Variety (April 1956)

42 MUSIC Wednesday, April 4, 1956 Jocks, Jukes and Disks Album Reviews By MIKE GROSS The Four Lads: “Standing On The Corner”-“My Little Angel" (Columbia). The Four Lads will keep up their hot disk pace with “Standing On The Corner." Tune, from the legit musical, “The Most Happy Fella," is a bright and frol¬ icsome entry which the boys bounce into the winner’s circle. The Mills Bros., on Decca. give “Corner" a more moderate work- over, but it's still in line for plenly of play. Neal Hefti’s orch and cho¬ rus, on Epic, also give it a lively rendition. The Lads hgve a pleas¬ ant, if not too exciting ballad in “My Little Angel," on the Colum¬ bia flip. Doris Day: “Somebody Some- where"-“We’ll Love Again" (Co¬ lumbia). “Somebody Somewhere," (ABC-Paramount). This is Mitzi Mason’s first coupling for ABC- Paramount, she previously waxed for MGM. It’s an okay start for the thrush who continually shows a wax savvy that should grab hold once the right material comes along. She’ll get a good share of spins, though, with “Hearts Weren't Made For Breaking,” a brisk item which she punches in effectively. The theme from “Alexander The Great," parenthetically tagged “The World Is Mine," is a bit too topheavy for a commercial break¬ through.. Dick Hyman Trio: “Junglero”- “Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo" (MGM). Still rid¬ ing with the clicko “Threepenny Opera Theme,” Dick Hyman will get automatic spins with this fol- Best Rets FOUR LADS .STANDING ON THE CORNER (Columbia) .• •.■ -My Little Angel - DORIS DAY .SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE ( Columbia ) . We’ll Love Again FOUR ACES .TO LOVE AGAIN (Decca) .-. Charlie Was A Boxer another tune out of Frank Loes- ser’s “The Most Happy Fella," is a strong ballad entry that's sure to get Doris Day back on the hit lists. Her reading is warm and fetching and the tune grows with replays. Pat Kirby offers some competition with her slicing of the tune on the Decca label. Miss Day's handling of “We’ll Never Love Again," an¬ other top ballad, makes this side worth watching, too. Four Aces: “To Love • Again”- “Charlie Was A Boxer" (Decca). Top exposure given “To Love Again” in Columbia Pictures’ “The Eddy Duchin Story” will get this side off fast for the Four Aces. It’s a class item, based on Chopin’s E Flat Nocturne and the boys treat it with respect and potent com¬ mercial values. “Charlie Was A Boxer" is a frisky special material piece good for occasional spins. Tony Martin: “Flamenco Love"- “Walk Hand In Hand" (RCA Vic¬ tor). The rich and melodic strains of “Flamenco Love” fit perfectly into Tony Martin’s balladeering groove - and the side emerges as good spinning bet. Martin gives it' a romantic appeal that will get him lots of spinning attention. He’s battling Denny Vaughan (Kapp) on “Walk Hand In Hand’’ so the jock preferan.ee will probably go to the -“Flamenco" side. Mitzi Mason: “Hearts Weren’t Made For Breaking’’- “Theme From ‘Alexander The Great’ ’’ lowup coupling. He displays a flashy keyboard technique on “Junglero," an exciting rhythmic entry especially good for the coin¬ box trade. “Hi Lili," is the w.k. instrumental of a few years back and Hyman’s interpretation gives it the proper romantic touch. Peggy Lee: “Joey, Joey, Joey”- “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” (Decca). “Joey, Joey, Joey,’’ another in the string of Frank Loesser tunes from “The Most Happy Fella,” is solid tune fodder for Peggy Lee. It’s a haunting piece with an. effective lilt and Miss Lee gives.it an inter¬ esting reading but with a bit too much echo. The Lancers’ version on Coral also rates spinning atten¬ tion as does their cut. of “When You’re in Love” on the flip side. Miss Lee takes the oldie, “They Can’t Take That. Away From Me” for an appealing ride. Roy Hamilton: “Since I Fell for You” - “Somebody ..Somewhere” (Epic). 