Week of December 15, 1959

Arriving in Greece - Rousing

welcome as President Eisenhower

arrives in Athens. He waved to

crowds with King Paul of Greece as

they traveled the 10-mile route into

the city.

More tour - President Eisenhower

arrives in Africa. He’ll be speaking

with anti-Communist President Habib

Bourguiba of Tunisia. From Tunis, the

President will head to Paris.

President Eisenhower arrives in Paris, where he is met by President Charles de

Gaulle. He is set to attend the Western conference there.

President Eisenhower assures French President Charles de

Gualle of U.S intentions to keep armed forces in Europe for

the common defense of its allies.

Western conference - President Eisenhower and the chief

executives of France, Britain and Germany agree to invite

Soviet premier Khrushchev to an East-West summit meeting

next spring.

From Paris - the President begins the last leg of his peace

mission with stops in Spain and Morocco.

John L Lewis, nearly 80-years-old and one of the top union heads in the country,

is stepping down as president of the United Mine Workers union after 40

turbulent years.

The 11 major steel companies reluctantly agree to a union demand to bargain on

a company-by-company basis in an effort to end the long steel dispute.

Gangster slain - Roger (The Terrible) Touhy is ambushed

and killed by five shotgun blasts on the West side of

Chicago. His companion, retired Police Sgt. Walter Miller, a

principal defense witness at Touhy’s trial, was critically

wounded.

Week of December 15, 1959

Cuban army firing squads execute two

counter-revolutionaries in Pinar del Rio.

They were the first death sentences to be

carried out in six months.

More Cuba - Prime Minister Castro’s

government takes over all henquen -

sisal fiber plantations owned by Cubans

and announces Cuba’s vast sugar fields

will be seized next. U.S. companies own

or control 2 million acres of Cuban sugar

lands.

Recapturing the record from Russia - The U.S. hits a jet-speed record clocked at

1520mph. It was accomplished by an Air Force Delta dart interceptor, beating

Russia’s mark at 1,483mph.

Mrs. Nikita Khrushchev thanks American women for their kindness toward her

during the U.S. visit in September. In an article published in the magazine Soviet

Woman, she said she had been asked to give her impressions by an old friend in

Moscow. Mrs. Khrushchev praised Mrs. Eisenhower and Mrs. Franklin D.

Roosevelt: “They said more than once that it is absolutely necessary to

strengthen peace and good relations between our peoples because this will give

our children and grandchildren all over the world a quiet and happy life.”

Sports - Bobby Fischer - the 16-year-old chess champ

drops out of the national tournament, after insisting on a

re-draw of pairings. He won the tournament earlier this

year for the United States.

Television news -

Sir Winston Churchill’s six-volume memoirs covering

world history from 1919 to 1957 will provide the basis for

a new ABC-TV series.

Entertainment Productions, producers and owners of “The $64,000 Question” is

going out of business and is now in the liquidation process.

Don’t miss young Ronny Howard and veteran Bert Lahr in this

Sunday’s GE Theater - “Barnaby.” It’s the story of young

Week of December 15, 1959

Barnaby’s disappointment over his father’s lack of interest in Christmas and in

himself.

More TV quiz show fallout - CBS is

taking any chances and is adding a

set of “unusual” announcements to

programs beginning this week. You

may hear - “audience reaction

technically reproduced” or “certain

portions of this recorded program

were pre-recorded.” The new policy

at CBS is that everything appearing

must be exactly what it purports to

be. For example, there is an

announcement covering a situation

where an audience watched a show being recorded, but didn’t react the way

producers wanted them to react (laugher/applause). In such a case where this

was added back in postproduction, CBS would make this announcement - “This

program was performed (taped or filmed) before a live audience with audience

reaction technically augmented.”

In another example - “Portions of this program are fiction” will be used in a

situation that purports to be real but is actually fictionalized such as a courtroom

scene.

Sunday night television -

CBS - GE College Bowl, Small World, 20 th Century, Lassie, Dennis the Menace,

Ed Sullvian, GE Theater, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, George Gobel, Eyewitness

to History

NBC - Meet the Press, Saber of London, Riverboat, Journey to Understanding,

Dinah Shore, Loretta Young

ABC - Colt .45, Maverick, Lawman, The Rebel, The Alaskans, Dick Clark’s

World of Talent

Ed Sullivan - Christmas show with Polly Bergen, Gertrude Berg, Patricia Neway,

Betty Johnson, Bill and Cora Baird marionettes, Phil Jones and Paul O’Keefe

(starring in Broadway’s “Music Man”).

Dinah Shore - Christmas show with guests Charles

Laughton, Yves Montand and Donna Atwood.

The Rebel - Johnny Yuma is inducted into a gang of slave

laborers after being picked up on vagrancy charges.

Week of December 15, 1959

Payola -

House investigators report they are finding indications of deceptive broadcasting

practices in every part of the country and in all levels of the radio-TV industry.

The progress report touched on network officials plugging outside interests over

their stations, program directors taking kickbacks from performers, record

manufacturers rigging “top 40 lists and outright payoffs to DJ’s by record

companies. One of the more interesting findings is the ownership of record and

music publishing firms by people in radio and television, who then play the music

of such companies repeatedly, identifying them as on some “top” list. The

information is expected to be the basis of hearings by the House Legislative

Oversight Subcommittee early in the next session of Congress.

More Payola Fallout - KYW Cleveland fires Joe Finan and Wes

Hopkins after they admitted taking thousands of dollars from the RCA

Victor distributor Main Line Inc. Advertising director Jim Shipley said

he sent weekly checks - varying in amounts from $25 to $100 - for

the past 15 months. Prior to giving them checks he said, the money

was dispersed to the jocks in cash by field representatives.

Dale Young - emcee of “Detroit Bandstand” over WJBK-TV

resigns. Tom Clay of WJBK radio Detroit is fired after admitting he

accepted payola. Will local pop “Bandstand” TV shows see fallout

as well?

More Alan Freed - The New York Post just ran a story revealing

details of two mortgages held by Roulette Records from Freed with a face value

of $21,000 on which $16,493 is still owing. The Post also said Freed was

questioned at the office of Attorney General Leftkowitz “about his relations with

Roulette Records, which is headed by night club operator Morris Levy.

The New York Post also carried an

exclusive interview with a former New

York deejay that said he made

$41,000 a year from payola in

addition to his regular station salary. The DJ, who now works for a station in

another part of the country, said he had to turn part of the payola over to a broker

as a commission. The DJ said he and 13 other jocks from local area took part in

a meeting of deejays five years ago, at which time they compiled a “blacklist of

Week of December 15, 1959

non-paying record companies and discussed how to raise the deejays’ under-

the-table prices for promoting records.”

DJ Convention - House subcommittee

investigators are looking into a Miami

Beach disc jockey convention and

reports that delegates were lavishly

entertained by some record companies.

The subcommittee, which exposed

rigged television quiz shows, is expected

to hold hearings of disc jockey payola

next month. It was learned that staff investigators have for some time, been

gathering information about the convention and sifting reports that record

companies vied with one another in catering to the tastes of 2,500 disc jockeys

who gather at the Americana Hotel last May 29-31.

Harold (Hap) Anderson, general manager of WINS radio in New York, in a letter

sent to 200 record companies in the country - asked the labels whether they had

“ever paid any fees, made any gifts or in any other compensated” any WINS

staffers. I

Payola promotion for charity - Radio news - WNTA radio (970) Newark and

serving the New York area stages a “payola week.” At least once each hour

throughout each day of the week, WNTA invites listeners to send in record

requests for play. The checks must be $1.00 and be made out to the Salvation

Army.

Music news - 20 th Century-Fox denies published reports that Fabian’s first

movie “Hound Dog Man” was a box office flop. According to 20 th ’s general sale

manager Alex Harrison, the movie has already brought in over $600,000 (half the

picture’s total cost) and still has 7,000 more theaters to play.

