The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-10

If can find a person who can select
twelve songs a year from our unpub-
lshed manuscript and say THESE will
all become popular songs"
Furthermore do not believe any one
can do 1t. Yet ! wish 1t could be done.
BY paying $4,000 a year for such work
would be saving about 100000. At
least. that much money is spent by us
every year in trying to popularlze songs
There is something uncanny about
popular songs. There is ten times the
element of chance in a song as in
play, and no dramatic producer lives
who can pick success. ! have spent
thousands trying to make some songs
popular, only to have them fall fiat
Other songs have cast aside as worth
less after getting out few professional
copies, only to have them become in
slant and big hits.
Making a song popular is a business
a trade a profession. II Is something
like the profession of chemistry. The
| chemist performs experiment after ex-
pertinent and has to throw away most
Of his work. but now and then he gets
result that Is worth while. II he
| didn't experiment he would get nowhere.
And very often the experiment which
starts off to be merely a dark smudge
and a cloud OF smoke ends in valuable
| discovery. This is just as true in the
| making of a popular song
One day one of our composers, Mr..
| Plantadosi, brought me song. He
called it "The Curse of an Aching Heart"
We heard 1t. Neither Mr.. Bittner my
N h..
81 don't like that word curse" told
Mr.. Piantadosl, land the sentiment Is
too cheap and commonplace. won't
publish 1t, but will strike off q few
professional copies for you"
1 gave him some of the copies. put
the others on the shelf, flguratively and
| literally, and went to Europe. Now It
happened that Mr.. Piantadosi was APP
pearing in cabaret act in Hoboken.
n. j., a few days after that, and he
sang his new song just as an expert
ment. The next day Mr. Blttner re-
ceived an order for copies of THE Curse
of an Aching Heart" from one of the
firms big retailers in Hoboken.
But we haven't got any copies OF that
piece replied Mr.. Bittner. Besides
it's an absolute frost: it's trashy TOM
|
We've had over hundred orders
since last night" came back the reply
you'd better put il on the press"
Mr.. Bittner, remembering my objec.
lions, hestated but finally decided II
would be only fair to Mr.. Piantadosi t
give him the chance to realize a littl,
something on his song if he possibly
could. so he ordered few hundre,
| NUit 1af
copies were ordered before they wer,
of the press. and demands for NOR,
were coming in every day. Mr.. Bittnel
was astonlshed. The song We boil
classed as a rank failure was becoming
one of the seasons hits, and by tn
end Of two weeks every press in tn
place was busy printing extra cople
Of THE Curse of an Aching Heart,
with a large full color cover design
When l got back from Europe m,
first inquiry was. naturally, What /
going STRONGEST" When was toll
that 1.-THE Curse of an Aching Heart
was the best seller we had had in year
was too astonished TO speak So
often happens that the man most sklle
in the tricks Of the trade can neve
predict what is going to happen to
|
hands. That is why will gladly pa
any one $4,000 year 10 pick on, on
song hit a month.
A newspaper man is often spoken {
as having a good nose for news" TIL
applies TO the writer Of popular song
He scents material for new song |
everything from freak fad in women
bonnets to a national issue; from
| q 70 tn,
Anything and everything is grist Il
the ballad makers mill
One day ! was at luncheon wit
another member of the firm when
friend dropped in wearing in his coz
lapel a small brass safety pin with tn
word FIRST inscribed on a pendar
below it. This unique method OF a
tracing attention to the safety First
idea amused me and I jokingly r,
marked that 1t would make a good son
The suggestion struck us as good an
we decided to try it out.
The idea was given to our staff
lyric and melody writer's, and to NAL
1t interesting a prize was offered I,
the best version of a Safety FRS
song. The writer's got busy with Il
idea, each one seeing in his minds ey
bushel OF royalties II the thing turnt
out to be hit. The lyrics were finish,
and the best one given over to meloC
writer. A tune was composed and d
song proved a hit.
We three who thought of the song
seeing a Safety First" pin had 4
pleasure Of walking about town a lit
later and seeing copies of the idea
sheet music displayed in all mus
stores. But all this does not mean an
thing. The very next "inspiration"
tried to put over proved a flzzle.
One Saturday morning a girl car
into my offices with a song called "V
Take Our Hats or to You, Mr. Wilson
l liked it and found a vaudeville sinp
who used the one verse that evenlI
1t was big hit; it brought down t
house. They called for encore aft
encore and couldn't seem to get enoul
j had reserved a Pullman for Chica
for the next day Sunday morning, bu
wanted desperately to get that song
the Chicago office with me and give /
tryout there, About IL o'clock SAT-
day night / called up one Of my
rangers the melody was hummed o.