Variety (January 1957)

MUSIC 46 DECCA "Best Bets*—1 ROCK-A-BYE YOUR BABY WITH A DIXIE MELODY Coma Rain or Coma Shinn (DECCA 30124; 9-30124) JERRY LEWIS Lewis' first serious vocal effort is a ihot heard ’round the music world. tat Jerry is a bom singer, as well as showman. Galloping up the Charts like a kangaroo! DON'T KNOCK THE ROCK From the Columbia Picture “DON'T KNOCK THE BOCK" CHOO CHOO CH' BOOGIE (DECCA 30148; 9-30148) •III UAIFY of ml HIS COMETS nil vnaui w Abuwn i from his new smash pic. while te flip side is a standard given indsomo Haley treatment. WRITTEN ON THE WIND From the Universal-Interna¬ tional Picture “WRITTEN ON THE WIND" SOME ONE TO LOVE FOUR ACES ^The Four Aces are as essential to tnovie song hits as pfx themselves. Here they project a haunting and tender theme that is so good it sim¬ ply has to hit the top. Take a Strong film, a strong theme song and the Four Aces and you’ve gota clear road to a smash hit. PENNSYLVANIA WALTZ MA CHERIE (DECCA 30171 *-30171) WAYNE KING and HIS ORCHESTRA Just as the man sez, Wayne is still King of the Waltzes and he puts on a glittering exhibition here to prove it. ’’Pennsylvania” is a beautiful waltz, beautifully played. “Cherie” Is just as great In its own way. Both sides show tremendous pop potential. * 'DECCA Records 4 Now World or Sound... Indie, Oil Indie— They re Majors a Run for the Marbles Indie labels have been retaining-* their staying, power; with original versions of hit songs even against stiff competition thrown against them by the major companies. Latest instance is "The Banana Boat Song," don» by The Tarriers on the small Glory label. Some of the bigger companies not only put top artists on this song but also have been cuffoing their versions in order to get thenr off the ground. Jukeboxes have ibeen given free records and the retail stores have been getting some of the rival plat¬ ters on consignment. The Glory label also hit first on "Cindy, Oh Cindy" with Vince Martin, a Detroit; singer. Although the number was covered by Eddie Fisher, Martin’s version couldn't be knocked off on the lists. Fisher’s slice for RCA Victor Was also an excellent seller^, reportedly going well over 500,000 .platters, "Two Different Worlds’* is an¬ other tune which .has been hitting on the original Jubilee version by Don Rondo, despite coverage by four or five other labels. Similar¬ ly "A Rose and a Baby Riith,’’ which was done by George Hamil¬ ton IV for the indie Colonial label, which sold the master to’ ABCParamount, is. still the top slice despite competing Victor and Dot versions. A rock ’n’ roll number; "Since I Met You, Baby,’’ is also riding with the original Ivory Joe Hunter version on the Atlantic la¬ bel, in face of covers by Columbia and Dot. In some cases, particularly in the rock ’n’ roll field, where the origi¬ nal interpretation is a bit too spe¬ cialized, a pop version can some¬ times take over the play for the general market. Current case is Clyde McPhatter’s "Without Love,’’ on the Atlantic label. Toni Arden’s slice for Decca, more in the straight pop groove, appears to .be I taking off as the top seller on this tune. ‘Marianne’ Pre-Release | ' ‘By Mistake’ on Station In Hub Kues a Klondike Boston, Jan. 1. How an .unreleased disk got to be a Hub hit through an accident was recounted here by Bob Crites, pro ] motion manager for Columbia Rec j ords. I Jack Vaughn, music librarian for WBZ, visiting at Crites’ home, picked up Terry Gilkyson’s "Ma¬ rianne,” skedded for release-Saturday (5) with some other records, and brought it to the station by mistake. Disk jockey Norm Pres¬ cott put the calypso number on the air, and response was instantane¬ ous, with phonecalls from through¬ out the town. WBZ has been play¬ ing "Marianne” as identification piece every half-hour since. Crites, unable to cover the other station, had to have dubs made. Tieing up with the big boom for "Marianne,” he’s offering a hi-fi set to the first New Year’s baby to be named "Marianne.” Prescott, af¬ ter hearing the disk, called Gilkyson on the Coast to apprise him of the Hub reception. If You Can’t Beat Pirates, Join, ’Em Glasgow, Dec. 25. Bobby MacLeod, Scottish danceband leader, has offered to play with his band on Scotland’s pirate transmitting station “Radio Free Scotland.” Station has been cut¬ ting in on BBC tv wavelengths. MacLeod told Variety he did not think his offer would interfere with* any. tv or radio engagements. His band has made about 60 broad¬ casts to date. He is not certain, however, of reaction from the Brit¬ ish Musicians Union. "I f eel this is a good cause,” he said, "and' the boys in the band will be quite willing to play — they’re all good Scotsmen” Local nationalist groups are backing Radio Free Scotland on publicizing ban imposed by Eng¬ lish Conservative and Labor par¬ ties on political broadcasts in Scot¬ land and Wales. Hillhead (Glasgow) branch de¬ plores "the spineless attitude of the Scottish Broadcasting Council,” and is demanding a broadcasting corporation for Scotland. • ’ f ' New Brit Label Conquest Has a Mastlr Plan For Wax in Schmaltz Groove London, Dec. 25. A new British label, Conquest,, is scheduled to make its appearance on the market here. It is spon¬ sored by the World Record Club, an organization which issues lowprice platters to its members on its own label, , Conquest plan to level waxings at the "pop” and "sentimental” music public. One of the first recordings to be releaked will be a 78 rpm ren¬ dering of "Blow Out the Candle,” and "Persuade Me,” by tv discov¬ ery Sabrina. Conquest’s first big releases will, however, make their bow in January. The company will market what they claim to be the first LP specially recorded by Grade Fields. Cyril Ornadel, Geoff Love and Tony Osborne have been named as musical directors who will conduct accompanying groups for recording artist^, in addition to making or¬ chestral LP’s in the mood music Style for release here and in the U.s. p . Artists lined up for waxings so far include ballad, singer Bryan Johnson, songstress Norma Evans, the Four Grads (a Canadian vocal group) , Dickie Henderson Jr. and the Tanner Sisters. Dualing With Cromwell London, Jan. 1. Benny Lee, British Decca" singer, is now doubling as a songplugger. Lee has been named manager of Cromwell Music, one of the subsid firms operated here by U. S. pub¬ lisher Howie Richmond. Lee works together with David Platz who isoin charge of Rich¬ mond’s Essex Music firm here. 1 Inside Stuff-Music American jazz was one of the top features of the United States Cen¬ tral Exhibit at the Constitutional Fair in Bangkok, Siam. The exhibit drew as many as 10,000 persons an hour in peak periods, reports the U.S. Information Agency. Thebiggest single entertainment feature was Benny Goodman and a 15-man orch, which attracted overflow crowds of jazz buffs. Goodman played nightly. Also entertaining was the Westminster Choir of 50 vocalists and instrumentalists. Another high spot of the fair was television. The U.S. exhibit in¬ cluded a closed circuit with 15 monitors scattered through the fair¬ grounds, Other monitors carried the story of the American exhibit to those who were unable to attend the fair in person. MGM Records is putting together a combination soundtrack-arid-live album of Jane Powell’s vocals for release early next year. She’s backed by David Rose and his orch on each of the 12 selections. Material con¬ sists entirely of songs she did in Metro .films. Some of the items will be taken directly from the soundtrack, others will be re-releases of sides she did for the label some time ago. Dance instructor Liljan Espenak4s attempting to launch a vogue for Frevo, a Brazilian folk dance, via cuffo instruction at latino dance matinees. First of these was held at New York’s La ^Martinique. Tune used for the dance is "Pernambuco-Recife,” written by Miss Espenak (lyrics) and Sylvio Flory (music). It was waxed on the indie Dora label by Barry Valentino. MGM Records is switching the title of its previously released Robert Maxwell platter, "Solfeggio,” to "The Song of The Nairobi Trio.” Title change stems from Ernie Kovacs’ continual use of the disk on his tar shows as background music for his Nairobi routine. Wednesday) January i, i957 BiD Hayes to ABC-Par Bill Hayes has switched from Cadence Records to the ABC-Para¬ mount label. His first platter, a coupling of tunes from the Walt Disney pic, "Westward Ho, The Wagons,” was rushed into market late last week. While with Cadence, Hays hit the 1,000,000-plus disk bracket with "Ballad of Davy Crockett.” ASCAP iSSmmmi Continue^ from page 41 mmmtmii cept the present formula as an im¬ provement. They point out, how¬ ever, th$it the administration of the new formula may overwhelm ASCAP with paper work. Who, the critics ask, is going to keep records on what shows the various tunes are performed? And what about bid tunes on which no such rec¬ ords have been kept? Another point of criticism in the new payoff formula is the enlarged scope given to the Classifications Committee where there is a ques¬ tion of how a tune should be cate¬ gorized. On adaptations of public domain material, for