Variety (December 1954)

86 MUSIC Wednesday, December 29, 1934 Jocks, Jukes and Disks By MIKE GROSS Les Paul - Mary Ford: "Song in Blue" - ‘‘Someday Sweetheart” (Capitol). ‘‘Song in Blue" is an- other winner for Les Paul and Mary Ford. Side is a nifty blend- ing of Paul’s guitajrwork and Miss Ford’s piiping. Tune moves at a breezy pace and it all adds up to a spinning natural. Paul’s slick strumming makes ‘‘Someday Lombardo but the "Pupalina" side is gm>d enough to sneak out for a solid score. It’s a brisk item with a lively vocal contributed by Kenny Gardner. Cliff Grass and The Lombardo Quartet. It’s doubt- ful if Lombardo will catch up to the De John’s ‘‘No More” on the Epic label. Adrienne Kent Orch: "I’ll Re- Best Bets LES PAUL-MARY FORD SONG IN BLUE (Capitol Someday Sweetheart CATERINA VALENTE MALAGUENA ( Decca ) Mamho From Chile DOLORES HAWKINS GEORGE \ Epic) Silly Man BETTY MADIGAN I HAD THE FUNNIEST FEELING ( MOM) Be a Little Darlin ’ "Mambo From Chile" (Decca). This version of ‘‘Malaguena’’ has a U.N. flavor. The Latino standard was cut by a German orch with a German lyric sung by an Italian thrush and it should clean up in the U.S. disk market. Orch under Sweetheart" worth hearing again. Caterlna Valente: "Malaguena”- the direction of Werner Muller projects a rich and colorful sound, excellently matching thrush’s vi- brant attack. They get the same effect on ‘‘Mambo From Chile” but it looks like "Malaguena" all the way. Dolores Hawkins: "George”- "Sllly Man" (Epic*. Offbeat lyric idea will give "George” a solid ride on the jockey turntables and in the jukes. It’s in the "Gloomy Sunday" genre and Miss Hawkins delivers appropriately. She does an okay job with "Silly Man" on the flip. Betty Madigan: "I Had the Fun- niest Feeling”-"Be a Little Dar- lin”’ (MGM). "I Had the Funni- est Feeling" could be 1955’s first ,breakthrough ballad. It’s a charm- ing tune, both melodically and lyrically, and Miss Madigan gives it an appealing flavor. "Be a Lit- tle Darlin’ ” has a pleasant 18th century drawing room quality which should' win it occasional spins. Eddie Albert: "Come Pretty Lit- tle Girl”-‘Tm in Favor of Friend- ship” <Kapp>. "Come Pretty Lit- tle Girl" is a lilting waltz that will catch the deejays’ fancy.* Eddie Albert handles the lyric with just the right amount of warmth. The gimmick of interpolating the sound of a baby’s laughter throughout the side is the kind of stunt that could push the disk to the top. "I’m in Favor of Friendship" is a bright and catchy entry which rates attention. Sammy Kaye: "Melody of Love"- *‘You Are the One" (Columbia). It’s a tossup as to which "Melody of Love" version will get the play but Sammy Kaye is in the run- ning with his wax workover. Tune and sentiment are right up Kaye’s alley and he makes the most of it. "You Are the One" is an okay entry that’s easy on the ear. The Lancers: "Open Up Your Heart "-"Tweedlee Dee" (Coral). "Open Up Your Heart” is another of Stuart Hamblen’s religiosongs that’s due for a big play. The- Lancers get the message across with a zingy harmony attack. "Tweedlee Dee" is excellently suited to the group’s driving style. Sammy Davis Jr.: "The Birth of the Blues"-“Love (Your Magic Spell Is Everywhere)" (Decca). Workover of these two oldies will increase Sammy Davis Jr.’s disk stature. His delivery and phrasing are tiptop and he gives each side a fresh quality. "Birth of the Blues" should get the big play but "Love" won’t be overlooked. Fred Norman Orch: "My Love for Dorothy" - "Monday - Tuesday- Wednesday - Thursday - Friday" (MGM). Fred Norman’s orch gets its best crack at a hot biscuit W'ith "My Love for Dorothy." It’s an easygoing ballad which gets a socko lift via Malcolm Williams’ vocal. The longwinded calendar title on the reverse is a routine Tin Pan Alley concoction. Lawrence Welk Orch: "At the Junior Prom" - "Home Again Blues" (Coral). "At the Junior Prom” has a long-lasting quality and rates wide diskery coverage. Lawrence Welk’s w r orkover is serv- iceable as is Dick Dale’s vocal, so It’ll probably get good playing time. The orch does well by the Irving Berlin-Harry Akst oldie "Home Again Blues." Guy Lombardo Orch: "Pupa- lina"-"No More" (Decca). This is another "cover" coupling for Guy LAWRENCE WELK and hit CHAMPAGNE MUSIC 172d Consecutive Waak, Aragon Ballroom, Santa Monica, Calif. Exclusively on Coral Records Latest Album VIENNESE WALTZES (For Dancing) RCA Trices For The Masses’ Continued from page 35 member April" - "Rose Room (Bruce). Adrienne Kent will win plenty of attention for her orch and her keyboarding with this cou- | LonffV i ew . Tex.—Sammy Lilli- pling of fave oldies. The orch and bridge, disk jockey and announcer vocal chorus give each side a lush on the staff of KFRO, has signed interpretation “I’ll Rememher 1° record for Hilite Records, with interpretation. in Remember hjs fipst release sct f or after the April could be the noisemaker. | jj rs j 0 f jh e year. ered price even with all quality standards rigidly maintained. Rea- sons for Victor’s optimism is based on the expected 25% increase of the teenage population, the biggest disk consumer segment, in the .next five years; the number of new homes as a market for turntables; high "fidelity as one of the most potent selling ideas in the disk business; the increase in the num- ber of phonograph manufacturers, and finally, the demise of the 78s within the foreseeable future. In his letter to distributors ex- plaining the program, Manle Sacks, Victdr viceprexy and general manager, pointed out that "we have put the tools in your hands to make the record business a mass market—for the first time in its history. We have put the tools in your hands to make the record business truly a business—from which real profits can be derived." It’s figured that a reduction in price to a $4 top will immediately improve the regular dealer’s com- petitive situation vis-a-vis the dis- count houses. The spread be- discount houses. The spread be- tween the list price and the cut price will no longer be so attrac- tive that consumers will only buy at discount houses. After the ♦♦♦♦♦♦ t 1. LET ME GO, LOVER (5) . 