Music Business – Page 3 – Motor City Radio Flashbacks

MUSIC BUSINESS | TONY AND PETULA: THEY MAKE A HIT TEAM . . . JANUARY 23, 1965

Tony Hatch and Petula Clark have had a lot of hits together but none have been bigger than their current smash, “Downtown”

She liked it. “Petula Clark was more knocked out with ‘Downtown’ than I was,” said Tony Hatch. “I’d only written the first three lines and the bridge, but she told me to go home, put some lyrics to it, and then she would fly to London and record it.”

Tony Hatch, at 25, is the brilliant young man behind the success of “Downtown“.
He’s a writer, producer and arranger, and has been associated with Pye Records and Pet Clark for the past four years. Quiet, modest and unassuming, he played drums with the Queen’s Royal Guards before signing with Pye, and eventually became one of Britain’s most important personalities in the music industry. Among his credits, he can list the British lyrics to Peggy March’s “I Will Follow Him,” as well as composing, arranging and producing Bobby Rydell’s “Forget Him.” In fact, in the latter part of his term with Cameo, Bobby refused to record with anyone but Hatch, and made several trips to London purely for this purpose.

Produces Searchers. A more integral part of Tony’s recent activities has been The Searchers. He’s produced every one of their sessions, and works closely with the group in their selection of material, in addition to helping them arrange it. They, in turn, don’t feel happy unless he’s at the controls, and having attended several of their sessions, take it from me that Hatch and the group augur very well together.

In the past four years, Tony Hatch and Petula Clark have come up with several British and Continental smashes.

“It’s really since Pet moved to Paris and expanded both her activities and
talent,” says Tony. “She’s improved tremendously in that time, and today, can turn her hand to anything and still come up with a great sound. We recorded Downtown’ on October 23.”

Trips to Paris. “I go to France every three or four months armed with a selection of material for Pet to run over. She makes her choice, and then comes to London to record. We always cut at least three or four songs, which we keep in the can for future releases, and she generally records in both French and English.

“On my most recent trip I went to Paris with three songs. We tried them out, but Pet wasn’t terribly happy. She asked if I had anything else, but I was a bit loath to mention ‘Downtown’ as it wasn’t completed. Anyway, she persuaded me to play it, and when she heard what little there was, she made up her mind to record it.”

Double rhyme lyrics. “I returned to London and began work on the lyrics. It took three weeks to complete the song. Anyone who knows the words will see that they rhyme in the middle as well as the end. When it was finished, I arranged it, and Pet flew into London to record it. “Its entirely different from anything else Pet has ever recorded. It does have a little rhythm and blues in it, but more so in the arrangement than the actual song. It’s established Pet in a new groove, and of course we were both delighted when it became an American hit, especially as it had been a smash all over Europe.

Worried about covers. “Without trying to sound self important, I think ‘Downtown’ would have been an American hit anyway. At the time of release, my big problem was the fear of an American artist covering it, as I feel it would have been a good song for a group like the Drifters.

“Personally, though, I think the British boom is coming to an end there. America went through a phase of accepting everything and anything that was British, and for a time, I thought the market had no discernment. It seems to be tailing off now, and I think ‘Downtown’ made it on its merit.”

Both due here. Tony is naturally delighted with the long standing success of The Searchers in this country, particularly when he learned that “Love Potion #9” is their biggest hit to date. He was due to arrive here on Friday (January 15), for talks with both Kapp and Warner Brothers, and at the same time will attend sessions, even though he doesn’t intend to produce anything himself.

Petula Clark arrives this coming week from Canada, for talks with Warner Brothers about the follow up to “Downtown,” which has already been recorded, but remains on the secret list until the green light is given. She will also do a few promotional shots during her stay here, including a scheduled “Hullabaloo” TV appearance.

Three language lass. Pet is a singer of rare fine quality and performance, and is able to tackle any song in at least three languages. She is in tremendous demand all over Europe for top drawer night club, television and gala performances. Because she was accepted as a child star in England, she found it tough to crack the adult market, and finally moved to Paris about four years ago, where through a succession of breaks she became one of Europe’s leading stars. Eventually England accepted her talents on an adult basis and she is in constant demand for such shows as “Sunday Night at the London Palladium.”

A number one with “Downtown” is the greatest welcome she could receive in America. END

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Information, credit and news source: Music Business; January 23, 1965

MUSIC BUSINESS | WANTED – A SOUND OF THEIR OWN . . . DECEMBER 5, 1964

Jay and The Americans have been searching for an identifiable sound ever since they started recording. So far they’ve had three smash hits, and they have all been different

That nervous feeling. “I used to feel physically sick every time we did a personal appearance,” said Jay Black of Jay and the Americans. “Honest, it was no laughing matter, even though you might think I’m joking about it. Literally, before every performance, the rest of the boys would have to kick me into shape.

“I don’t know why this happened. I mean, I wasn’t particularly scared, or any of that jazz. Maybe it was a feeling of insecurity.”

“This is the one thing I’m serious about. It didn’t show outwardly, and still doesn’t if I have a nerve attack before a performance.