instance, the committee will determine whether enough new material has been add¬ ed to justify its being treated as an entrely new work. Some critics in the ranks fear a new outcrop¬ ping of "favoritism” in the com¬ mittee’s rulings, much as in the old days when the classification committee was Supreme in deter¬ mining what class a writer be¬ longed in. ASCAP execs made the payoff revisions on the eve of a special membership meeting scheduled for tomorrow (Thurs.) in New York. A delegation from the Coast is ex¬ pected to attend the meeting, at which there will be a .general soundoff on ASCAP’s policies and administration. Continued from page 41 saa scores for three tv'ers due early next year. In Chappell’s spec lineup are "Cinderella,” with a score by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein 2d; "The Soft Touch,” with ^ the tunes by Sammy Fain and Jack Brooks, and "Ruggles of Red Gap,” by Jula Styne and Leo Robin. , Only original cast disk deal set by Chappeff thus far is for R&H’s "Cinderella.” The package has been picked up by Columbia Rec¬ ords. The publishing firm is cur¬ rently dickering with several rec¬ ord companies for original cast disk deals on the other two prop¬ erties. Chappell is also continuing its showtune publication spree in the spring with, the score for Bob Mer¬ rill’s "New Girl In Town,” an adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s "Anna Christie.” So far this sea¬ son Chappell has had the Matt Dubey-HaroTd Karr score for "Happy Hunting” and the Adolph Green-Betty Comden-Jule Styne score for “Bells Are Ringing.” Brit.’s Back-Pat for Boone London, Jan. 1. . U. S. singer Pat Boone, who ar¬ rived in this country for a brief tour on Christmas Day, scored with the audience at his first concert at Tooting, London, the following day. Boone made his first-ever tv ap¬ pearance in ATV’s "Sunday Night at the London Palladium” Dec. 30, and will headline in a special edi¬ tion of ATV's "Startime.” He leaves for America Jan. 6. Cymbals Too Are Aged Before Use; One Family Has 350-Yr. Monopoly Quincy, A^ass., Dec, 25. Things are pretty steady in the cymbal-making biz, but it’s no mass production assembly line setup, be¬ cause cymbals have to be aged at least a year to improve tonal quali¬ ty, acoording to Avedis Zildjian, whose family has been making; cymbais for nearly 350 years.j The Zildjians have produced cymbals and gongs since *1623, starting in Constantinople. The family’s Turkish name was "cymbal smith.” "The metal formula for our cymbals is a family secret known only by the oldest male of each generation,” Alvedis, who now holds the secret, said. He had to work 20 years as a candymaker before he became master of the family and cymbal producer. With his two sons, Robert and Armand, cymbals are produced in a small plant here with electrically heated melting pots. The original Alvedis, a Constantinople alchem¬ ist,, discovered the alloy, which in¬ cludes copper, silver and tin, now used. The cymbals are used by the Boston Symphony, the Metro¬ politan .Opera Co. and most of the big name bands and orchs in the country. Some cymbals have been stored' in the Z;Tdjian vault more than 15 years. The cymbals and gongs were first made for use in religious ceremonies and processions in the Byzantine countries, Zildjian said. Strungk, German composer, introed the instruments into an opera in 1680. After Gluck wrote a cym¬ bal part into one of his scores in. 1779, the instrument was on its way, he pointed out. When the outfit gets an Order, the cymbals clang and the gongs boom out as they test the instru¬ ments for tonal quality before shipping. There is no American competish, because they are the only manufacturer of cymbals and gongs of symphonic quality in the country. The Zildjian cymbals are sold in every music market in the world. Haley Comets to Aussie, Then 5 Weeks in Britain Philadelphia, Jan. 1. Bill Haley & Comets 'leave to¬ morrow (Wed.) for 'Australia. The seven-piece rock ’n’ roller will play Honolulu and then five days at the Manila Stadium in the Philip¬ pines. Group will spend 12 days in Aus¬ tralia, playing five cities. They return to Philadelphia, Jan. 26, to leave five days later for a fiveweek tour of the British Isles. NOW... AND ALL THROUGH THE WINTER SEASON Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh The DECCA Recording Orchestra ROMAINE BROWN AND THE ROMAINES Currently SAMPS HOTEL, Las Vegas ★ * ★ ★ ASSOCIATED BOOKING CORPORATION JOE GLASER, Pres. New York I Chicago ifli Avp PL. 9-4600 203 N c Wabash Hollywood 8619 Sunset Blvd.