10 Best Sellers on Coin-Machines. Z. MISTER SANDMAN (7) 3. NAUGHTY LADY OF SHADY 4. TEACH ME TONIGHT (8) 5. HEARTS OF STONE (2) 6. MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE (1) 4 IF I GIVE MY HEART TO YOU 7. 8 . 9. 10 . MAMBO ITALIANO (3) ... HOLD MY HAND (13) I NEED YOU NOW (16) .. . PAPA LOVES MAMBO (12) Second Croup Denise Lor Majar Connee Boswell Decca Dinah Shore Victor THIS OLE HOUSE Rosemary Clooney .... Columbia HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS Perry Como Victor SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL Bill Haley’s Comets Decca WHITHER THOU GOEST Les Paul Mary Ford Capitol WHITE CHRISTMAS Bing Crosby Decca NO MORE DeJohn Sisters Epic MELODY OF LOVE Billy Vaughn Dot IFiguret in parentheses indicate number of weeks song has been in the Top 10] RETAIL SHEET BEST SELLERS Survey of retail sheet music best sellers based on reports obtained from leading stores in 11 cities and showing com- paratwe sales rating for this and last week. * ASCAP t BMI National Rating This Last wk. wk. Title and Publisher T O T A L P 0 1 N T S usual mailing and packaging costs are added on, the consumer can just as well buy in his neighbor- hood store. While revamping its prices, Vic- tor has also amended its discount structure which, the company says, was established "during the early days of the record industry" and w'hich "does not now nor has it reflected the trend in record mer- chandising." Under its new set- up, Victor will give larger margins where the risks are greatest. Hence, the diskery is boosting the gross dealer margin frpm the tra- ditional 38% to 42% on all 78 and 45 rpm merchandise. On the LPs, which have a more durable life span, the discount remains at 38%. The traditional return privilege of 5% is also revamped. Under its new r program, Victor will give all qualifying dealers a minimum of 5% on their 4$ and 78 rpm pur- chases while cutting out the re- turn privilege on LPs. Victor plans to kick off the new program with the most intensive ad-promotion campaign in its his- tory. Company execs have allo- cated $500,000 for advertising and it’s anticipated that Victor’s heavy selling drive will be one of the main factors in getting the rest of the industry to follow suit on prices. Victor is also making available to dealers a moderniza- tion service. The diskery is put- ting at the dealer’s disposal an in- dustrial consultant who has made special studies on the problems of traffic, fixture design, effective display, utilization of space and layout. Although Victor has set up five base prices for its disk line, it is also allowing for some exceptional albums. HMV and original cast albums will go for $4.98 while the Bluebird LPs will carry a $2.98 list and Camden LPs a $1.98 list platter. Children prices will re- main the same, ranging from 49c. for Bluebird singles to $3.10 for storybooks. Bluebird single EPs will go for $1.19 while multiple sets will remain at $2.98, whether three or four pocket albums. Cam- den EPs have been boosted from 69 to 79c. Victor’s pre-recorded tape prices will also remain statu* quo. Johnston Serves 2-Way Platters: Eats & Disks New r York restaurateur Johnny Johnston is mixing his platters. Al- though it’s not listed on the menu at his two Charcoal Room steak houses, Johnston is also dishing out biscuits of the wax variety. He’s moved in on the disk field via the formation of a new label, Vitam Records, which has as it* initial release, "I’ll Always Love You” and "Can It Be Love,” re- corded by Ray King and the Joe Derise orch. Sidelight to the "I’ll Always Love You" side is that the tune was written by Gotham disk jockey Art Ford under the nom-de-plume of Martin Lawrence. Number is ! the thgme from the pic of the ! same title, which Ford wrote and ! directed for independent producer Bill Kohler. Song was originally tagged "Stay Close to People” and was published by Republic Music, with a few indie labels cutting the tune. Republic, however, released the number and it was picked up by Howie Richmond. Derise, who incidentally is the company's artists Sc repertory man, is also associated with Four Jacks and a Jill as manager, mem* ber and arranger. MGM Adds Carroll, Naturals to Roster MGM Records expanded its ros- ter last week with the inking of crooner Bob Carroll and The Natu- rals. a vocal combo. Carroll previously recorded for the now defunct Derby label. Tha Naturals will be released for both the pop and rhythm Sc blues mar- kets. Patti Jerome to Jubilee Thrush Patti Jerome is swinging to the indie Jubilee label. Warbler previously etched for Central Rec- ord*. Jubilee also purchased Miss Je- rome’s roaster of "No Mama. No Papa" from Central and will re- lease it under its own banner.