No laughing matter. Jay must have had butterflies when he and the group – Kenny Vance, Sandy Deane, Marty Sanders and Howie Kane (who has been in the army but gets out in time for Christmas) – were chosen to open the Beatles first ever American concert in Washington last January.

It was no laughing matter, as the audience believed they were there to see the Beatles only, and they let out hoots and hollers en masse when they discovered there were other acts on the bill. The group, having a natural sense of comedy in situations like this, decided it was easier to pitch in than fight. Jay walked on the stage, observed the Beatlemania first hand on stage and said, “How did you know we were going to be here?” The place broke up laughing.

Have played everywhere. “It’s not always as easy as that,” said Sandy Deane. “Audiences are different everywhere. I guess we’ve played to all types of crowds. Clubs, one-nighters, colleges. You name ’em and we’ve played ’em. We’ve appeared in clubs where the audience has been so drunk they didn’t even know we were on. We feel like standing there and not singing a note.

“Talking to Jay and the Americans, you get the feeling that you’ve been thrown into a punch line game with five comedians. This is an image that doesn’t need developing. If anything, they prefer to play it down, even though the comedy bit comes in handy during their act.

“We’ve had three big record hits,” said Jay. “We’d like to be more consistent. We’ve been together for two years. We’ve had good and not so good experiences. Right now, life is pretty good.”But who are we? I mean, people buy our records and we make personal appearances but we haven’t yet reached the stage where we’re immediately identifiable.

College dates tops. “The one direction which we’re serious about – apart from upwards – is colleges. We like playing college dates best. Maybe it’s because we look a little like University freshmen.” (The boys wear turtle neck sweaters and bright-red cardigans on stage).

“When we do a college concert we feel at home, and we also get the feeling that the rest of the audience is able to identify themselves with us. This is a great field with a terrific future.”

Look at the Lettermen. They play colleges for about nine months out of every year. Only there’s one difference. Their music isn’t the same as ours, and we can’t afford to ignore the commercial market.”

A different sound. “In choosing material, we always look for something a little different. If you remember, all three of our hits have had a different sound. Good songs too, if we have to say so ourselves.

“Wesley Farrell wrote, ‘Come A Little Bit Closer’. Right up until the time of release, we didn’t know whether it was going to be the topside or not. People told us it was going to be a smash. We didn’t believe them until it happened. What’s the point of having false illusions.“

Our next record is a real groove. It’s called “Let’s Lock The Door (And Throw Away The Key)”. For our own career we hope it’s a hit. That’s been the one thing lacking. A follow up hit.

Won’t follow trends. “We don’t follow trends in music we prefer to create for ourselves, and then we don’t get stuck when the band wagon has been rundown. We’re not always right, but at least we can’t be accused of being copyists.”

One person who is leading Jay and the Americans in the right direction is their co-manager, Vic Catela of Concerts Incorporated who they dig. “We leave everything in his hands,” says Jay. “He’s so great. We’d love to have him on the road with us, but we’d be so impossible to control he’d probably resign. That would be no good.

“Someone’s just started a fan club for us. They’re running a contest. The two winners get to spend an evening with us. Hope they don’t get disillusioned when they meet us. Probably think we’re some kinda nuts or something.” END

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Information, credit and news source: Music Business; December 5, 1964

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Note: Americans’ frontman Jay Black passed away on October 22, 2021. He was 82. For his obituary, published in NPR.org please go HERE

**JAY BLACK** (third from left) **& THE AMERICANS** *(Photo: MUSIC BUSINESS)* December 5, 1964

MUSIC BUSINESS: TRINI LOPEZ, EUROPE’S BIGGEST STAR . . . SEPTEMBER 26, 1964

Trini Lopez’s Recent Continental Tour In Paris, Monte Carlo and the Riviera An Overwhelming Success, Europe Wants Him Back

Trini Lopez: Europe’s Biggest Star

Trini’s recent continental tour caused as much commotion in Paris, Monte Carlo and the Riviera as the Beatles did in the U.S.A., and they all want him back again.

MUSIC BUSINESS — (09/26/64) — If you’re part of the Jet set ‘in scene’, or you dig the discotheques and the West Coast sound in any one of its multiple facets, then you’ll appreciate that Trini Lopez is one of the leading members in all these fraternities.

At the risk of sounding a little cliche’d, but because there happens to be no other way of putting it, Trini has become the ‘darling of the discotheques’, not only here, but all over Europe where they originally started.

French scene. We caught Trini in New York last week on a 48 hour stop-over en route back to the West Coast, from a particularly successful two week season at the Paris Olympia, followed by a week of concerts on the Riviera, during which time he starred at the annual gala in Monte Carlo. The event was sponsored by Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, and generally only attended by the highest of society as the tickets work out to about $200 a throw! (At least!)

**Trini Lopez** arrives at Orly Airport in Paris to open his show at the Olympia. *(Music Business)*

Trini digs working in France, but the French are really wild about Trini – as are the Germans, Italians, Dutch, Belgians, Swiss and Spanish.
“This last French trip was fantastic”, he enthused over veal cutlets at Danny’s Hideaway. “Everywhere I went, they went mad.

