Variety (December 1954)

42 MUSIC Wednesday, December 8, 1954 Jocks, Jukes and Disks -By HERM FCHOENFELD. “Two Ladies In Banana Tree”- The Four Lads: De Shade Of De “Dance Calinda” (Columbia). “Ba- nana Tree,” from the legit produc- tion of “House Of Flowers,” is one of the cleverest numbers of the year and should stir plenty of attention via its catchy melody and smart lyrics. Four Lads give it an appropriately humorous workover with a harpsichord back- ground. Reverse is a good tune with a voodoo theme. Richard Maltby Orcti: “Star Dust Mambo” - "Strictly Instrumental (Label X>. Richard Maltby found the payotT formula on his previous “St. Louis Mambo” slice and fol- lows up with a mambofied version of “Star Dust” that could even be a bigger entry. Maltby works with polite, danceable arrangements pbtent commercial bracket. The tune jumps in a biend of r&b and Latin beats and the lyric is catch- ing, especially as Miss Young belts it. “Hearts Of Stone” is a solid hillbilly-type number on which Miss Young again demonstrates a standout attack. McGuire Sisters: “Sincerely”- “No More” (Coral). McGuire Sis- ters, the only sister team with any impact on wax currently, continue to churn out consistently good sides. “Sincerely” is a slow ballad with a torch lyric that gets a sensitive reading by the trio. “No More" is in a brighter tempo, also with strong possibilities. Gloria De Haven: “So This Is Paris”-“The Two Of Us” (Decca). Gloria De Haven is another fine songstress who has yet to come up with a big one on disks. In Best Bets LAWRENCE WELK and hia CHAMPAGNE MUSIC 169th Consecutive Week, Aragon Ballroom, Santa Monica, Calif. Exclusively on Coral Records THERE’S A SMALL HOTEL a«4 SAW YOUR EYES FOUR LADS TWO LADIES IN DE SHADE OF DE BANANA TREE ( Columbia ) Dance Calinda RICHARD MALTBY ORCH STAR DUST MAMBO (Label X) Strictly Instrumental British Pop Reviews that are highly pleasing and com- mercial. Flip is another neat in- strumental side in smooth swing tempo. Richard Dayman: “Vera Cruz”- “Winter Wonderland” (Mercury!. Richard Dayman gives the title tune from the UA pic, “Vera Cruz,” his most effective rendition since “Ruby.” It’s a lush instru- mental version with Dayman’s ex- pressive harmonica in front. On the flip, Dayman has-cut a highly at- tractive version of the seasonal standard. C'owboy Church Sunday School: “The Lord Is Counting On You”- “Open Up Your Heart” (Decca). Two more tunes by the prolific western tunesmith, Stuart Hamb- lf/i, which are bound to hit big in the pop religioso market. The juve choir on this coupling pro- duces a charming sound, full of enthusiasm and naivete. "Lord Is Counting On You” has the more attractive beat, but the other side could be equally big. Les Baxter A The Bombers: “Earth Angel”-“Happy Baby” (Capitol). “Earth Angel” was launched on an indie rhythm A blues label and doesn’t stray far from the typical r&b format. It’s an interesting entry.for the genre and Les Baxter, who customarily does lusher sides, batons the rhythm section and saxes authen- tically. Vocals are supplied by an okay vocal ensemble, The Bomb- ers. Vickie Young: “Tweedle Dee”- "Hearts of Stone” (Capitol). Vickie doling delivers a virtuoso blues performance on “Tweedle Dee,” which could lift this side into the this coupling, she does two num- bers from the Universal film, "So This Is Paris.” Title tune runs over familiar ground in its basic ideas, lfi.it it has a lilting melody and some literate lyrics for Miss De Haven to work effectively. “The Two of Us" is a classy ballad which could develop into a strong entry. Rosa Linda: “Peanut Vendor Tarantella” - “Limehouse Blues” (Coral). Rosa Linda is a fancy keyboard artist who gets some original effects out of the piano. Particularly on the “Peanut Ven- dor Tarantella,” she gets a “sound” out of her speeded-up finger work that should give this version some spinning impetus. On "Limehouse Blues,” she gives another intricate reading with her distinctive flour- ishes. Michael Raine: “Do You Recall”- “Christmas Is The Time For Love” (Pacific). Just to make it confus- ing, Michael Raine is the monicker of a femme songstress from the Coast. She’s a firstrate stylist who’s due to break through with a big one sooner or later. “Do You Re- call” is an excellent ballad that she renders poignantly. The flip side is a fair seasonal tune which doesn’t particularly suit Miss Raine’s style. Marine Joint Bell Crooner Joe Marine has been tagged by Arthur Shimkin for the Bell and New Disc labels. Marine formerly crooned with the Fred Waring orch. He’s being booked by Mercury Artists Corp. London. Frank Chacksfleld Orch: "Lonely Nightingalo”-“Sur Le Pave” (Dec- ca.