Automati~ Musi~
Show Steals
Wurlitzer Changes
phonograph division
s e tup.
NORTH TONAWANDA, N. Y.-Declar-
ing it necessary that he spend more
time in connection with general admin-
istrative problems of the firm, Homer E.
Capehart, vice-president of the Rudolph
Wurlitzer Co., last month announced the
promotion of Carl E. Johns on from fac-
tory manager, a post he occupied for
many years, to manager of the North
Tonawanda division, and of M. G.
Hammergren from an executive sales
post in the Cincinnati division to gen-
eral salesmanager of the phonograph
department.
The announcement was made in the
form of a letter to all Wurlitzer customers
as of tha t date, reading as follows:
"Gentlemen:
"Thanks to our customers, the in-
creased volume in all divisions of our
business has made it very difficult for
me to gi1
tion a nd assistance to which you are
entitled.
"From this time on I must spend more
time in connection with the general ad-
ministra tive problem of our company,
which necessitates the foll owing changes
in our phonograph divisi on here at
North Tonawanda:
"Effective at once Carl E. Johnson,
who has been for many years our fac-
tory manager, becomes manager of the
North, Tonawanda division of our com-
pany, •and M. B. Hammergren becomes
genera l sales manager of our phono-
graph business.
"Mr: Johnson, of course, needs no in-
troduction lo any of y ou, as m ost all of
y ou know him. However, I d o wish to
say just a word about Mr. Hammergren.
He has been with the Rudolph Wurlitzer
Co. for 13 years in an executive sales
position in our Cincinnati division and
SENSATIONAL
TUBE OFFER
TO PHONOGRAPH
OPERATORS
•
FOR CONFIDENTIAL PRICE
LIST WRITE TO
High-Point Amusement Co.
8 SOUTH 20th STREET
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
Distributors for Federal Radio Tubes
Goodman 'King of Swing'
title in poll.
M. G. Hammergren, general sales manager
Phonograph Division, Rudolph Wurlitzer
Co ., North Tonawanda, N. Y .
with my co-operation and help Mr. Ham-
mergren will give you the kind of co-
operation a nd assistance that you so
much deserve, because he is just that
kind of a man.
"We again wish to say that we appre-
ciate very much the business y ou have
given us in the past and we hope we
may continue to merit your full co-oper-
ation and support.
"Sincerely y ours ,
"THE RUDOLPH WURLITZER CO.
(Signed) "H. E. Capehart,
"Vice-President"
Wolker Monoges
Bluebird, Victor records
in new post.
CAMDEN, N. ).-Appointment of Frank
Walker as manager of the Victor and
Bluebird Record Department, in addi-
tion to his duties as manager of RCA
Victor's broadcast transcription activi-
ties has been announced by the firm's
President, G. K. Throckmorton, who de-
clared, in announcing the appointment,
that:
"We have just completed a very suc-
cessful year in the record end of our
business. During the last quarter of
1938, it was necessary to work our big
plant here, three shifts a day, six days
a week, in our attempt to meet the tre-
mendous public demand for Victor and
Bluebird records, brought about by the
quality of our product, both technically
and artistically."
Walker first became associated with
the business in 1919. In 1924 he became
general manager and director of the
Columbia Phonograph Co. In 1933 he
joined RCA Victor lo organize the com-
pany's electrical transcription business
which has grown to be a substantial
part of the firm's business in the record-
ing field , under his direction.
e
CHICAGO.-Nobody thought it could
be done, but it has been done: America
has a new "King of Swing" in the per-
son of Artie Shaw whom with his band,
stole the title from Benny Goodman, two-
year holder, in the annual poll conduct-
ed by "Down Beat," musicians' trade
paper. Musicians (and a number of both
swing and sweet fans who managed to
sneak in) showered a record-breaking
vote down on the publication to upset
a number of other apple carts, as well.
Now music operators know why Shaw's
platters have been pulling in the nickels
-sometimes as many as two or three
Shaw discs on a single instrument out-
pulled all others-it's because musi-
cians themselves, as well as listeners,
evidently rate him high musically.
Odd part of the whole thing is that
Shaw came up "out of nowhere ," late
in 1938, when he recorded "Begin the
Beguine" and "Indian Love Call" on
Bluebird. By December there was
scarcely a phonograph in the country
that didn't have one or both sides
listed on the program, to all appear-
ances. His other discs took well, and on
radio broadcasts he proved his popular-
ity was sound.
The final tally on swing bands show-
ed some 12,000 votes divided between
thirty top orchestras, and a difference of
only 38 votes between Shaw's musicians
and Goodman 's. The ranking of the first
ten bands foll owed this order:
1. · Artie Shaw ................................ 2535
2. Benny Goodman ...................... 2497
3. Bob Crosby ................................ 1486
4. Count Basie ................................ 889
5. Jimmy Dorsey ............................ 714
6. Tommy Dorsey .......................... 676
7. Casa Loma ................................ 618
8. Duke Ellington .......................... 461
9. Jimmie Lunceford ...................... 401
ID. Gene Krupa .............................. 304
Nearly 11 ,000 votes were divided be-
tween 45 leaders in the best sweet band
classification. Top ten in this division
were:
I. Casa Loma ................................ 1971
2. Hal Kemp .................................... 1660
3. Tommy Dorsey .......................... 1444
4. Kay Kyser.. ................................ 740
5. Guy Lombardo .......................... 679
6. Wayne King .............................. 459
7. Larry Clinton ............................ 360
8. Russ Morgan .............................. 326
9. Horace HeidL ........................... 229
ID. Glenn Miller... ........................... 222
It's interesting to note that both mu-
sicians and fans were undecided, in a
number of cases as to whether a band
was "sweet" or "'swing." Tommy Dorsey
fifth in the latter group, was in third
place under the sweet listing. Larry
Clinton, seventh in the sweet bands,
s tood eleventh under the swing group-
ing-and rated top as an arranger, with
1901 votes to Fletcher Henderson's 1850
for second place; among the more wide-
VOCALION
BRUNSWICK
VOCALION
T o ps Your "Mu st" List!
Every Artist an ARTIST!
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33
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