Greatest ever. “The Paris Olympia season was probably the greatest I’ve ever done. Maurice Chevalier, who never goes to the theatre except to see an opera,came to my opening night. So did Charles Aznavour, Keely Smith and Henry Mancini who was in Europe with his entire family.

“When I noticed Chevalier sitting in the audience, I dedicated a song to him, and everyone stood up and cheered. Then Chevalier rose and took a bow. After the show, he came backstage to talk with me. It was the first time I’d met him. I’m very impressed.

“Keely Smith had been appearing in Germany, so she dropped by to say hello, and I had calls from millions of people. Brigitte Bardot called me from St. Tropez, and said she learned to do the surf from all my albums, and all France is surf crazy.

Steals Show. “The audiences were beautiful. The first time I played the Olympia was earlier this year, when I appeared on the Beatles bill. The newspapers reported then that I’d stolen the show from the Beatles, and although I couldn’t believe a thing like that, when I got back this time the reception was unbelievable.

“There were riots all the time, and I had to keep doing encores. I loved it when some of the audience joined in on some of my songs like ‘Quando Caliento del Sol’, and they liked it when I spoke to them in French.

“When I arrived for the Olympia dates there was a whole crowd of fans at the airport wearing sweaters which gave my name and the dates I was playing the theatre.

“It’s amazing. It’s only been a year since I started recording, but there I was in France mixing with all the great people.”

**Maurice Chavalier**, Keeley Smith and Charles Aznavour visit Trini backstage on opening night. *(Music Business)*

Grand Prix award. In fact, Trini Lopez’ French success was consolidated earlier this year when he was awarded the “Grand Prix du Disque” as being the most popular singer in France. That’s why it wasn’t so surprising to learn that he had been invited to appear at the annual Gala in Monte Carlo.

“There were riots there too,” he admitted. “And the people that came to that show weren’t just ordinary people. They were real society. Anyway, I came on and did my act, and they kept on banging the tables for an encore, which I couldn’t do. They kept yelling ‘Encore Trini’, but after 45 minutes I was exhausted. In the end they all walked out of the gala without paying their tabs! The next morning, one of the French papers reported that I’d caused a mass riot!

At the discotheque. “After the gala I met Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, and believe it or not, spent an hour with them at the discotheque. Princess Grace is very charming, and spent most of the time talking about Hollywood.

“In Deauville, where he played a concert with Ray Charles, it was the same story. Riots and front page headlines. But after three weeks of wild chaos, which was nothing less than what the Beatles have been getting here, Trini was glad to be back in America.

Home Sweet Home.”You know the song, ‘I Love To Be In America,’ well that’s me,” he said. “There’s no place like home, even though I won’t be here too long.

“I noticed in my absence that my Latin album took off like crazy. I’ve wanted to record an LP in Spanish ever since I started singing, but I had no idea it would be such a big seller. I’m even more thrilled because I’m doing dates in South America later this year.

**Henry Mancini** drops by with his daughters Monica and Felice to say hello. (Music Business)

“Trini says it looks like he won’t be playing any discotheques here for quite a while yet, even though he would love to. He’s not scared of being labelled the “darling of the discotheques” as he admits to being a middle of the road singer who had to start off somewhere.

Surf Sound. He feels the discotheque sound is predominantly West Coast and exciting, but in France, it is labelled as the surfing sound, and its interpretation there has nothing to do with groups like the Beach Boys.

He is surprised and thrilled by his universal success, and proudly pointed out that “If I Had A Hammer,” his first disc on Reprise, reached number 1 in 20 countries, and sold in excess of 5,000,000.

Tight Schedule.”I want to go back to Europe again,” he said, “And I’ve been invited to play dates in Beirut, Germany and Israel, as well as France, Scandinavia and England. They all wanted me this time, but my schedule was too tight.

“I’d like to come back to New York too. I dug that booking at Basin Street East, and would like to play there again. I also enjoyed my recent concert at Forest Hills.

“But although I still live at home in Texas, I plan to move to the West Coast soon. That’s the greatest place of all.” END

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Information, credit and news source: Music Business; September 26, 1964

Trini Lopez died on August 11, 2020. He was 83. For his obituary, published in Rolling Stone please go HERE

MUSIC BUSINESS: THE BEATLES CHANGED HIS LIFE . . . SEPTEMBER 26, 1964

George Martin, Who Records Beatles for Parlophone, Now Has a Big Hit in His Own Right

**GEORGE MARTIN** (*Photo: Music Business*)

MUSIC BUSINESS — September 26, 1964 — His life changed. George Martin is a man whose entire life has been changed by the Beatles. This tall, lean, and quiet-spoken Englishman is the man who signed the Beatles–when they were very unknown–to a contract with EMI, the English record manufacturing giant. He is the man who records all of the Beatles sides for Parlophone (the boys’ English label) and the man who scored the soundtrack for their hit movie “A Hard Day’s Night.”

George signed the Beatles after they were turned down by a number of other labels. He has been with them ever since. He was in the United States to supervise their live recording at the Hollywood Bowl two weeks ago.

