'S NO ESCAPE 3. YOU'RE DRIVING ME CRAZY * Buddy Greco I PREDICT 4. RED TOP Johnny Long LET'S GO DOWN. TO THE TAVERN 5. DANGER Johnny Desmond THE JAPANESE SANDMAN DECCA 1. LESS THAN TOMORROW Hamisb Menzies YOU CAN BE IN LOVE 2. BIG MAMOU Dolores Gray SAY YOU'RE MINE AGAIN i 3* RED CANARY .‘.Florian Zabach APRIL IN PORTUGAL 4. WHO'S GONNA PAY THE CHECK Peggy Lee SORRY BABY 5. SEVE N LO NELY DAYS Guy Lombardo DOWNHEARTED MERCURY ,1. DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW Patti Pace MY JEALOUS EYES 2. SEVEN LONELY DAYS .Georgia Gibbs IF YOU TAKE MY HEART 3* ££®£VAN .. Ralph Marterie WHILE YOU DREAM 4 * »* Richard Hayman LOVE MOOD 5* APRIL IN PORTUGAL Vic Damone I'M WALKING BEHIND YOU M-G-M 1. IS IT ANY WONDER Joni James ALMOST. ALWAYS 2 * Silvana Mangano I LOVED YOU 3. YOUR CHEATIN’ HEART Joni James I'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU 4 - 5£W-LIGA .,.. Hank Williams YOUR* CHEATIN' HEART 5. COQUETTE Billy Eckstine A FOOL IN LOVE RCA VICTOR 1. MY ONE AND ONLY HEART Perrv Como SAY YOU'RE MINE AGAIN ^ 2. I'M WALKING BEHIND YOU Eddie Fisher JUST ANOTHER POLKA 3 - poRSS WIND0W Homer * Jeth, ° 4 ' !erENME T Ralph Flanagan 5 - SmSi Freddy Martin WediKes^jty, April 29* 1953 Bobrowi Weekly Concerts For Charities in Seattle Showcase Local Tooters Seattle, April 28. Norm Bobrow's Sunday “Charity Concerts/’ begun here a few weeks ago as a specialty to showcase local musicians, has attained status of an institution. Concerts, now in ninth week, have moved from Cirque Playhouse to larger Little Opera House, and curtain time has been moved from 7 to 8 p. m. Total gross, minus city tax (Federal tax is waived) and special musi- cians scales, goes to charity. Concerts are produced in theat- rical style and feature various types of music, including jazz, pop- ular, progressive and classical. There is one admission price, $ 1 , and no passes. With no advertis- ing campaign and no concerted publicity effort beyond plugs for concert on Bobrow's disk shows on KXA and KOMO, .concerts have definitely caught on, with turn- aways at last four concerts. Typical talent lineup is seven musicians and one vocalist, plus Bobrow, Who directs and performs. Much of the appeal is credited to listener’s opportunity to hear mu- sic unopposed by drinks, conversa- tion or dancing. Increasing crowds are credited to word passed by en- thusiasts. Bobrow is vet impresario for jazz concerts here, having pre- sented first bashes while student at University of Washington in late ’30s. Berry Heads Connelly’s Brit Aberbach Pubbery London, April 28. Roy Berry, who just resigned from Chappell’s British music firm, is taking over as general profes- sional manager of Aberbach Music, Ltd., new company being operated here by Reg Connelly as part of a reciprocal deal with U. S. pub- lishers, Jean and Julian Aber- bach. Firm went into action yes- terday (Mon.) with “Hot Toddy,” recorded by Ralph Flanagan and Ted Heath orchs; “Mother Nature and Father Time,” with Nat (King) Cole; “I Laughed Until I Cried,” with Rosemary Clooney; “I’ve Never Seen,” an A1 Martino etching which will be exploited in conjunction with the singer's June Palladium date, and “Hello Sunshine,” with Norman Brooks. Reg Connelly Music, which will be operated in the U„ S. by the Aberbachs, will get underway shortly with tunes from a flock of top writers, including Ray Noble, Billy Reid, Jack Jordan, Jack Strachey, Robert Stolz, the late Dr. Robert Katscher and Ted Shapiro. Irving King, writer of “Show Me The Way To Go Home,” which launched the Campbell Connelly firm, may also be represented. Mpls. Symph Repacts Dorati for Three Yrs. Minneapolis, April 28. Antal Dorati, Minneapolis Sym- phony orchestra conductor, has been repacted for three” years. He just has rounded out a similar pe- riod, having succeeded Dimitri Mitropoulos who, In turn, had re- placed Eugene Ormandy. Dorati again this summer will make guest conductor appearances ‘ in the Netherlands and Italy. Next season’s Minneapolis Sym- phony program will inelude ap- pearances of guest conductors Leopold Stokowski and Pierre Mon- teux and soloists Vladimir Horo- witz, William Kapell, Robert Casa»- desus, Dame Myra Hess, Rudolf Serkin, Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menu- hin, Joseph Szfeeti and Rafael Durian. Tour schedule will take the orch to the Atlantic coast for the first time since -■ 1947, with con- certs scheduled in Carnegie Hall, N. Y.. Feb. 14, and in Symphony liajl, Boston, Feb. 23. Martin To Play Houston Benefit Houston, April 28. Freddy Martin will appear here with his orch and a troupe of en- tertainers at the ninth annual Pin Oak Charity Horse Show, June BALLAD SINGERS RECORDING COMPANIES An Old Time Standard ON THE SHORES OF ITALY A BEAUTIFUL WALTZ SONG _ PmN. by LEO FEIST, Inc. nt 7th At*.. H.w Y«k City AL DONAHUE AND HIS ORCHESTRA Currently JUNG HOTEL, New Orleans OPENING MAY 29 EDGEWATER REACH HO TEL, Chicago OPENING JULY 15 AMBASSADOR HOTEL, Los Angeles Direction: MCA