* So now dem boids is night- ingales! Chacksfleld, having scored with seagulls in “Ebb Tide,” moves on among his featured friends and plays his lush melodic stuff against a nightingale working overtime. Playing is faultless, as usual, as is also the performance of “Sur Le Pave.” but neither side has the melodic appeal to put it in the big- seller class. Billie Anthony: “This Ole House”-“What A Dream” (Colum- bia*. This young lady is Scottish, but she sings “House” more American than the Americans. Re- sult is artificial. Eric Jupp orch. provide a swingy accompaniment, and there’s a deep-voiced stranger who puts in a few bars here and there very nicely. The “Dream” side is also topheavily transatlantic. Dennis Lotis - Ted Heath Orch. “Honey Love” - “Manhattan Mam- bo” (Decca), “Honey Love” disk has been banned by the BBC though Lotis may broadcast the song live. Difficult to see why on hearing the record, which if enthusiastic seems inoffensive enough. "Manhattan Mambo” is a bit staid and respectable for the American market; it generates little excitement. Janet Gordon “Cross of Gold” (Polygon). New British songstress Janet Gordon only gets one side of a disk for her first waxing, and even then is almost swamped by a chorus. “Cross of Gold” is a semi- religioso opus from the pen of writer Billy Reid, and may appeal to Americans. “Peppito,” which would never have been waxed If Reid himself hadn’t written it. L10 Best Sellers on Coin-Machines i. ( Chordettes Cadence J Four Aces Decca \ Lancers Coral Eddie Fisher Victor 9. 10 . ( Teresa Brewer Coral .(DeCastro Sisters Abbott l Jo Stafford .Columbia Don Cornell Coral Doris Day Columbia Denise Lor Major Connee Boswell Decca Dinah Shore ...' Victor PAPA LOVES MAMBO (9) Perry Como Victor NAUGHTY LADY OF SHADY LANE (?) i Ames Brothers Victor l Archie Bleyer Cadence SHAKE. RATTLE AND ROLL (K) Bill Haley's Comets Decca THIS OLE HOUSE (15) Rosemary Clooney ... Columbia 6. IF I GIVE MY HEART TO YOU (13) 7. 8 . Second Croup HEARTS OF STONE ( Charms DeLnxe (Fontane Sisters Dot MAMBO ITALIANO Rosemary Clooney ...Columbia COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS (Eddie Fisher Victor (Rosemary Clooney ...Columbia r. o DOWN IN THE BOTTOM OF THE WELI Wilder Brothers Label X 1 IT’S A WOMAN’S WORLD \ Four Aces Decca (Rail Anthony Capitol HAJ.1I BABA Nat ( King) Cole Capitol | THAT’S WHAT I LIKE Do,,. Dick A Jimmy ....Owh HEY THERE ( Rosemary Clooney .... Columbia ) Sammy Davis, Jr Decca SMILE \ Nat ( King ) Cole. Capitol ) Sunny Gale Victor WHITHER THOU GOEST Lw Paui-Mary Ford ....Capitol 1 Figures in parentheses indicate number of weeks tong has been in the Top 10] i******** ******** ♦»♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦»»♦»»»♦ ♦"♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ M ♦»♦♦♦♦ ♦ + ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦+> + +>+4. “Deep In My Heart” (MGM) This soundtrack album from the Metro biopic of Sigmund Romberg is a natural. It’s a collection of great Romberg standards delivered by a varied cast of topflight names, some from rival labels. From Helen Traubel’s “Softly, In the Morning Sunrise” to Vic Damone’s “A Road To Paradise,” this is a superlative package of songs. Sides include Tony Martin’s “Lover Come Back To Me”; Miss Trau- bel’s “You Will Remember Vienna,” “Stout Hearted Men” and “Auf Wiedersehn”; duets by Jane Powell and Damone on "Will You Remem- ber,” Miss Traubel and Jose Ferrer on “Leg Of Mutton,” Rosemary Clooney and Ferrer on “Mr. & Mrs.”; Gene A Fred Kelly on “I Love To Go Swimmin’ With Wim- men”; Howard Keel’s stirring “Your Land And My Land,” Ann Miller's “It” and William Olvis’ “Serenade.” Ferrer, who plays