In his own right. “The boys have done a lot for me,” mused Martin during a lunch with Music Business editors. “They have helped me fulfill my desire to arrange and conduct in my own right.” His own right happens to be a very good right, by the way, because the George Martin recording of “Ringo’s Theme” from the picture soundtrack on the United Artists label in the U.S., has already sold over 200,000 recordings. And his LP, called “Off The Beatles Track” is also a big one for United Artists Records.

Before the Beatles ever came on the scene George Martin had already established himself as a top recording man in London. Some of the artists he records for EMI include Billy J. Kramer, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Cilla Black, The Hollies, Matt Monro, Shirley Bassey, Ron Goodwin, Peter Sellers, Rolf Harris, and many others. The artists whose records he supervises comes to 48 in all.

Also a composer. Martin is also a composer of note in his native England. One of his biggest songs here was called “The Niagara Theme,” and he has written many other songs, that so far have been bigger hits there than here.

**The Beatles, George Martin, 1963** *(Credit: Michael Ochs Archives; Getty Images)*

A thumbnail description of a Beatles recording session, according to Martin, would go like this. The Beatles come in with a new song, written 99 per cent of the time by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. John and Paul sing the song through (none of the Beatles can read or write music) until Martin learns it, and then he sits down at the piano and plays it. Then the boys and Martin work out an arrangement together, with each coming through with ideas. It usually takes about three or four hours to work out the arrangement on each song. After that they are ready to record.

Let him run. Martin has been asked by many people whether he ever intends to put strings behind the boys, or record them with a full orchestra, or with choral backing or whatever. “I don’t intend to change anything they do,” says Martin emphatically. Recording a successful artist is like riding a good horse. The best way is to let him run. All you should provide is a good balance. “The balance that Martin provides for his artists apparently is a very good one. To illustrate this it has been estimated that the records George Martin has produced with his artists have sold over 100 million copies throughout the world. Last year–1963–recordings produced by Martin were in the No. 1 spot on the English charts 37 weeks out of 52. For 17 consecutive weeks recordings he produced for Parlophone were No. 1.

What did it. What made the Beatles take off the way they did in the U.S., Martin was asked, and would American record artists move back into the top rungs throughout the world soon or not? “There was a vacuum to be filled in the pop record business, and the Beatles filled it,” said Martin. “As for the American recordings, I think there has been a great awakening here since last Winter, and many of the new American records are getting right up there. “Among the recording men whom Martin respects very highly here are Bert Bacharach and Hal David, who produce all of the Dionne Warwick recordings. “They have brought fresh, new ideas into the recording world,” says Martin.

Breaking the hits. How does a record company break a new recording in Britain, since there is so little radio time allotted for pop records, Martin was asked. “We break our records via TV, which covers the entire country, not by radio,” said Martin. “There are TV shows like ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’ and ‘Ready, Steady, Go,’ that put a record over very quickly. Sales of records in Britain are up very much today, according to Martin, with a sale of 800,000 average for a No. 1 recording. (The Beatles, of course, do much better.)

United Artists records is on a big campaign in the U.S. to build George Martin into a recording star, and they are on their way with “Ringo’s Theme.” What kind of recording does Martin want to do in the future? “I’m not certain yet, I know I would like to record many of my own songs for release here, and then I have a number of other ideas. I don’t intend to try to copy anyone’s style, but to create my own. That’s why I recorded all of the Beatles songs in my own way, rather than to use the same arrangements the boys do when they sing them. You know, Paul and John write very good songs.” Sales of Martin’s recordings indicate many other people feel they do too. END

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Information, credit and news source: Music Business; September 26, 1964

MUSIC BUSINESS: JIM REEVE’S DEATH STUNS NASHVILLE . . . AUGUST 15, 1964

Jim Reeves, Nashville Country Star, Was 40

MUSIC BUSINESS — (08/15/1964) — Music City was shocked and stunned and joined its grief with much of the rest of the world over the tragic deaths here of world-famous country music singer Jim Reeves and his piano player-road manager, Dean Manuel, when their private plane crashed during a thunderstorm late Friday (July 31) afternoon.

The crash occurred in a densely-wooded area a few miles south of Nashville and only five miles from their airport destination. The body of Reeves, identified by his billfold, was found some 20 feet from the crash site but that of Manuel was still in the plane’s cabin. Eddy Arnold, national country music star, was on the scene with State Highway Inspector J. J. Jackson. There was only slight evidence of fire and death is presumed to have resulted instantly from the violent impact of the plane with the surrounding wooded terrain.

Massive Search

Although the crash occurred late Friday afternoon, the plane’s wreckage was not found until Sunday morning despite a massive search over a 20 square mile area by a small army of volunteers including many of the victims’ Grand Ole Opry colleagues. They were aided by civil defense teams, Tennessee National Guard helicopters and private planes. The heavy shrubbery, however, prevented the wreckage’s beings potted from the air and not until civil defense workers had combed the area on foot was the plane’s debris discovered.

The area covered by the search is one in which many Grand Ole Opry stars in recent years have built sumptuous homes with extensive acre-ages. Among the nearby residents are such Opry luminaries as Marty Robbins who reported to police that he had heard a plane’s engine sputtering and seemingly in trouble during the thunderstorm.