Singer Edith Piaf , who insists she will die if she

stops singing, gives in to the warning of doctors and

friends that death awaits her if she continues her

strenuous career. She has decided to suspend her

current series of one-night stands in French

provincial towns after she collapsed again at the end

of a performance and Dreux. Friends say she is

complete exhaustion - the after effect of two

operations she underwent early this year in the

United States. In spite of her condition - she insisted

of going through with her scheduled performance at Dreux.

Week of December 15, 1959

Top hits in Britain -

What Do You Want? - Adam Faith

Oh! Carol - Neil Sedaka

What do You Want To Make Those Eyes At

Me For? - Emile Ford

Red River Rock - Johnny and the

Hurricanes

Seven Little Girls - The Avons

Snow Coach - Russ Conway

Make the Knife - Bobby Darin

Travellin’ Light - Cliff Richard

Little White Bull - Tommy Steele

Teen Beat - Sandy Nelson

Rawhide - Frankie Laine

Little Donkey - Beverley Sisters

Top Rhythm and Blues -

So Many Ways - Brook Benton

Dance With Me - Drifters

Always - Sammy Turner

The Clouds - The Spacemen

Uh! Oh! - Nutty Squirrels

You Got What It Takes - Marv Johnson

Mr. Blue - Fleetwood

Be My Guest - Fats Domino

Don’t You Know - Della Reese

Talk That Talk - Jackie Wilson

In The Mood - Ernie Fields

Fannie Mae - Buster Brown

Come Into My Heart - Lloyd Price

Smooth Operator - Sarah Vaughan

Smoke (Part II) - Bill Black Combo

Unforgettable - Dinah Washington

Won’tcha Come Home- Lloyd Price

I’ve Been Around - Fats Domino

I’m Movin’ On - Ray Charles

Make The Knife - Bobby Darin

Misty - Johnny Mathis

I Don’t Know - Ruth Brown

Just For Love - Falcons

Tiny Tim - LaVern Baker

Week of December 15, 1959

Top Country & Western -

El Paso - Marty Robbins

Same Old Me - Ray Price

The Last Ride - Hank Snow

Under Your Spell Again - Buck Owens

There’s A Big Wheel - Wilma Lee & Stoney

Cooper

Country Girl - Faron Young

Amigo’s Guitar - Kitty Wells

A Woman’s Intuition - Wilburn Brothers

I Ain’t Never - Webb Pierce

He’ll Have To Go - Jim Reeves

Family Man - Frankie Miller

Scarlet Ribbons - The Browns

Riverboat - Faron Young

Top albums this week in 1959 -

Here We Go Again - Kingston Trio

Heavenly - Johnny Mathis

Inside Shelley Berman

Sixty Years of Music America Loves Best -

RCA Victor

Outside Shelley Berman

Kingston Trio At Large

The Lord’s Prayer - Mormon tabernacle Choir

For The First Time - Mario Lanza

Student Prince & Other Great Musical Comedy

Hits - Mario Lanza

Christmas Sing Along With Mitch - Mitch Miller

Let’s All Sing With The Chipmunks - The

Chipmunks

Kingston Trio

More Johnny’s Greatest Hits - Johnny Mathis

From The Hungary I - Kingston Trio

Hymns - Tennessee Ernie Ford

My Fair Lady - Original Cast

Gigi - Soundtrack

More Sing Along With Mitch - Mitch Miller

Oldies But Goodies - Various Artists (Original Sound)

That’s All - Bobby Darin

No One Cares - Frank Sinatra

Porgy and Bess - Soundtrack

Week of December 15, 1959

Mario Lanza Sings Christmas Carols

Belafonte At Carnegie Hall - Harry Belafonte

Songs By Ricky - Ricky Nelson

At the movies -

Solomon and Sheba - Yul Brynner, Gina Lollobrigida

Black Orpheus

Operation Petticoat - Cary Grant, Tony Curtis

The Mummy - Peter Cushing

The Bat

On The Beach - Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner

Tiger Bay - John Mills

Lil Abner

Ivan the Terrible

Goliath and the Barbarians - Steve (Hercules) Reeves

Libel - Olivia de Havilland, Dirk Bogarde