Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1952-09-13
TheatriicaIIy
Yours
By RIA BARLEY

NEW 1Ohh, tGLObADD-All
trade mags and "dee jays" are
saying that Herb Kenny's MGM
recording of "My Song" backed
with "You Never Heard a Word |
Said" is fast arriving at the "hit"
point. Frank Walker, prexy of
MGM Records, is so pleased with
Herb Kenny that his company has
gone all out to promote the new
wonder of the world" After the
Billy Williams Quartet left MGM
Records, MGM wanted first-rate
quartet. When Mr.. Walker heard
Herb Kenny and his Rockets, he
said That's the voice | want
that's the group / want" Mr..
Walker says Herbs voice "gets
under your skin"
Herb Kenny proved at his first
MGM recording session that he was
as great as MGM Records bigwigs
had said he was. The nations ace
arranger and ASCAP writer, Fred
Norman, did the musical score and
conducted the recording session
and voices. Crawford was at the
drums, Billy Kyle at the piano,
Lucille Dixon at the bass viol, and
Barksdale on the guitar. Kenny
and his group will be doing some
TV work in the near future, and
will open this fall at a swank
Eastside spot.
Frank Schiffman. owner of Har-
LENS Apollo Theatre, was over
ioyed at Billy Eckstine's terrific
pulling power last week. Billy
broke all records Sarah Vau-
CHAN is packing them in still at
Broadways Birdland.
The dynamic Louis "Pops"
Armstrong and Gordon jenkins are
headlining the great show at
Broadway's Paramount Theatre.
Last Wednesday, backstage at the
Paramount, Decca Records bigwigs
threw a press party for Louis.
! Some of those on hand were Milt
Babler, head of Coral Records;
Mike Corners, who's very swell
guy and is now artist and relation
head of Decca Records; Sam Evans,
columnist for the show bible, Cash
Box" and dee jay over radio sta
ton WGN and WGN-TV in Chi
cago; Mel Patrick of the Pittsburgh
Courier and the man who really
helped to spark plug the success
Of the press party; Evelyn Gun
ningham and Associate Editor
George Schuyler of the Courier;
WORRY dee pay, Fred Robbins;
Purple Grotto dee jay, Jazzbo Col
Inns; press photog Cecil Layne,
Yours Truly, and many others.
The Music Inn at Lenox, Mass,
held its fourth formidable on
Jazz" the week of August II to
"a. About 80 musicians and Jazz
scholars took part in the program
which had as its theme, "Jazz and
American Popular Culture"
Among those at the clambake were
Rex Stewart; Bob Greene; Albert
Mimms and Leon James, Savoy
Ballroom dance champions; Willis
James of Spellman College; Tom
Glazer, Billy Taylor; Fudi Blesh,
jazz historian; and Sterling Brown
of Howard University, authority on
folk music and blues. Under the
direction of Marshall Stems, the
formidable discussions covered
modern jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz,
blues, dance, DiXieland, primitive
jazz, gospels and spirituals.
Johnny Hodges and his DIRK are
breaking all records on their cur
rent tour. Hodges, his alto sax,
and Lawrence Brown and his from
bone, and the rest of the Hodges
aggregation, are the talk, every
where they go. Five stars for the
great Johnny Hodges Band!
Lou LuTour now has her own five
mornings-a-week radio show over
New York's Station WWRL. Lou is
really great.
June Eckstine, wife of the great
MGM recording artist, has written
a number of ballads which will
soon be published by a new music
firm Al Sears is leaving the
Johnny Hodges DIRK on October IA
to concentrate on his music publish
ing firm Ruth Brown opens
with frankie Lame at Philips
Earle Theatre on October 80, for
one week