Also living nearby are Eddy Arnold who scoured the countryside in a jeep assisting in the hunt, Carl Smith who brought riding horses to the site and arranged with neighbors to bring other mounts to penetrate the closes shrubbery; Minnie Pearl, Stonewall Jackson, and Marijohn Wilkin.

The searching party was also swollen by dozens of other volunteers helmed by deejays, plus record company execs and station managers. Airport officials said their last radio contact with Reeves was when he reported he had run into a heavy rain. Almost immediately afterwards the plane disappeared from the radar screen.

**JIM REEVES PLANE CRASH** — Rescue workers, along with country music singer Eddie Arnold (center, checkered shirt) probe the wreckage of a light plane here [8/2], object of an intensive search by hundreds of men the past two days. Country Music singer Jim Reeves and piano player Dean Manuel were killed in this crash 7/31 in a blinding rainstorm. The wreckage was spotted today [8/2] only a few hundred feet from a home in a thickly wooded area. *(Credit and photo caption: Getty/Bettmann)*

Police Issue Pleas

The crowds which thronged the roads leading to the general area of the crash even before the bodies had been found, were so huge that police issued several pleas by radio asking motorists to avoid the area so as not to hamper the search.

When found, the twisted steel of the engine and the splintered cabin indicated that the plane had hit the ground with great impact and that its occupants apparently had died instantly.

Reeves and Manuel were returning from Arkansas where they had been negotiating a real estate transaction.

As word spread of the finding of the bodies, calls and telegrams bearing condolences began arriving from all parts of the world. As the trade well knows, Reeves was one of those performers who successfully bridged the gap between country and pop.

“As far as I know myself, I haven’t changed style at all,” Reeves said recently. “I’m doing exactly the same thing I did seven or eight years ago. I sing ballads and I don’t know whether you can put them in any particular category.”

Records, TV, Movies

The multi faceted Reeves found expression in other ways. Starting as a recording star, he moved to TV, to personal appearances and to the movies. Only last year he starred in a movie, “Kimberly Jim,” made in South Africa, and had entered negotiations for a second movie later this year.

As a recording artist, Reeves remains in the very top rank. Currently on national charts are three, big Reeves records – a single, “I Guess I’m Crazy,”and two albums, “Moonlight and Roses” and “The Best of Jim Reeves.” At one time Reeves had his own ABC network radio program, the Jim Reeves Show. In 1959, he was a summer replacement for Red Foley on the Ozark Jubilee.

Started As Youth

Reeves was born in Panola County, Texas, and acquired a broken down guitar at the age of 10 in exchange for a basket of pears. Entering the University of Texas, Reeves became a top pitcher on the University baseball team which led to his being signed with the St. Louis Cardinals farm system. A leg injury, however, ended his baseball career and he turned to his guitar and a musical vocation.

Reeves’ first big record came in 1953 when he recorded “Mexican Joe” on the Fabor label and sales soared to over 1,000,000. This in turn led to his being signed by Steve Sholes to an RCA-Victor contract in March, 1955. Under the deal, RCA bought all of Reeves’ masters from Fabor Robinson of Fabor Records which insures the entire recording career of Jim Reeves on RCA-Victor. END

Joint Services Held

**Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home** August 4, 1964

MUSIC BUSINESS — (08/15/1964) — Joint memorial services for both Jim Reeves and Dean Manuel, killed in an airplane crash in Nashville last weekend, were held at 2 p.m. Tuesday (August 4) at the Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home here (Nashville). Reeves was buried the following day at Carthage, Texas; and Manuel was buried also the next day in Springhill Cemetery, Nashville.

The families of both Reeves and Manuel requested that, instead of sending flowers, friends make gifts to charities.

Reeves is survived by his widow, Mary; his mother, Mrs. Beulah Reeves of De Berry, Texas; two brothers. Buford Reeves of Dallas, Texas; and Manuel leaves his widow, Barbara (Bobbie); two daughters, Brenda and Laura Manuel; parents, Mr. and Mrs. D.D. Manuel of Planada, Calif.; a sister, Mrs. Laura Silva of Merced, Calif. and a brother, Orion Manuel of San Francisco. END

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Information, credit and news source: Music Business; August 15, 1964

MUSIC BUSINESS: NANCY WILSON SAYS, ‘IT TAKES MORE THAN SOUL’ . . . AUGUST 1, 1964

Rising Capitol Records Star Ascends to Big Time Club Circuits

MUSIC BUSINESS (8/1/1964) — Smash single. For five years “things have been moving cautiously for me,” said Nancy Wilson last week. The masterpiece of understatement came in the wake of the Capitol thrush’s first smash single (number 14 in the Pop 100 this week) and coverage in Time last week (and Newsweek this week) and a sensationally successful opening recently at Los Angeles’ venerable Coconut Grove.

“I went into the studio with the deliberate idea of cutting a top 40 kind of hit,” she said. “Actually though, I didn’t sing any differently than I ever do. It’s the material itself that did it and of course the arrangement. As far as my singing goes, I think it’s always been pop singing really.”

People have labelled me as jazz. I don’t like that designation. I want to be able to reach everybody, not just the jazz crowd. And besides, who is to say what a jazz singer is anyway? If it’s scat singing, I don’t qualify, because I’ve never scatted, never!

Cannonball. “It’s true I once made an album with Cannonball (Adderly). Maybe that’s one reason I’ve gotten the label. And it’s a good reason why I wouldn’t really want to do that kind of thing again. Although I think Cannonball himself is great. I actually sang with his group for a stand back in my home town of Columbus, Ohio, six years ago.

“I’ve been singing for years. Since I was a kid in Columbus. I had my own TV show there when I was 15. Five years ago, I came to New York where I started doing night club work at places like the Blue Mirror in the Bronx. And later I played Mister Kelly’s in Chicago. But now things are different.

“I’m playing the biggest clubs, places like the Waldorf in New York (where she appeared earlier this year) the fancy places in Vegas and Reno, and right now the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles. I’m tired because there’s been no let-up at all. From one night club to another. And it’s work, real work.

“Now I have to really entertain. You can’t just get up there and be soulful in clubs like these. They expect a show and you’ve got to give them one. But this is something new and fresh and exciting for me. Even if I’m tired it it doesn’t get me bugged. As I say, my career has gone along nice and slow and I really think it’s better for an artist to grow that way.

No time at home. “The only trouble now is that things have gotten so good for me, so big, that I don’t have time at home at all. I love to be at home with my husband. I love to play with our little 17-month old son and cook and keep house but there’s so little time. I don’t have time for any leisure things like listening to records. Really. Just once in awhile when I do, I listen to Jesse Belvin (the late singer was on RCA Victor) and Shirley Horn. Shirley’s a very good new singer.

“After I’m through at the Coconut Grove, I’ve planned on a three week vacation. We all need it here. Then I’m taking the whole month of December off. I’d like to do that every year if I could. I’ve planned that month for a long time.

In the meantime, there are a lot of night club things to fill out the time between now and then. Broadway I’d love to do sometime. I suppose a musical, but first I’d like doing a straight drama, either on the stage or in a movie. No, there’s nothing really in prospect. They haven’t come to me to show me any kind of script. But when it comes along, I’ll think about it carefully before I jump. I always go slowly and hope I’ll make the right decision.

Final decision.“It’s the same way I work with my records. I work closely with my a. and r. man, Dave Cavanaugh, but I decide on every song myself. They can recommend but I make the final decision, whether its albums or top 40 singles. And I certainly do intend to continue making singles for the top 40 market, even though I don’t see anything different because I have a hit. I think it was all just happening before that single came out. It’s the icing on the cake or the extra gravy or whatever you want to call it. It’s just part of a total picture that makes anybody a more complete entertainer.”

Meanwhile, Miss Wilson’s continues to be a familiar name in the album charts. Her latest “Today, Tomorrow and Forever,” which brought Time’s comment “a voice of agile grace and knowing jazz inflection,” is in the 11 spot this week. An earlier performance, ‘Yesterday’s Love Songs, Today’s Blues,’ is rated at 55 this week. Fans can also look forward to seeing Nancy on at least a couple of major network TV showcases this fall (“I haven’t seen the contracts yet, but I’m sure I’ll do them”) before she takes her promised month off. END

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Information, credit and news source: Music Business; August 1, 1964

MUSIC BUSINESS: SAM COOKE PASSES THE COPA TEST . . . JULY 11, 1964

His Biggest Hurdle Now Behind Him, Sam Cooke Looks Toward the Adult Market

MUSIC BUSINESS — (7/11/1964) — The young and talented in our time face a depressing reality. The very mass media which serve to promote and parade them before the public (press, radio, television, recordings) play a double role: they are also the harbingers of obsolescence. The “too much, too soon” machinery has a will of its own, and few understand the mechanics of escaping it. Hopefully, Sam Cooke does.

At 29, Cooke can already look back on seven exceptionally successful years in show business. A graduate of one of the finest gospel singing groups, the Soul Stirrers, Cooke’s first single hit as a soloist was his self-penned “You Send Me,” which appeared on the Keene label. Shortly thereafter he was signed by RCA Victor Records and his career slowly took shape. And it is a solid shape. His last ten singles have all made Top 20 in the country.

Long term success is rarely an accident. For Cooke, it has been a case of meticulous planning, and a constant need on the part of the artist for reappraisal of his abilities – particularly as a live performer. “I remember my first stab at the Copa. I had just two hit singles and was booked as a second string act. I wasn’t prepared. I had no conception of an act, lacked stage presence and made little identity with lyrics. It was a painful lesson.”

Others who recall that particular date are easier on Cooke than he is on himself. But he vowed then he’d be a pro before he returned.

When he opened there, June 24, as head-liner, there was something of a vengeance in the first half of the opening set. He was tight and visibly nervous. But then, the real Sam came through and he had his audience with him from there on in – even to singing and clapping while he fed them the lyrics to “If I Had A Hammer.” A pretty risky trick for the staid Copa crowd — but it worked. Cooke has finally broken into the adult market, and he intends to stay there.

Yet there is something enigmatic about Cooke’s past five years as a performer. He has been virtually protected from the adult market, which is hard to reconcile in this day and age. All the while, he has had a tremendous teen following, and the Negro community know him as a “star.” At New York’s Town Hill, for instance, he earns $12,500 per week as a headliner.

When he plays the Apollo in Harlem he breaks attendance records (52,000 his last week there). Yet, his manager of nine months, Allen Klein, when asked why he’d waited so long for the Copa booking, he explained, “Frankly, they didn’t want him. ‘Who’s Cooke,’ they asked. His current booking there wasn’t even set until May.”

Klein has ambitious plans for Cooke’s future, with murmurs of a Carnegie Hall concert and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, as well as the European scene. Cooke recently left the William Morris Agency and signed with G.A.C., where Buddy Howe is in charge of him. “Howe’s one of the best talent builders in the business,” offers Klein.

Klein explained, “We’re ready to go all the way with Sam. This past year has been a brief hiatus for Sam — he’s not given any personal appearances, save one, so that he could orient himself to the change in his career. Now we’re set to run with it.”

If Cooke’s business acumen is any indication of his talent for carrying things out, there’s little doubt that he’ll make his presence felt. He owns his own publishing firm (Kags) and two record labels, Derby and Sar. As a composer, he’s been responsible for most of his hit record tunes, including “You Send Me,” “Every-body Likes to Cha Cha Cha,” “Only Sixteen,” “Chain Gang,” “Having A Party,”“Cupid,” “Twistin’ The Night Away,” “Another Saturday Night,” “Ain’t That Good News,” and “Good Times,” is just a partial list. And it is intimated that his recent new pact with RCA Victor has some pretty interesting clauses in it. One is that as he develops new talent on his own labels, Victor gets first refusal on signing the acts.

If Cooke has any idol it is talent. He is ecstatic about great performers, arrangers, writers. He spoke recently at length about Bob Dylan. “Now there’s a guy with a real soul. And such a talent for putting beautiful thoughts in a simple framework. If you’ve got something to say, I think that’s the way to say it. If you haven’t you’d better cool it.

“You know,” he confessed, “I was so impressed with one of his songs (‘The Times They Are a-Changin’), I wrote one around it, called ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ “. END

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Information, credit and news source: Music Business; July 11, 1964

AFTERMATH OF THE BEATLES: THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

How Capitol Records Prepped The Beatles’ Single and Album to Satisfy Overwhelming Demand in the United States

Music Business March 21, 1964

ONE THING IS CERTAIN — the record industry will never be the same as it was before The Beatles, and neither will Capitol Records.

The incredible success of The Beatles on record (3.5 million singles and 3.5 million LP’s on Capitol alone, and million-plus sellers on both Vee Jay and Swan), and the attendant success of the lads on TV, in personal appearances and in media coverage, indicates that records are the most dynamic exposure medium available for young artists. Records far outdistance TV and movies, live appearances or anything else in creating a national image in a hurry.

And it also indicates that the record industry, working with its partner — radio — can expect at any time that one of its artists overnight can become an overwhelming national favorite, to an extent that would have surprised even the most optimistic record manufacturer less than two years ago.

IN A YEAR AND A HALF, the record industry has seen three massive break-outs of records featuring new artists, who-until their records were exposed — were relatively unknown. In the fall of 1962 the album of folk song parodies by Allan Sherman on Warner Bros. sold more than a million in little over two months. In November and December of 1962 and January of 1963, the album by Vaughn Meader on Cadence, “The First Family”, sold four million LP’s and broke every existing LP sales record.

And less than a year later, The Beatles did it again. There have been, of course, massive sellers before Sherman, Meader and The Beatles. Elvis Presley is the outstanding example on the pop side. Johnnie Ray did it with his smash hit; “Cry”. And there have been a number of show albums or sound tracks, “My Fair Lady”, “South Pacific”, “The Sound Of Music”, “West Side Story”, which have racked up sales in the millions. But these have occurred sporadically; the demand has not been concentrated in such a short time span as with the Sherman, Meader and Beatles releases.

Record companies are now learning to cope with the type of massive demand for records exemplified by these three big-selling artists. Warner Bros. fumbled a bit at first in getting the LP’s and the jackets available at the same time when the Sherman set broke for them in the fall of 1962. Cadence did a masterful job in getting its product to market after only a few days of being over-whelmed by what it had wrought with “The First Family”.

Neither Warner Bros. nor Cadence owns its own pressing facilities. Capitol Records does. Its plants at Scranton, Pa., and Hollywood are among the largest in capacity in the U.S. Being able to turn out its own product was a tremendous advantage to Capitol when The Beatles got hot. But Capitol faced other production problems that did not affect either Warner Bros. or Cadence.

NO ONE AT CAPITOL believed the firm had latched on to an all-time seller when Capitol a. & r. chief Voyle Gilmore made a deal with Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein in November last year for future Beatles’ product. Two previous Beatles’ releases had died in the U.S., one on Vee Jay and one on Swan. (Obviously, these records were not really dead, only sleeping.) But EMI executive Leonard Wood had told Gilmore and Capitol foreign boss Lloyd Dunn about the Beatles’ continuing success in England, and early stories about the Beatles (New York Times,Variety, Newsweek) had alerted other Capitol brass.

