Variety (November 1954)

62 MUSIC VARIETY Wednesday, November 17, 1954 Tin Pan Alley is getting in on th» "back home for the holidays” movement being sponsored by the fix New England governors. Move, Which was fostered by New Hamp- shire's Gov. Hugh Gregg, will be tied in with the new tune, "(There’s No Place Like)' Home for The Holidays,” which was penned by Robert Allen and A1 Stillman. Tune will be preemed by Perry Como on his CBS-TV show tonight ( Wed. ) and a Como waxing is be- ing rushed into release, by RCA Victor later this week. “Home For The Holidays,” incidentally, is pub- lished by Como’s firm, Roncom Music. Transportation outfits are plan-, ning to use the theme in their “home for the holidays” campaign. They’re prepping a nationwide push, despite the New England origination of the movement. Speaking for the New England committee, Gov. Gregg said, “We feel it is a movement that all America could very well get be- hind as we approach the Christ- mas season. It is the family which binds the nation together and there is no better way to strengthen family ties than through personal visits and family reunions during the-holiday season.” Ohio Spot Hit With Tune Infringement Gotham Music and Leo Feist Inc. won a joint Copyright infringe- ment suit in Ohio Federal Court last week against the Casablanca Cocktail Lounge in Shaker Heights, 0„ which was charged with play- ing tunes without a performance license. Numbers involved were “Mood Indigo” (Gotham) and “Lit- tle Things Mean a Lot” (Feist); The ASCAP publishers each were awarded the minimum statu- tory damages of $250 apiece, to- gether with attorneys’ fees and costs. D.S. in the Mood Across land Via Disks Hollywood, Nov. 16. Although he is unknown outside of the Southern California area, Sheriff John (Rovick) will, invade other parts of the country as a kidisk personality within the next month. A local tv artist and mop- pet favorite, Rovick’s kidiskings on Lou Chudd’s imperial label have had a hefty sale here, where the video show serves as an added ex- ploitation medium. Now Imperial Is shipping Sheriff. John disks to St. Louis and New Orleans in an effort to create a new market. If the platters achieve any penetration there, other markets will b^ tried. * r ■*. w.v.v**.*. JONI JAMES Sings When We Gome Of Age Tell Me You Love Me MGM 11865 K 11865 78 RPM 45 RPM M G M RECORDS THE GREATEST NAMEffT 0$. INJ ENTERTAINMENT 01 SEVENTH AVE NEW YCRk 3 ^ fs; > Jubilee’s Blaine Signs Names on Coast, to Wind Hollywood, Nov. 16. Jerry Blaine, head of Jubilee Records, returned to New York yesterday (Mon.) after a weekehd meeting with his western distribs during which he announced the signing of Polly Bergen; Dwight Fiske and the King Sisters and Alvino Rey. Indie label chief wound the visit with a “Weekend in Hol- lywood” celebration for the diS- tribs, all of whom paid their fare to town but with the label picking up the tab for all expenses here, Including a dinner session at the Moulin Rouge. Mis3 Bergen already is cutting’ an initial album for Jubilee. She’ll have a trio backing her on several sides of aii “intimate” type pack- age. In signing her to a three-year deal, label also acquired four sides she etched independently in New York last. week. Masters also»are involved in the Fiske deal, Jubilee acquiring some sides cut Under the old Monarch label. Blaine said there are no plans to use the masters arid they will, be retired, Fiske will do only LP stuff for Jubilee. King Sisters and Rey probably will begin their pact after the first of the year. Warners to Use Sinatra Disk for ‘Young’ Film • Hollywood, Nov; 16: Warner Bros, completed a deal with Capitol Records the weekend for. the use of the Frank Sinatra recording of “Young at Heart” in the’ film of. the same name. Studi paid some $15,000 for the title, several months ago, when the disking by Sinatra first leaped onto the bestseller charts. Original studio intention was to have Sinatra. Sing the song in the picture. It’s understood he de-. murred arid his costar Doris Day likewise wasn’t too enthusiastic about singing the song, which was so solidly identified with Sinatra. Studio then decided to use the disk at both the beginning and the end of the picture. Mood music on wax, although conceived as background music has come very much to the for * front in the disk sales picture dur- ing the last few years. In the case of RCA Victor, mood albums have topped the 1,000,000 marker for a retail gross^ of $3,700,000. Similar clicks with mood music have been registered by Columbia, Capitol and Decca. Once classified Solely as dinner music, the mood albums now cover virtually every phase of everyday living. . Current Victor titles in- clude such albums as “Music for Two People Alone,” “Music to Work or Study By” and “Music for Faith arid Inner Calm.” Victor sales manager . Larry Kanaga said that mood music has developed into an important seg- ment of the packaged goods mar-, ket because (1). there’s a growing tendency ori the part of average listeners to prefer music to. silence as they perform their daily tasks; (2) the development of the EP and LP speeds as the most', effective methods of presenting music con- ti uously; (3) the use of provoca- tive album titles with full-color covers, and (4) the introduction of disks as background music in fac- tories; restaurants,' hospitals, li- braries and other locations; 1 At the present time, Victor has a basic library of 15 mood music albums recorded by the Mela- chrino Strings,. Hugo Winterhalter 1 and Henri Rene, Will Oakland Waxes A longplay platter that may be- come a collector's item has just been brought out by the vet coun- tertenor, Will Oakland, to cele- brate his 50 years in show biz. Re- stricted to 100 copies, the 12-inch disk, which Oakland is distributing free to his inner circle of friends, cbnsists of a running commentary by the thrush on his career, which began in 1904 when he left mili- tary service and heard John McCormack sing in the Irish Vil- lage at the St. Louis Exposition. Oaklarid had hoped to have the platter distributed by one of the major firms, but too many ques- tions of copyright clearance arose to make a deal practicable. More than a dozen dubbings are included of Oakland’s old-time Victor records; among them solo versions of his twin theme songs, “Silver Threads Among the Gold” and “When Y6u and I Were Young, Maggie.” There are two duets with Billy Murray and two numbers by the Lyric Trio—Henry Burr, lead; Albert Campbell, first tenor; and Oakland, countertenor—one of the highest-voiced male combos on record. The Heidelberg Quintet (Oakland, Murray, John Beiliqg, Steve Porter and Bill Hpoley) is also represented, as is also a re- markable basso prof undo perform- ance by Hpoley with quartet sup- port, “When the Rainbow' Shines Bright at Morn.” Disk ends with dubbings of some of. Oakland’s re- cent guest appearances oh George' Jessel and .Herb Shriner video., shows. JVIGM Distrib Reshuffle; New Setup in Pitt Area MGM Records reshuffled its distribution setup "recently, with Sanborn Music Distributors of Cleveland taking over the Pitts- burgh area from Gimbel Bros, oi Baltimore. Sanborn will open up a distribution branch in Pitt with John. Pershing as manager. Gimbel Brbs. will continue to handle diskery's distribution in Baltimore.~ Song Pirdfey Claimed In $25*250 Suit on Coast Los Angeles, Nov. JL 6 . Composer Phyllis C a r o 1 i n e i Mason filed a piracy suit in Fed- J eral Court agairist Don Reed, Ronald Buck, MGM Record Co. and Cadillac Music Publishing Co., asking $25,250 in damages. Plaintiff contends she submitted her owri tune, “You Are My Theme Song,” to Reed and Buck in 1952. Later, she charges, they revealed the song to the Cadillac company, which published ‘Til Be Waiting for You,” a song similar to her own. Colorina’s Change of Pace Hollywood, Nov. 16, Jerry Colonna tries a change of pace last week, checking in at Decca for a recording session in which he departed from his. usual style, Colonna tried out some straight singing, with Milt Gabler, label’s A&R chief, supervising the session, Experiment ill get January release. “THE SKY IS EXTRA BLUE” CONNIE RUSSELL At Hor B*st—with Art Mooney’* Orch. Capitol Record #2712 WILL OSBORNE AND HIS ORCH. Now 35th Week Ntw Gojdtn Hoftl, Rtno Mqt.: MlLTON DEUTSCH and his FAMOUS DIXIELAND BAND featuring NORMA TEAGARDEN RAY BADUC KAS MALONE KENNY DAVERN FRED GREENLEAP Currently November IS for three Weeki CLUB SAVOY, Boston Starting December 8 BALI-KEA, Pittsburgh ASSOCIATED BOOKING CORPORATIONS JOE GLASER, Pres. M New York I Chicago j Hollywood 7 j 5.d >V/e P! 9-4600 I 203 No. Wabash i '361 4 Su''»ct Bivd. Chicago j 20 3 No. Waba«h \