What makej
-.A popular Song
By BARRY WOOD
COIN
.. ACHINE
REVIEW
54
FOR
JULY.
J94J
Singing for over a year on "Your Hit
Parade" has given me a bird's-eye view of
America's song landscape_ For the first
time in my long contact with the new
music forever bombarding New York from
hopeful composers everywhere, I'm begin-
ning to see why certain maverick music
catches on from obscurity and vaults to
tenth, second and · finally first place on
"Your Hit Parade," America's last word
in song-hit barometers.
Before listing the five most popular melo-
dies to make the "Hit Parade" roster in
the past few months, let me give my idea
of what a new tune must have to make
the grade_ I draw my conclusions from
actual experience with songs that failed
and songs that went to America's head and
stayed in her heart.
I'd say the first requisite for a popular
song is simplicity_ If the melody is too
fancy, it might go over big with musicians
all right. But the public- the hummers
and the whistlers- would probably throw
up their hands and pass it up as too diffi-
cult.
To make the "Hit Parade"- to be popu-
lar, in other words- melodies should be
easy enough for the most unmusical souls
to hum_ The fewer notes the better_ Even
the chords should be as simple and ele-
mentary as a composer can use_ And a
song in a major key has ten times more
chance than one written in a gloomy neu-
rotic minor key_ Simplicity is so important
that some of the best tunes of the age are
still pent up in the minds of composers too
high-fallutin' to write them down. A lot
Maestro Jan Garber listens with Art Freed of Wurlitzer's Chicago Simplex Distributing Co_
to Garber's recording 01 "Hindustan" on the Wurlitzer 850.
of songsmiths won't write a tune unless it
sounds weird and complicated_ Successful
composers strive for unaffected simplicity,
eliminating all the frills and furbelows_ It
might hurt their pride, but it will help
the sales. Many ultra-beautiful strains have
proven too difficult for the singer-in-th e-
street. What he can't sing he won't buy_
And what America won't buy the song
publishers try not to publish_
An easily-caught melody, chords that
can be easi ly played and grasped, and an
octave range that defies neither the pro-
fessional singer nor the amateur hummer
When Horace Heidt's i~' Pot 0' Gold" flicker appeared at the famous Grauman 's ~Chinese
Theater in Hollywood, Colifornia, California Simplex provided the above attracfive aisplay
for in front of the theater_ NO , this is not an optical illusion. The man on the left is Grau-
man's regular doorman and is one of the tallest individuals in the West, measuring a bit more
than 7 feet. The Model 850 received compliments galore and several new locations were lined
up as a result of the promotion_
are only half the battle_ Lyri cs are every
bit as important_ Words that get a laugh
or force a tear, that relate a sad story or
talk pretti ly of last year's love can often
carry a bad tune over the hurdles.
Judging from "Hit Parade" records,
songs about "romance have a big edge over
those treating any other subject_ And when
I say songs about romance, I really mean
tunes that have more than romantic lyrics_
For instance, "Oh, Look At Me Now" has
romantic touches_ However, it is more
closely connected with the funny bone than
with the heart strings_ It is the story of a
great lover, but it is not a love story.
That is why, despite its wonderful swing,
its brilliant lyrics and its striking mel-
ody, "Oh, Look At Me Now" can't quite
come up to the popularity of a tune with
love-light in its eyes, like "I Hear a Rhap-
sody_"
It's surprising, too, what a slightly for-
eign tinge can do for a tyro tune_ The
adage "Latins are lousy lovers" hasn't
quite percolated either into the song-
writers or the song-consuming public_ Just
look at th e No_ 2, 3, and 4 tunes on the
May "31st "Hit Parade," the most recent
show as I write thi's_ Well, sir, No. 2 is
a foreign Italian-sounding creation, called
"Intermezzo_" Tagging right behind it is
the Spanish-dipped "Amapola." In the No.
3 spot is, of all things, another invasion
from abroad, "Maria Elena." Looking back
on previous weeks I see my theories borne
out by the success of alien tunes like
"Frenesi" and "Perfidi'a_" Now I don't
mean to say that these tunes were all con-
ceived in foreign countries_ But they speak
of love and lovelies in a slightly south-or-
beyond-the-border style. And judging from
their batting order on the "Hit Parade,"
America likes its love songs exotic.
One thing my "Hit Parade" experience
has proved_ And that is that the life-expec-
tancy of a hit tune in America is seven-
teen weeks at the most. It's funny that the
machine age, which prolongs the life of
man, tends to snuff out songs almost as
Woody Herman •• only on
D E
c
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