Variety (January 1958)

January 8, 1958 koBywood. “Fe-Fo-Fum,” say? the Giant; in -‘jack 'and the Bean¬ stalk,” when he’s chasing Jack. .. .Before the artists & repertoire men discovered weird vocal and/or" instrument tar sound effects, poets and songwriters, were conscious of sound, but more euphonious* and less disturbing. Either, in the title, or during the intervals or interludes In a melody,, they would, dig for a freak sounding, phrase effect, to insert. Repetition insured ‘success, Irving Berlin In “Everybody’s Doin' It,” during, the melody waits, had us yell: “Doin’ What? Dein’ what?”— and the public did it for him. . In the Beginning of the chorus of V Waitin’ for the Robert Ei Lee,” after the. first line “Watch them shufflin’ along,” there’s a wait. Before: the next line singers would" inject “It’s a bear— It’s a cow” ( whatever, that meant 1 . and thelate A1 Wdhlman: substituted, a weird sound “HFchy Koo-^Hitchy Koo” and the Cenpy Island bistro habituals joined in with hini: Murray Abrahams and I decided, the phrase deserved a song, by itself, and so “Hitchy Koo” caime to be. This, was long before Ray¬ mond Hitchcock used it as a title for his show, suggesting his name. You surely recall When the whole nation was “Buzzi with the song “Be My, Little Baby Bumble Bee,” and we were answering, . “Buzz around^T-buzz around— keep a buzziri’ ’round.” Joe McCarthy and Jimmy Monaco, gave . us “You Made Me Love You” and we all responded, “I didn’t want to do it— I didn’t want, to dp it.” I Gosh, Gum, Gee j And Lew Brown’s ingenious "Oh By Jingo”-“when we all united in. “Oh by . gosh, by gum, , by gee” etc. .. Jack Norworth and Al Yon Tilzer had a natural, of course, in “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” but the insurance, was the. last line, with all of us yelling; “One-two-three strikes and you’re out at the old ball game.” Norworth persisted iii audience-participation sound effects, when again., in “Shine on Harvest Moon“ he had us recite— in Unison, “January-February-June or July.” Cab Calloway, with “Minnie the Moocher,” had us “Hi-. de-Ho”-ing all over the place. That was a real sound effect.. “Ja-Da, Ja-Da,” "Aba Daba . Honeymoon,” "A-Tisket, A-Tasket,” Blanche Ring singing: “Rings on Her Fingers, Bells oh Her Toes” and we helped her finish With “Be My Mistress Mumbo Jumbo, Ji-Ji-Bpo J. O’Shea/’ All these and more; reached, the raucous sound peak with “The Music Goes RPund and . Round” by Mike Reilly and Mike Farley and they said it well. This all leads me to the observation that my quarrel with manufactured recorded sound effects and distor¬ tion, as a rule, are obviously contrived and I think to the detriment of standard songs, which have been blessed with longevity. | Poes ‘The Beat’ Help? 1 They may intrigue, for the moment, but you can’t tell me that . “the . beat” enhances establishes’ waltzes,, arid lagato melodies, by changing the tempo,, and putting ex¬ citement in an otherwise beautiful lanquid melodic line. The big selling hot record by Les Paul arid Mary Ford of Eugene Lockhart’s “The World is Waiting for, the Sunrise” got the author a fast buck, and extra current vogue, but in the longrun, I contend, it detracted from, and did not add one iota to its permanence, in the realm, of beautiful ballads. Nacio Herb Brown’s fine tune “Temptation,” got that satirical hillbilly treatment by Jo Stafford, and Brown Was riot averse to taking the royalties, but I; know’ he .won’t mind me, revealing, that he was disturbed, and a bit urn bappy. The defenders of rock ’n’ roll say, “What about the 1920s with the 'Charleston’ ‘Black Bottom’ and Lindyhop; arid before that ‘bunny hug,’ ‘Turkey Trot,’ era.” What about it? These songs were written by craftsmen, pri*; marily for riiUsical shows, to give choreographers material to work with, and nine out of 10 tunes had words in them, of topical, humorous content, and were poking fun at themselves, and the era;;. . j Off-the-Cuif Cleffing. I “Rock ’n’ roll,” to the contrary, is all written off-theelbow, crude in title, rhyme and melody, which I defy you to remember, and be able to play or sing for your own amusement. This, rigamarole is 'fortified with a monotonous drum, to beat .your brains out. I suppose because I’m an oldtimer,I’ll be accused of sour grapes. It ain’t so. ; I don’t think an experienced, able, established Writer could begin: to sit down and write one of these. One sorig. dori!t make a swallow; nor a songwriter. Those of us. Who have the joy. of hearingour ditties, old and new, constantly performed, have the great privil¬ ege of saying over, and over again, “They’re playing our song.” This, <J!f course, is especially true, of the vintage songs; I maintain that the. creators of rock ’ n’ roll tunes will get momentary kicks and earnings, but I doubt very much if later bn they will enjoy the great thrill of Saying to each, other, ‘‘Listed, they’re playing bur song.” Efficiency Plus Two layoffs were , passing the sumptuous offices of a theatrical agency. One made a bet that he could go into the agency’s offices arid get himself a job right away. His friend waited on the paVement, while the actor approached the reception desk. He was given a slip which admitted him to the presence of the assistant chief, Summing him up, they stamped -his slip and sent him to the secretary , of the casting, department; Here again his slip was stamped^ arid he was passed through various divisions until he found himself once more on the pavement. “Well?”, said his pal, “Did you get a job?” With a grin, the.actpr shook his head. “No job? -Did you see the boss?” Agai he shook his head,. “Well, What are you looking so happy about”, asked his pal. “I didn’t get a job .. : ; but, boy. What an organization!’? Joseph Marins; Fifty-second J^SRIETY Anniversary MUSIC 2X7 ‘Brother Dragon’, U.S. Deejay In The Far East. Ribs V Rocks Reds Taipei, Taiwan (Formosa), “Brother Dragon” is a. 35-year-old American from Lois Angeles who is the most popular disk jockey in the Far East. Broadcasting under the auspices of the Free Chi¬ nese government to countries of Southeast Asia, he keeps his identity a secret at the request of the American Em¬ bassy here, for between spins of the platters he tells ariti-Communist jokes. The “Little Dragon” show broadcasts a one-hour pro¬ gram of American popular music, particularly rock ’n’ roil, seven dayri a. Week. Little Dragop himself has left the program for another assignment, so Brother Dragon car¬ ries on. In Chinese .legend the dragon is a symbol of fero¬ city, courage and longevity, an Object of affection — iin-r like: his villainous counterpart in the tales of European knighthood. Broadcasts are in English, the international language of the Far East, but there are occasional visitors to, the .program who crack jokes and make comments in the Far Eastern , languages themselves: Malay, Japanese; Tagalog and Indonesian. The Dragon Lady, a young Chinese worn-, an of wholesome charm quite unlike Miltori Cariiff’s.femmex fatale, is occasionally bn hand to lend dialogue to the giverand-take Of spoofing the Communists. The Show is riot beamed to mainland China, because its flippant tone is considered .inappropriate to .the suffering of the people. Moreover, it can cost a mainland Chinese his life to be. caught, listening to Radio Free China, for which reason the' Free Chinese programs to Communistdominated China, are in deadly, earnest and almost tin-, broken sobriety. Except for the absence of commercials, the program is much like most .American disk jockey programs, even , unto requests from listeners. Brother Dragon solicits them, requests'? picture, and sortie personal data, and in so do¬ ing has; established an. astonishing rapport with his audi¬ ence1— marty of Whom write detailed letters on their daily lives and thoughts. | • Requests From Borneo | A. school teacher in Borneb wanted “How Lonely. Can I Get,” a youth in Sumatra askedfor “Remember When”; a girl from the Philippines had a dual selection, "Love Letters” and “All.the Things You Are”; a Vietnam listener requested “Only You”; from . Burma came a request fori “I’m Sorry.” But in many, eases they want anything by Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, Rusty Draper, and. other artists of aching, hearts arid shaking parts. For most of the listeners, English , is their second or even third .. language. Because of. this,, their letters lack grammar iri many cases but make up for it iri enthusi¬ asm. . An Indonesian boy writes: “Please accept my. thanks to the Voice of Free China for a. most enjoyable: and won¬ derful American popular songs from your station.” Another message from Indonesia bemoans the fact that a request was not heard broadcast “because we have no electric for two weeks because generator is damaged/’ ; A Malayan writes: "I do say that I enjoy yOur daily broadcast but riot to a certain extent. For the few months that I have been tuning to your station I do riot seem to hear a single, enchanting music of the fabulous Glenn .Miller.”' '. From a 36-year-old Chinese in Singapore: “It would be . nice of you if arrange to play any Les Paul recording for my loving Wife. She likes to hear the. sorig you have just played, Doris Day— Secret Love/ You see, the mo¬ ment you put this sorig on the air-r-my wife just fe.eis that she is ip love agairi, therefore, she likes to hear once more when you received this letter, which ,1 hope soon.” A Filipino comments: “Your program every night is so . entertaining, especially, your comments on. Communism, that I wish you will earry on the good work until peace be bestowed on the whole World/’ A note from Sumatra reads in part: “Talking about songprogramme, I want you to play a record from me for Miss — — — of Singapore, who I do not know,: but hope you’ll soon give me her address for I want to. correspond with her. The record has to be" “All Shook Up” hy..Elyis: P., or a recording by Fats Domino such as Trii Walk¬ ing,’ ‘My Blue Heaven,’ etc/* For Brother Dragon the show is a . labor of love; he has another job and accepts no pay for this one. He. averages 25 letters a day, all of therir, containing requests, many of them photos and biographies of the writers. Some of them come from youngsters. wbo are; lOriely . and delighted to have: a correspondent. They often ask for stamps and post Cards from Free China, names of prospective pen pals (preferably of the opposite sex) anywhere in the World. Brother Dragon broadcasts all the requests he can han¬ dle; refers. the more complex ones on the life and philr osophy of Free China to experts, and answers letters per¬ sonally. The program is heard occasionally in far-away places like Australia, the U.S., and Sweden; in the lastnamed country, he says, there is even a burgeoning fan club. As for the jokes between songs, here are a few sam¬ ples: A Chinese . Communist functionary who couldn’t swim fell into a lake, A man hearing his shouts looks down and asks him, “Can you speak Russian, Com¬ rade?” “Yes, yes, of course, I have studied it,” the fright¬ ened functionary shouts. The man shrugs his shoulders. “Serves you right. Why didn’t you take swimming lessons instead?” Three new cellmates in a Canton People’s Prison were explaining the respective reasons for their in¬ carceration. “I was accused of ‘absenteeism’,” said the first, “I came to work five minutes early one day,” .said the second, “and I was accused Of spying.” “I came to work on time,” said the third, “and they ac¬ cused me of having a capitalist Watch.” Two Kwangtung farmers met in the street of their village just after being visited by the rice collection agents. “How is everything?” one said. “Oh, in be¬ tween,” answered the other. “What do you mean, in between?” "Worse than last year and better than next.” As Brother Dragon concludes his program with the theme song, “A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening,” he • comments on the solid hour of almost undiluted rock ’n’ roll he has broadcast by listener demand: “I’m a real square, I guess. I just don’t dig this stuff, can’t get with it; I hate Elvis. Give me the old Tomriiy Dorsey-Benny Goodman stuff any tiirie.” 10 Commandments Of Show Biz =By EDDIE CANTOR= I. . Remember there is no such thing as a bad audience. Ohce the people have paid to get in, they have played their part. The rest is up to you. II. Play every performance as though it may be. your last— the one you want to be remembered by. HI: Never complain or walk out because of billing. The public, puts up the marquee signs, not ypur agent or the producer. IV. Don’t lay off. Take a smaller part, take less money, but work. Will. Rogers once said, "Every week you are not appearing before the public you’re out of show business/’ V. Don't sit around half the night with your fellow actors telling them what you intend to do. Do it, and let them sit around talking about'it. Vi. Always bear in mind there’s no such place as a small town. Television made all America Broadway. Don’t ever play down to an audience if you would have them look up to you. VH, No matter what kind of. performer you are, be pre . pared with at least 20 minutes of good material, so you Can jump iri at any time, at any place,, and make good. In other words, get yourself a “bread and butter” act. 