CKWX JULY 21, 1957

From the Vancouver Sun July 26, 1957

Los Angeles Radio
Off Rock and Roll
By JACK CULLEN

   A concentrated effort is being made in Los Angeles to clean up the music business--get off the rock and roll bandwagon and get back to good solid pop tunes.
   The Los Angeles area has 24 radio stations, and I can honestly report after a week of dial twisting that rock and roll has really "had it" in this area.
   Stations for the most part are programming new, up-coming ballads, with accent on stars such as Cole, Sinatra, Clooney and the type of music associated with these personalities.
   There's a good deal of the big bands on the air, too, such as Elgart, James and Kenton. In the entire week I heard only one Elvis Presley record on the air and no Little Richard, Bill Haley or Buddy Knox.
   The sales clerks at Music City which is the biggest record outlet on the West Coast, told me that rock and roll music is still selling well but it has started to drop off, due to the fact that stations are not promoting it any longer.
   They also claimed that rock and roll sells only to teenagers and they felt that the kids were swinging to the "easy" sounds with recording star Pat Boone leading the way. Boone, incidentally, is the big seller in this area to both the youngsters and the oldsters.
   Most of the folks in the music business seemed happy that the trend is back to music. They do feel that records will continue to feature the heavy rock and roll beat but that it will be more subtle, as in Jimmy Dorsey's So Rare or Ivory Joe Hunter's Since I Met You Baby.

   CHICAGO -- (INS) -- A music educator says the crew cuts are challenging the long-hairs for dominance among music-making Americans.
   Dr. John C. Kendel, vice president of the American music conference estimated today that at least 3,750,000 teen-agers are among more than 8,000,000 youths who now lplay musical instruments. He remarked:
   "These boys and girls no longer believe that round notes are strictly for squares."

From the Vancouver Province July 26, 1957

Little Miss R 'n' R's culprits--
they buy the 'musical garbage'
By VERNON SCOTT

   HOLLYWOOD--(UP)-- Bandleader Freddy Martin backs Bing Crosby's blast at popular music with the observation that "90 per cent of today's pop numbers are musical garbage."
   Martin, whose orchestra has survived every fad from swing to Calypso, says parents are responsible for the atrocious songs blared from radios and TV sets.
   "ROCK 'N' ROLL records are selling today because parents give their youngsters money to buy them," he explained.
   "It's not the 16 to 19 age group that sets the musical trend. Little girls from 12 to 15 are the ones who buy these records by the millions every month and establish our listening habits.
   "IF PARENTS were to discontinue allowances the trend to musical trash would evaporate."
   Freddy went on to say that composers, disc jockeys and orchestra leaders can't be blamed for playing rock 'n' roll any more than recording outfits can take the rap for turning out the discs.
   "AS LONG as there's a market and profit in this pap we'll continue to be bombarded with songs like 'All Shook Up." [Note: See YouTube link adjacent this article.]
   "Can you imagine anyone in his right mind attempting to dance to a tune like that?
   "GOOD SONG writers can't get their music recorded," Freddy said/ "Big bands are almost completely out of business, and musicians are finding it hard to get jobs. Most pop music played today is based on a honking saxophone and twanging guitars."
   Martin, a fixture at the Coconut Grove since 1922, has [seen] the Benny Goodmans, Artie Shaws, Stan Kentons and dozens of other bands come and go. He and Guy Lombardo are the only big bands still in business--not counting newcomer Lawrence Welk.
   "JAZZ, SWING, Dixieland and progressive music all had melody and rhythm," he claims. "Rock 'n' roll has nothing but a beat--and all music has that to begin with.
   "I agree wholeheartedly with Bing. Something ought to be done to make popular music listenable again. It's getting so you can't hear worthwhile music unless you go out to dance.
   "AUDIENCES I play for at the Grove never request this new junk. I played for thousands of high school kids during recent graduation parties, and not one asked for rock 'n' roll.
   "One night, however, a 10-year-old requested a rock 'n' roll number," Freddy growled. "I could have slugged the little character."

Quote from adjacent article: