Variety (February 1959)

Wednesday, February 4, 1959 _ Inside Stuff-Music Ann Ronell’s loss-of her court action against Walt Disney, on . charges that he failed to give her credit for writing “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” on two Ed Sullivan tv shows, does not affect Miss Ronell’s credit as co-writer of the song based on the cartoon, in col¬ laboration with Frank Churchill; The court held, in dismissing the suit, that “in absence of evidence to the contrary it is found that all the material presented by the defendant on both shows depicted a true 'representation of the cartopn song.” Variety’s quote of this section of the decision in last week’s (Jan. 28) issue inadvertently dropped the word “cartoon” from the sentence. RCA Victor is spearheading its February Red Seal release with a .bargain stereo LP priced at $2.98, a $3 reduction from the regular stereo list. The album, called “Destination Stereo,” will contain 11 se-^ lections performed by Artur Rubinstein, Robert Shaw, Morton Gould, Pierre Mqnteux, Arthur Fiedler, Charles Munch, Roberta Peters, Jan Peerce and Giorgio Tozzi. Another special package of the month, with a $1 reduction, Will be a set titled “It’s Classic But It’s Good,” containing excerpts' from •standard classics played by the RCA Victor Symphony under Rob¬ ert Russell Bennett. Other Victor longhair LPs for February will.in- ciude sets by Rubinstein, Henryk Szerying, the Polish-born violinist now a Mexican citizen; soprano Licia Albanese and pianist Jorge Bolet. Fpr a quarter century, everybody at the University of Vermont in Burlington thought the title of a song written by Percy Wenrich in 1909, and used as traditional music for the annual UVM “Kake Walk” Winter Carnival, was, “Cotton Babes” (plurai). Then, last fall, a *17 grad put doubt in tneir. minds, claiming the right title was “Cotton Babe” (singular). Maybe, they figured, there HAD been an error when all the university’s copies of the song were destroyed by fire in 1929, and Dr. Joseph F. Lechnyr, veteran “Kake Walk” music conductor, re¬ wrote the entire song from memory. The copyright office of the Library of Congress was finally contacted for a solution of the mystery. It turned out that the UVM songsters have been on firm ground right along—it’s “Cotton Babes.” The BBC has skedded two Saturday jazz concerts for the Royal Al¬ bert Hall, London, on Feb. 21 and March 28. These “Jazz Saturday” shows, which are becoming hardy annuals, will be aired in part in BBC’s Light Program. First concert, subtitled "New Orleans to Dixie¬ land,” will feature Acker Bilk’s Paramount Jazz Band, Terry Light- foot’s New Orleans Jazz Men, 'Mick Mulligan & Band, Ken. Ratten- bury’s All Stars and Diz Disley’s String Quintet, among others: second, “Dixieland and After,” has the combos of Johnny Dankworth, Humph¬ rey Lyttelton, Alex Walsh and Lennie Best among the attractions. Organist Earl Power Biggs has arrived in Mexico to wax ah LP on the monumental organ at the National Auditorium. Biggs originally came to Mexico last November to “preem” the orgpn. New disk is a continuation of his LPs played on the world’s most famous organs. (He'has recorded in auditoriums and cathedrals of England, Germany, Italy and the U.S.). While in the Mexican capital Biggs will give three organ recitals at the National Auditorium, with proceeds to'the church for reconstruction of the organ in the Cathedral of Mexico. “Wonderful World,” a new song written by Don George and Bill Borelli, has been picked up by the National Conference of Christians & Jews as its special Iheme for National Brotherhood Week, Feb. 15- 21. The Conference is getting the tune on sheet music in five languages and-is sending it in a kit-to disk jockeys along with spot announce¬ ments plugging the brotherhood campaign. United Artists Records Is cooperating by recording the song and plugging it independently. Royalties from a World War H song, “The Ballad of Rodger Young” —totalipg $1,748.48—were recently donated by Nicholas Young, the father of the Congressional Medal of Honor winner, to the American Legion post in Green Springs, O., named after his son. The presenta¬ tion was made te Walter Rigby, who served with Young at the time of his death and recommended that he receive the Medal of Honor. Folksinger Odetta is being paged to join the all-Negro cast that’s being prepped for the musical rendering of the stage classic “Green Pastures.” Under UNESCO auspices, tuner will- open in London some¬ time this spring, then is slated for a tour of the Continent. At least two other deals that would take her abroacLthis year are pending for Odetta. One is a bid from Russia. Israel Diamond, director of logging for Broadcast Music Inc., has joined the statistics staff of the department of business administration of the City College of N.Y. He’ll teach a course in mechanized control systems this spring in addition to his BMI chores. f'SSlEfr snsic 61 5 GREAT NEW RENDITIONS— ★ DINAH—CHA CHA WARREN COVINGTON & T.O. Orch on Dacca 30827 ★ SOLITUDE ^BONNIE GUITAR on Dot 15894 ★ THAT'S MY DESIRE CHUCK BERRY on Chass 1716 ★ FOR ME AND MY GAL TOMMY FRISCO on Epic 9302 ★ WHEN YOU'RE SMILING BOBBY FREEMAN on Josia 855 MILLS MUSIC, INC. MUSIC BY JESSE GREER JUST YOU JUST ME Vocal - Instrumental PublUttad by ROBBINS Saxist Lynn (Abdol) Hope Convicted on Two Counts Philadelphia, Feb. 3. Saxophonist Lynn Hope, also known as Abdul Rashid Ahamad, was convicted last week of de¬ frauding the Sheraton Hotel of $408 in unpaid- bills and on a morals charge. The tenor tooter. also pleaded guilty before Judge Peter Hagan to the possession of dangerous drugs—two “bennies” and 105 barbiturate pills. ~ The turbanned musician ap¬ peared in court wearing green sun¬ glasses, a Scotch plaid formal jacket, blue tie, a vari-colored cummerbund and high buttoned black shoes.. Hope said he’d pay , the hotel bill—“an honest debt.” When he “checked out,” he left the management 12 turbans, 1,000 pen¬ cils, a banged-up Koran bible and a battered typewriter. Dismiss Narcotics Rap Wilmington, Del., Feb. 3. Narcotics charges against pian¬ ist Thelonius Monk and saxophon¬ ist Charles Rouse were dismissed by Judge A. James Gallo here last, week. The musicians were ar¬ rested, together with jazz music buff Baroness Kathleen Rothschild Dekonigswarter, in -a motel near Wilmington Oct. 15. The baroness was continued In $5,000 bail. ’