On word from Capitol president Alan Livingston, eastern operations chief, Brown Meggs, sent out first announcements to the trade. (Meggs, his secretary, Stacy Caraviotis, and West Coast-based publicity chief Fred Martin, were to bear the brunt of wearying public relations during the whole Beatles explosion.)

Immediately after the first press releases, many Capitol executives began to smell a hit. Calls began to come from dealers. There were other calls from press representatives, magazine editors, and newspaper free lance writers, TV bookers — all waiting on the Beatles. And disk jockeys wanted to know when the records would be ready.

At this time the first Beatles record release was scheduled for February, when the lads were set to appear on the Ed Sullivan TV show. Capitol decided to move the release date up, and set it for early January.

But in December, Ed Sullivan began to plug a Beatles appearance on a February show, and Jack Paar, who enjoys tangling with Sullivan, let his audience know that he would beat Sullivan by showing a TV film of The Beatles. This accelerated the excitement at Capitol and the firm again moved back the release date, this time to late December.

WITH A COMPANY the size of Capitol, it is not easy to play fast and loose with release dates. Capitol was already hot last December, with strong-selling singles by The Beach Boys, Al Martino, Nat King Cole and other acts, and the firm also had a number of hot LP’s riding the album charts, nationally. But somehow, in spite of Christmas (no shifts worked at the pressing plant Christmas eve or Christmas day), the firm had 1,342 Beatles singles in its Capitol distributing branches on December 26. These were immediately sent out to jockeys.

All over the country jockeys appeared to be waiting for The Beatles new record. The teen-age grapevine, which can smell a big hit from as far away as Japan, or as near as England, knew all about The Beatles, wanted the Beatles, and were calling local deejays for Beatles action. All over the country, from December 26 on, The Beatles got radio action on stations in big cities, small cities and everywhere else.

Before the record hit the stands, Capitol publicity had been busy. Bios of George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Ringo Starr were in the works. There was an overall story of the Beatlemania craze. A four-page newspaper, called The National Record News, “Special Beatles Issue” was being printed. (This later became a collector’s item.) And pictures in many poses hit editors’ desks. What seemed to be adequate amounts of each of these were ordered. (They turned out to be underestimated.) Capitol was embarked on the biggest promotion campaign in its history.

Within one week from the time the record was released (December 26), Capitol had orders for 200,000 Beatles records. (Most of these orders came from New York.) The plants in Scranton and Hollywood made their move to catch up. During the week from December 30 to January 6 (in spite of the New Year’s holiday when the plants were closed), the firm pressed 134,225 Beatles’ singles. The next week the plants turned out 233,250 singles, and the week of January 13-17, the plants pressed 535,482 singles. And singles were still being back ordered. (At this time the greater New York area had used 262,381 singles.)

THE DEMAND for records became so intense, that the following week, Capitol Records ordered 300,000 records from the RCA Victor pressing plant located in Rockaway, New Jersey. And that same week Capitol issued the album called “Meet The Beatles” with 250,000 LP’s ready at date of issuance. These were soon gone into the throes of Beatlemania.

While the demand for records was outstripping production, Capitol continued to press records by other artists, who, in spite of The Beatles, were also selling. It has been a practice at the Capitol plants that no matter what the demand might be for one artist, it would also continue to press some other product, so that it would not get caught with only one artist on the market. During the period January 1 to February 28, Capitol pressed, in its own plants, about 1,250,000 records by such artists as The Beach Boys, Jody Miller, Al Martino, Ferlin Huskey, Wayne Newton, Bobby Darin, Nat King Cole, Donna Lynn, and the Drew-Vells.

Demand was also outstripping production for press matter. More than 25,000 bios of The Beatles were requested by jockeys, reporters and editors; more than 15,000 photos were requested. And one million copies of the four-page newspaper were run off before the demand was exhausted!

ON FEBRUARY 14, after Capitol plants had pressed about 1.7 million singles and almost one million albums, it began to farm out some Beatles work. Eight plants started to press Beatles’ singles and LP’s, and of this writing are still pressing, along with Capitol plants. It was February 28 before Capitol reached the point where it had enough merchandise on hand to fill back orders for the single.

Capitol was lucky with its single in one regard. On a sale of more than 3.5 million it gave away only 200,000 records. Though there was a 300 free-deal for every 1000 bought when it was first issued, the demand for the record was so strong that Capitol Records Distributing Corp. singles sales chief Vito Samela was able to cut off the deal as of January 7. Samela and distributing promo head Manny Kellem had both been up to their ears in work in the frantic days.

The firm had a discount arrangement for the album. There was a 15 per cent deal on the LP from the start, and it was still on the first week of March, at which time the label had sold more than 3,000,000 “Meet The Beatles” LP’s.

Capitol Records, like Victor with its first Presley release, has now been through its bath of fire. A new Capitol single by The Beatles was released Monday, March 16. One million copies of the record were available at the Capitol branches the day it was issued. As Samela told Music Business: “We will be able to keep up with the demand this time.”

ONE THING IS CERTAIN, the record industry will never be the same as it was before The Beatles, and neither will Capitol Records. END

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Information and news source: Music Business; March 21, 1964