1 There’s a rocking beat in “Since I Fell for You” that gives the side a breakthrough chance. Hamilton’s rhythmic feel gets it over with impact. He puts too many tricks into “Somebody Some¬ where" that dissipates the tune’s values. Les Elgart Orch: “La Chnouf”- “Saddle Shoe Boogie” (Columbia). Les Elgart continues as one of the swingingest dance orchs on wax and “La Chiiouf” should help him LAWRENCE WELK and his CHAMPAGNE MUSIC 241st Consecutive Week rratgon Ballroom—Ocean Park, Cal. ABC-TV—Sat. 9-10 P. M. EDT Sponsored by Dodee Dealers of America get into commercial disk bracket. Tune, a foreign import, is bright and melodic and Elgart whips it up into an ear-arresting item. Noth¬ ing too noteworthy, however, in “Saddle Shoe Bo.ogie." DECCA INKS BELGIAN, LATEST O’SEAS 88’ER Latest of the foreign jazz hip¬ sters to get a wax showcasing in the U.S. is Leo Souris, Belgian pianist. Disks which Souris cut in his native country, will be released here on the Decca label. Decca made a big score last year with another foreign keyboarder, the German Crazy Otto. Souris joins such other foreign jazz names as Jutta Hipp and Joe Saye who’ve been tapped by U.S. wax companies. Miss Hipp etches for Blue Note while Saye records for EmArcy. The first Souris etch¬ ing, out this week, will be a cou¬ pling of “Le Chnouf” and “The Little Lost Dog.” Gene Becker Exits Col In a reshuffling of Columbia Records artists & repertoire staff last week, Irving Townsend took over the reins of the special disk singles department from Gene I Becker. Latter, who handled the] department for the past two years, ankled the Col orbit. Townsend, who moved oyer from Col’s advertising division last year as a producer of special album projects, will double in both departments.. K PtttifETY 10 Best Sellers on Coin-Machines POOR PEOPLE OF PARIS (7). LISBON ANTIGUA (12). NO, NOT MUCH (8). ROCK AND ROLL WALTZ (13). BLUE SUEDE SHOES (3). JUKE BOX BABY (2).... MORITAT (9) .. HEARTBREAK HOTEL (2). SEE YOU LATER, ALLIGATOR (9). EDDIE, MY LOVE (1) Second Group (Les Baxter . Capitol l Lawrence Welk . Coral { Nelson Riddle . Capitol l Mitch Miller . Columbia Four Lads . i.... Columbia Kay Starr . Victor S Carl Perkins . Sun l Elvis Presley . Victor Perry Como . ..Victor f Dick Hyman Trio . MGM -I Hayman-August ..... '..-.Mercury - [ Billy Vaughn . Dot Elvis Presley . .Victor Bill Haley’s Comets . Decca f Fontane Sisters . Dot { Chordettes . Cadence i Teen Queens . . :RPM INNAMORATA HOT DIGGITY BO WEEVIL WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE. TO YOU, MY LOVE . FLOWERS MEAN FORGIVENESS GREAT PRETENDER . MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM. I’LL BE HOME . A TEAR FELL ... ( Dean Martin . Capitol IJerry Vale .. Columbia Perry Como .. Victor ( Teresa Brewer . Coral \ Fats Domino ....: . Imperial $ Teen-Agers .;.....Gee -{ Diamonds . Mercury l Gale Storm .*_ Dot S Nick Noble . Wing I Georgie Shaw . Decca Frank Sinatra . Capitol Platters . Mercury j Dick Jacobs . Coral l Richard Maltby . Vik Pat Boone . Dot Teresa Brewer . .Coral Rex Harrison-Julie Andrews: “My Fair Lady” (Columbia). Co¬ lumbia Records has a Fort Knox on wax in the original cast set of the smash “My Fair Lady." It could turn out to be one of the alltime bestsellers, it’s that hot a property. The Alan Jay Lerner- Frederick Loewe musical has been fashioned for wax by Col’s exec veepee Goddard Lieberson with taste and care and he’s gotten the .most out of the stars Rex Harri¬ son and Julie Andrews as well as the orch under Franz Allers’ direc¬ tion. In certain numbers Harrison gets carried away and seems to be screaming into the mike, but the overall is an accoustical triumph. The Loewe-Lerner score is an ex¬ pertly integrated job of ballads, comedy and patter numbers. The tunes never wear and in several instances take on new stature with rehearing. Aside from the afore¬ mentioned Harrison lapses, the actor talk-sings his way through demonstrating a pleasant rhythmic flair. Miss Andrews projects plenty of charm and a rich piping style and Stanley Holloway bounces through a pair of rousers with ingratiating exuberance. Michael King comes to bat only once with “On the Street Where You Live” but it’s a standout shot. Package runs 54 minutes. Joe Bushkin: “Midnight Rhap¬ sody” (Capitol). This is an offbeat shot for Joe Bushkin who’s made his rep as a jazz pianist. Surround¬ ing himself with a posh orch back¬ ing, Bushkin has adapted a lyrical and rhapsodic mood to take off on. a dozen standard melodies. It’s a different Bushkin but it’s a highly appealing one. The orchestrations by Glenn Osser are rich and color¬ ful and Bushkin develops the mood interestingly. It’s a solid entry in the growing catalog of mood music albums. Jess Stacy: “Tribute to Benny Goodman" (Atlantic). This is the latest entry in the BG wax kick and it, too, will find its niche Stacy, one of the early keyboard¬ ers with the Goodman orch, has picked up a handful of top’ jazz sidemen to help him run through the flock of tunes identified with the BG era. His piano licks, of course, lead the way, but help from such blowers as Ziggy Elman, Vido Musso, Charles Gentry, Heine Beau and Babe Russin give the package a full-bodied flavor and a swinging beat. Victor Young Orch: “April In Paris” (Decca). Spotlighting his “Singing Strings,” Victor Young has come up with a melodic mood music set. The motif, as the title indicates, is French and the style is romantic. Most of the French melodies are familiar items but they all have a staying power and seem to take on a fresh flavor via the violin predominance. Included in the package in addition to the title tune are such items as “Be¬ yond the Sea,” “The River Seine,” “Autumn Leaves,” “Under Paris Skies” and “When the World Was Young.” Ray Ventura Orch: “Music Made In France” (Kapp). This package is a slick introduction to the current musical market in France. Working with material supplied by some of France’s leading contemporary composers, maestro Ray Ventura has come up with a melodicaliy in¬ viting package. The mood is pre¬ dominately romantic and Ventura plays it to the hilt. The composers showcased are Paul Misraki, Marc Lanjean, Alice Babs, Glen Powell, Jackie Weaver,. Emile Deltour, Lou Logist and Guy Finley. Gros. 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'. Director. Alphabetically listed. *Legit musical. A Film. 1i TV. Survey Week of March 23-29, 1956 Ask Me . . . . ....ABC Can You Find It In Your Heart...Witmark Flamenco Love ...... t . BVC Great Pretender ..Panther Hot Diggity... Roncom I Could Have Danced All Night—♦“My Fair Lady". .^Chappell If You Can .Dream—t “Meet Me In Las Vegas”.. .Feist Innamorata—t “Artists And. Models".....Paramount I’ve Grown Accustomed—*“My Fai,r Lady” ..Chappell Magic, Touch . .Panther Main Title— i “Man With The Golden Arm”.Dena Missing .. .... Mellin Moonglow—t“Picnic” .. Mills Moritat—*“Three Penny Opera” ..Harms Most Happy Fella—*“Most Happy Fella”. Frank Mr. Wonderful—+“Mr. Wonderful”..Laurel Never Let Me Go—1“Scarlet Hour”.Famous No, Not Much ..Beaver On The Street Where You Live.Chappell Picnic—i “Picnic" .Shapiro Poor People of Paris ...Connelly Rock and Roll Waltz ....Sheldon Rock Island Line ...Hollis Serenade—t“Serenade” .Harms Shadow Woman ..Saunders Small Town ..Amer. Acad. To You, My Love . . ..Leeds Walk Hand In Hand .Republic We All Need Love .....Remick When You’re In Love—11 “High Tor".Chappell Wild Cherry..Hollis Without You ..Broadcast Top 30 Songs on TV [Figures in parentheses indicate number of weeks song has been in the Top 10] • (More In Case of Ties) A Little Love Can Go A Long, Long Way.Northern And The Angels Sing—t“Benrty Goodman Story"..BVC Band of Gold..LudloW Bo Weevil.. ...Reeve Chinese Rock And Egg Roll.Hackett 8, 9, 10 (FU Never Get Mad Again).Sheldon Eleventh Hour Melody .Paxton Go On With The Wedding.Pincus Good Will ..Thunderbird Great Pretender.’.Panther Hot Diggity ...Roncom If You Can Dream—t“Meet Me In Las Vegas”_Feist Juke Box Baby .Winneton Lisbon Antigua .Southern Lullaby Of Birdland .Patricia Memories Are. Made Of This.Montclare Moritat—*“Three Penny Opera” .Harms Mr. Wonderful—*“Mr. Wonderful”....Laurel Never Let Me Go—1“Scarlet Hour”....Famous No, Not Much .Beaver Nothing Ever Changes My Love For You. .’ .*.’ .’Marvin . Poor People of Paris..Connelly Rock and Roll Waltz .Sheldon Rock And Roll Weduing .....Simon House Rock Right.....Marks See You Later, Alligator...Arc Small Town .Amer. Acad. ‘ Vino Vino—t“Rose Tattoo" .Paramount Who Are We .Thunderbird Without You ■. . .... Broadcast