1935-02-19 — Page 3

THE HONGKONG' TELEGRAPH.

TUESDAY,

FEBRUARY

19, 1935,

FORTUNE FROM SONGS

MAN WHO: MADE £16,000 A MINUTE

TRAGEDY OR ROMANCE

By PETER DAVIS

Music publishers are clamour- ing for fresh dance tunes with which to feed the hungry ears of dance restaurants, brondenating, gramophones, and the theatre.

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It is a fact that some of the most revolutionary tunes of dance- band history come from unknown writora. Ten years

two youngatera, Jim Campbell and Reg Connelly were in the train en route to London, Said Jim, "Reg, I'm fed up" Sald Reg, "Jim so'm I— show me the way to go home!"

In ton minutes this casual phrase had been adapted to an old Canadian Cumberland lumber camp song. Confident of succc86. the two rented a bare little room in Britain's Tin Pan Alley and published the song themselves. Within six months their profits had amounted to £20.000. Evan- tually they cleared up 250,000. Bubsequent songs gained success equally meteoric.

SOME FAMOUS HITS

Danco music luck!

It was experienced by Billy !!! when he wrote "The Last Round- Up." At one time he was on the point of parting with his gold- mins for £6 to a gramophone com. pany. He hold on, and the song of this one-time tramdriver and dish-washor la new catimated to have sold more copies than "Yes, We Have no Bananas." "You

Are My Heart's Delight" lay neglected on a desk for ten years. Nobody expected very much when Ralph Butler, a poultry farmor, submitted "I'm Happy When I'm Hiking to the musical magnates, but every errand boy was whistl ing it with in a week of publica- tion. Frederick Norton hawked the muale of "Chu Chin Chow" round West End theatre, manage- ..monts for five years without a result. To-day the talking plc- ture of the great success in net- ting him another fortune,

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4

An Irish schoolmaster spent his last two-pence on a cup of tea, wrote a fragment of tune scrap of paper and signed a con- tract for several songs a few dayo later. The Barmaid's Song" went round the world, and Jim Kennedy-within--two--years became an established composer.

£16,000 A MINUTE

Witnicas the romantic career of Tolchard Evans. Still in his car- ly thirties, he commenced writing at 14, achieved publication of a composition at 18, and then casually tapped out "Barcalona."

These things go in cycles. Not many months previously a prac- tically unknown Spanish musician

to

Alternately singing hymns and chascing the officers and men of the .. Tunechow, parente, relativas and the 76 children who safely axperienced the latest and, perhaps most sensational piracy on the China Cosst, were recently reunited. At the top luft in a group of the parents, singing and calling to their children as the ship nesrad the wharf...Top right shows tile Janet MacPherson and her father me she made her way to buses which were waiting to scort the children to the Mission Home. She is happily clutching hix basket in which her rabbits lived quite contentedly through the anxious days and nights. As loft balow is Mrs. F. W. Bakar grosting her children. Rosemary. Falth, and Phyllia Mary Bannan. At centre are Ethel and John Quimby being escorted down the

gangplank by their parents. At right-Mrs. H. M. Griffin with her son Mark and daughter, Forn.

As no words could describe, this picture zivot a vivid idos of the extent of the damage done when three three storeyed buildings were blown into the air simultaneously in an alley off Chekiang Road, Shanghal, inst werk. Blasted to a height of about 200 fast tha buildings dropped perpendicularly again to the ground leaving scarcely a stick standing. The exposion revealed the presence of a large plant for the manufacture of narcotics. Only two persons are known in have been killed.

had wrilton in nine minutes aing sweeper, made money with be called "Westing the House," but he never melody that Wes "Valencia." and was to bring in wrote another published song. A Tyneside miner wrote a song and £16,000 for every minute spent

the song. Tolchard Evans flung up his job when it was made

several hundred pounds accepted. Before very long he every time he struck a note when was waiting at the pit-head for thinking out "Barcelona," and the fresh work."

on

additional Lortunes ho has made Tragedy! The tragedy of the with "Lady of Spain," "Life's printer's devil who sold for a Desire," and "Lady of Madrid" stingy 515 a song that was to go are beyond computation.

down in history, "Are we to Part an in-

HUEY LONG with publication of a song titled

SINGS A SONG

OUGHT TO STAY IN POLITICS

New Orleans, Feb. 14.

If shoot sales of music are fall- Like This, Bill?" Of ing in those days, radio, gramo.surance clerk found dead of ox- phone, film and stage rights, both posure on the Thames Embank- Huey P. Long has joined the In this country and abroad, are ment, another of the army who ranks of American music composers more than compensation.

ing. A sixteen-year-old Ipswich

went to London seeking fortune

in Tin Pan Alley-and failed.

New composers are still appear. SUCCESSFUL COMPOSERS boy, Vittorio Zagni, has been able Thoy do any that less than 50 to think out an acceptable fox-men in this country can write trot in the intervals of hawking money-making songa. One ia

Municipal Orchestra in one of his Horatio Nicholls, one time nasist

more serious compositions.

THE TRAGIC SIDE

.

ico-cream. Richard Dabson, Harry Castling, who stepped on London walter, began by persuad to the highway of success with a ing dance band leaders to try out first attempt 44 years ago and has his tunes, and has now been in since made thousands of pounds. vited to conduct the Bournemouth Another, needicas to say, la ant in his father's music shop at Leicester, now the most prolific composer and publisher of them there is Montague

"Moonlight On the Its romances, it also witnesses Ganges," and other hits, tragedy. The percentage of auc- worked in a cessful song-writers is low, and mungor's, and avon the lucky ones know that if office before he found his right their name is, to be kept before vocation.

On the other hand, you can't all. Then always tell. If the light but hard-Ewing, composer of "Fairy on the working world of dance music has Clock,"

the public they must work day after day, producing hundreds of tuses in the course of a few years,

who

draper's, fish-

a stockbroker's

Noel Gay, Robert Hargreaves, Maurice, Bruce Sevier, Peter

Leslie Holmes, Leslie Sarony.

In one year, so a music publi- Vivian-Ellis, and the rest-had sher assures me, 50,000 people they not distinguished themselves | aubmit musical manuscripts in the in other fields, how many people hope of gaining fame and fortune, would recognise their namos? 40,500 are toturaed "with ro greta," and 99 of evory 100 lucky ones are subsequently unable to koop the paco.

G.H. Turner, a Manchostor cross

Perhaps the strangest and most tragic fact of all in Tin Pan Alloy la that song success usually means more.fortune than fame,

a

Every Man a king, every man's after his book of the same name, king, for you can be a millionaire. "Every Man a King." And just to

But there's something belonging prove that it is a good song and to others, there's enough for all that he is a crooner of the first people to share rank, the Kingfish hummed the ditty to newsmen, who caught him

When it's Aunny June

and

in bed at the Roosevelt Hotel ono December too or in winter time of morning recently.

The words of the song follow: "Why weep or slumber, America lund of the brave and truc

With castlesm clothing and food

for all,

All belongs to you." And the chorus goca:

¡Spring

There'll be peace without end, every neighbour a friend,

With every mun a king-Ev'ry man a King."

Senator Long, ono newspaperman suggests, can do better in politics- much better-United Press,

Bridal party leaving Holy Trinity Cathedral in Sanghai, after the marriage of Miss Viola Richarda and Mr. Denis Fitz Gerald Bears, which was attendid by a large number of frisada. The bride, who in the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. Richards, of Shan hei, la one, of the most popular members of the younger set. The honeymoon is being spent in Nikko, Japan.

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