'Till.' Be on time. Know your words. Don’t keep a director or an orchestra or fellow performers waiting. Remember if people like you personally, they’re ready to help you. If they don’t, you’re in trouble. IX. . Don’t read what the critics write about you and say, “What does he know?” Ninety per centof all profes¬ sional Critics are honest, sincere, and would rather say good things . about plays and players than bad. They, hope you. will take their criticism to heart and improve what you are doing. X, . Don’t be fooled by a cheap laugh — one in bad taste The Ed Wynns* the Danny Kayes, the Jack Benriys, the Burris & Allens, and all the truly big people in show. ■ business have, never used a dirty line or gesture. Your first requisite for success is to learn that things obscene should; not be heard. International Copyright Continued; from page 215 i Nitery Atmosphere on Wax Although recording in days before the microphone was confined almost entirely to studio jobs, efforts, were occasionally made to bring Into the home the atmosphere of night ciubs-Hor “cabarets,”, as they were called then. Columbia obliged in .1914 with platter called “A Night at Maxim’s,” made by "the Maxim “Cabaret. Singers.” It consisted of otherwise unidentified guys and gals singing choruses of a few pop songs, with a background of synthetic noises supposed to represent gay night life atmosphere. A few songs of period also described cabaret existence, among them “Take Me to the Cabaret,” "Cabaret Rag,” ‘‘Gee, But I Like .Music With My Meals,”. “If a Table at Rector’s Could Talk” and— earlier Vintage— “Maxim’s.” Iri 1916, Columbia came through with "A New York Hippodrome Rehearsal,” waxed by the veteran, now Venerable, R. H. Burnside, with the help of several dolls. Colloquy between Burnside and his supposed "stars” sounds-^to use a favorite present-day word-^ painfully “contrived” First successful effort to put atmosphere Df spots Onto wax; probably was ; "A Night at Coffee Dan’s,” made by Brunswick about 25 years . ago with Frank Shaw as emcee. Platter is. rough; rowdy and noisy, but dges give something of atmosphere qf San Fran¬ cisco, hot joint. following advantages: It protects the living author and his dependents against a form of unfair competition to which they are now ex¬ posed in cases where some of an author’s works have fair len into the public domain but others are still protected. In such eases, users are inclined , to resort to the author’s royalty-free works, thus discriminating against and dis¬ couraging the use bL those that , are still entitled to copy¬ right protection.. It would eliminate one of the greatest fields of contro¬ versy, the question of who is entitled to the renewal term of copyright for the second 28-year period. It; would promote international understanding by bring¬ ing our views in line with the leading democracies-^-in fact the vast inajority of the nations having copyright laws. The two remaining hurdles to a reconciliation of the Berfie and Universal Conventipns are the “moral rights” arid retroactivity clauses mentioned above. Is it too much to hope that if we abandon our present insistence upon a forfeiture iri the absence of a copyright notice, and if we adopt a coVyright term of life plus 5,0 years, the coun¬ tries adhering to Berne will not insist on the “moral rights” and “retroactivity” clauses? The effort to find soine means of . reconciliation should be made. We have overcome the greatest hurdle to auto¬ matic world copyright protection by doing away with our domestic manufacture clause for works protected by the Universal Convention. The remaining steps should be much easier; it is cer¬ tainly desirable to start, working in that direction. If this objective is a worthy pne, it should form the core of any proposed genera! revision of our domestic law.