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IN THE WORLD OF MUSIC PUBLISHING
Past Year Marked With Return to Real
MORE PROFIT 3! DEALER
Popularity of Many Old Compositions
OUR NEW RETAIL PRICE OF
"Down South," "After You've Gone" and "I Ain't Got Nobody—Much" Among the
Old Songs that Become Fast Sellers During the Year that is Closing
A GREAT many music publishers have had
"**• the surprising but highly satisfactory expe-
rience from time to time of having one of their
songs, which had been retired to the firm's
archives after having lived as a hit for a season
or two, suddenly being "reborn" into popularity
through no effort on their part. Often the
lapse of time before the number was reissued
by the publisher holding the copyright has been
as much as ten or fifteen years. The past year
was no exception in this connection and saw a
number of profitable revivals on the part of
different publishers.
There have been no satisfactory explanations
for this characteristic of certain American popu-
lar music. Many feel that the older popular
songs correspond in a way to the folksongs
of the European countries and thus can never
really die because of the strong national appeal.
Conversely, it is probable that the continental
folksongs would last no longer than American
music if subjected to the intensive exploitation
that is meted out to a modern American hit
song.
Others have expressed the belief that the hit
songs of a former year have an appeal when re-
issued ten years later, because there is another,
younger generation, or nearly so, to reach. The
most plausible explanation, however, for this
phenomenon of the music publishing business
is the radio, as many of the regular weekly pro-
grams feature solid hours of the older music.
Certain of the radio acts also use the older
songs as announcement themes at the start
and close of each program.
One of the remarkable revivals during the
past year was Myddleton's "Down South," orig-
inally published as a vocal number for male
voices by the Ed. B. Marks Music Co., New
York. The idea occurred to the heads of the
firm that the number was adaptable to a fox-
trot setting and it was tried out by several
bands with great success. A reissue of "Down
South" as a fox-trot resulted and wrote an-
other chapter in the history of the Marks firm
with reissued numbers. Their greatest previous
success in this line was with "The March of
the Wooden Soldiers," of a few seasons ago,
which had originally been published years be-
f
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lore as a novelette, not intended for dancing.
Another big reissue of the year was "After
You've Gone," published by the Broadway
Music Corp., New York. Will Von Tilzer,
president of the company, had always believed
that the number had been published before its
time and accordingly when certain "hot" dance
orchestras made demands for the song last
Spring, he determined to issue it again with a
modern dance arrangement. It was highly suc-
cessful and was recorded once more on the
leading mechanicals.
The Triangle Music Publishing Co., New
York, has had a similar experience with "I
Ain't Got Nobody—Much," which dates back
considerably before the war, and was originally
a comedy song. Blues numbers particularly
seem to possess lasting qualities, the most per-
sistent of these songs being "The St. Louis
Blues," which has been recorded on many more
mechanicals and in more ways during the past
twelve months than in any time since it was
originally published before the war.
Bernie Grossman Heads
Marks' Chicago Office
Well-Known Song Writer in Charge of Marks
Interests in Middle West—Firm Begins Big
Popular Campaign
The Edward B. Marks Music Co. announces
that after the first of the year its Chicago office
will be in charge of Bernie Grossman, one of
the best known music men in the Middle West.
Thi<- is not Grossman's first contact with the
old "House of Hits," as he was with it as a staff
writer for several years after the war. During
the years he wrote for the firm, then known
as Stern & Co., such successes as "When a
Feller Needs a Friend," "You Didn't Want Me
When You Had Me," and "Let's Help the Irish
Now." Since then Grossman has spent most
of his time in and about Chicago where he
numbers among his acquaintances every dealer,
leader, organist and professional of any stand-
ing whatsoever. While he has been exploiting
songs he has found time to write a number
of hits himself, the latest thing being "After I
Call You Sweetheart." Just a few of the others
have been "I Wonder If She's Lonely," "Tell
Her at Twilight," "Linger Longer Letty,"
"Everybody's Buddy," and "Wherever You Go,
What Ever You Do."
Grossman made a special trip to New York
before Christmas to interview E. B. Marks and
the various heads of departments of the firm
before he began his actual duties. The new
policy of the firm—"more standard popular
songs and more popular standard songs," was
impressed upon him and he left for Chicago
imbued with the idea of putting across many
great hits for the old firm in his territory. The
Marks concern is about to start work imme-
diately upon the best of the newer Grossman
compositions, "To-morrow Is To-morrow,"
"Playing Hide and Go Seek," and "I'm Getting
Used To It Now," written in collaboration with
Arthur Sizemore and Sam Kaufman. With these
three songs as a nucleus along with "Down
South" and "A Kiss Before the Dawn" Gross-
28
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•
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man believes that he is starting in with a cata-
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portant music name in the West.
Stanley Warner On
Visit to Eastern Trade
Executive of Pallma, Inc., Making Initial Trip
in New Connection—Has Some Interesting
Offerings
CHICAGO, 111., December 24.—Stanley Warner,
an executive member of Pallma, Inc., is making
his initial Eastern trip, calling O n the trade in
Eastern Canada and New England in the inter-
est of the Pallma catalog. Mr. Warner hails
from the West and while he is new to the
Eastern trade he has always kept in touch
with musical activities. His father, John E.
Warner, was one of the most prominent the-
atrical managers in America and abroad. He
managed such stars as Sarah Bernhardt, Rich-
ard Mansfield, Sothern and Marlowe, Mrs.
Eiske, Henry Irving and Ellen Terry, James
K. Hackett and many of the great stars of his
time.
Mr. Warner will have many things of interest
to present to the trade. Among them, "When
Twilight Comes," a ballad recorded on Victor
records by John McCormack, on the Brunswick
by Marie Morrisey and Columbia by Paul Gil-
vin. This ballad has proved very popular and
a special Robert Bruce scenic motion picture
film, bearing the same title, is being released by
Educational Picture Corp., especially made for
the song. Another popular number in the Pall-
ma catalog is the new setting of "Just for
To-day," by Blanche Ebert Seavcr, which is
being featured by John McCormack on his
present concert tour and recorded by him for
Victor records. It is also recorded for Bruns-
.vick record by Marie Morrisey.