the part of Romberg in the Metro pic, also solos “When I Grow Too Old To Dream” touchingly, with some introductory dialog. Adolph Deutsch batons the studio orch au- thoritatively. Stuart Foster: “Today’s Hits” (Camden). RCA’s subsid label, Camden, has a bargain package in this set of four current hits in an EP set retailing at 69c. The price alone should be a big factor in this set’s sales, but Stuart Fos- ter handles the numbers with pro- fessional class typical of higher- priced wax. Tunes are “Papa Loves i Mambo,” “I Need You Now,” "Teach Me Tonight” and “Count Your Blessings.” “Sonny Berman Jam Session— 1946” (Esoteric). This jazz set was cut, for the most part, back in 1946, with the rhythm section dubbed in more recently. The technical blending has been done flawlessly and the sound comes through as thoroughly integrated. There are several firstrate passages in this loosely flowing jam session, which had the late Sonny Berman and Marky Markowitz on trumpets; A1 Cohn on tenor; Serge Chaloff on baritone sax; Earl Swope on trombone, Ralph Burns on piano and Don Lamond on snare drum. Lamond and Eddie Safranski later supplied the bass drum and cym- bals via dubbing. George Feyer: “More Echoes of Paris” (Vox). Although the cream was taken off last fall by the first album of “Echoes," this one has some charming Parisian tunes, played in pianist George Feyer’s appealing, skilled and original style. Offenbach. Debussy and such pic tunes as "Moulin Rouge’* are included, for a fresh, unhack- neyed selection. There’s rhythm accomp to some. Franck Pourcol A Orch: “Paris by Night” (Westminster). Album offers thick, schmaltzy, intriguing versions of cocktail hour or din- ner music, with t he lush violin tone of Franck Pourcol predomi- nant. Set of eight tunes are cur- rent French faves, romantic and sentimental, in smooth, soothing rhythms. Herm. Songs With Largest Radio Audience The top 30 songs 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 Peatman t Director. Alphabetically listed. * Legit musical. t Film. Survey Week of Nov. 26-Dec. 2, 1954 All Of You—►“Silk Stockings” Chappell Count Your Blessings—(“‘White Christmas” Berlin* Don’t Let The Kiddygeddin Sherw'in Fanny—►“Fanny” Chappell Hajji Baba—t“Adventures Of Hajji Baba” Remick Hey There—♦“Pajama Game” Frank Hold Me In Your Arms Artists Hold My Hand—(“Susan Slept Here” Raphael Home For The Holidays Roncoin I Need You Now Miller If I Give My Heart To You Miller It’s A Woman’s W'orld—(“Woman’s World” Robbins Let Me Go. Lover H A R Love, You Didn’t Do Right—( “White Christmas” .. Berlin . Mambo Italiano Rylan > Mister Sandman Morris My Owrn True Love—" “Gone With The Wind” Remick Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane Paxton Papa Loves Mambo - Shapiro-B Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer St. Nicholas Silk Stockings—*“Silk Stockings” Chappell Silver Bells Paramount Sleigh Ride Mills Smile Bourne Teach Me Tonight Hub-L That’s All I Want From You W A B This Ole House Hamblen Where Can You Be Manor Whither Thou Goest Kavelin Wooden Shoes And Happy Hearts Marks r Top 30 Songs on TV (More In Case of Ties) All I Want Is All There Is And Then Some Frank All Of You—’►“Silk Stockings” Chappell Be Kind To Your Parents—♦“Silk Stockings” Chappell Best Things Happen—(“White Christmas” Berlin Christmas Alphabet Budd Count Your Blessings—(“White Christmas” . Berlin Fanny—*“Funny” Chapuell Hernando’s Hideaway—►“Pajama Game” Frank Hold My Hand—(“Susan Slept Here” Raphael I Need You Now .. Miller If I Give My Heart To You . . . . Miller It’s A Woman’s World—f’Woman’s World” Robbins Let Me Go. Lover H A R Mambo Italiano !!,.!. Rvlan Man That Got Away—(“A Star Is Born” .... 11. . Harwin Mister Sandman . Morris My Sweetie Went Away ..Laurel Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane Paxton Papa Loves Mambo Shapiro-B Santa Claus Is Cornin’ To Town Feist Sh-Boom ‘[h A R Silk Stockings—►“Silk Stockings" Chappell • Sisters—' “White Christmas” Berlin Skidlee Gumbo Eastbrook Sleigh Ride **P1s Bourne Teach Me Tonight Hub-L There’s A Small Hotel—*“On Your Toes” Chappell l,M is *i le House Hamblen Why Be Afraid To Dance—►“Silk Stockings” Chappell