New York! New York! A Helluva Town!

In 1960, WADO Radio in Manhattan was highly acclaimed by Billboard and other trade publications.I was the morning man there for a year, then it ran out of gas. A six day operation couldn’t run where the big trucks run..

Returning to San Diego to restore myself, I was startled to receive a job offer from prestigious WNEW. Then Bill Kaland, the guru of Westinghouse wanted me in Cleveland to team with Specs Howard, trumping the WNEW overture. My subsequent successes with Specs are gratifying on many levels. The Martin and Howard Cleveland and Detroit chapters are in this series

The passage of time has dulled any bad WADO memories. I remember only the good stuff. New York being New York, the record promoters lavished parties on us jocks at lush venues.

One such gala honored Eddie Fisher at Danny’s Hideaway, an eatery so upscale they didn’t print the prices on the menus. Eddie showed up unbathed, and unkempt. His eyes were black-rimmed like Captain Jack Sparrow’s in “The Pirates of the Caribbean.”.” I told him I was glad to see him, leaving out, “but not glad to see you looking like Hell, Eddie.” He cast his eyes down and mumbled, “Why are you glad?” He had me there.

It turned out that the day before, his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, had told him that she was dumping him for Richard Burton. Then, like a good sport, she showed up at his party, swathed in a floor length ermine, which she peeled off and tossed to an assistant, revealing a dazzling diamond necklace nestled in her billowy cleavage. I had felt a pang of sorrow for Eddie, but not enough to lose my place in her reception line.

When it was my turn to greet her, I concentrated fiercely on maintaining eye contact. She actually did have violet colored eyes….and a mind numbing cleavage.

The “party” was too much for Eddie who slunk out a side door. Well, what did he expect? He had shot his P.R. wad when he left that cupcake Debbie Reynolds to take up with Liz. Now, Cleopatra was dusting him for Marc Antony. Turnabout is fore play. In the bigger picture, times had changed. Eddie had been the darling of the 50’s, but now 60’s rock was born kicking, and yowling, drowning out his ballads..

Rhythm and Blues was burgeoning in New York, so it flowed for me to venture to the birthplace of R and B, the Apollo Theater in Harlem, to commune with a black audience and “bring on” The Drifters who were scoring big with “Save The Last Dance for Me.,”
Over the decades, the Apollo remained the Mecca of black artists: Duke Ellington, Lucky Millender, both of the Fats: Waller and Domino, Carmen McRae, Lena Horne, Lionel Hampton, Earl Bostic, Count Basie, Miles Davis, Chick Webb, Johnnie Mathis, Ella Fitzgerald.

In 1934, at age 17, Ella debuted at the Apollo where she entered an amateur talent contest as a dancer, but her legs froze up from stage fright. She wasn’t too frightened to sing, though, and segued into a vocal rendition of a ballad called ‘Judy” a song popularized by her idol, Connie Boswell. Ella won.

Cootie Williams, the great trumpeter, watching from the audience, was so moved that he took her to meet Chick Webb, the fabled black orchestra leader. He was captivated, and hired young Ella on the spot.

When I arrived at the Apollo to introduce the Drifters, I was met by a pleasant low key Stage Manager, who betrayed no sign of wonderment about “what the hell a white guy was doing here.“ He led me past a coven of dark empty dressing rooms on each side of a long hall leading to the stage wings.

I could hear the manic buzz of anticipation out front, a full house eager to hear and see The Drifters sing “Save The Last Dance For Me,” Over the din, I heard the urgent voice of the Stage Manager tell me to keep moving to the stage, that they were going to bring on The Drifters now rather than make the restive crowd wait.

I finger combed my hair, and strode straight to the stage into the glare of the footlights where I was met by a collective intake of breath when they saw me, a white boy, onstage Then, out of courtesy I guess, they cheered..

I wasted little time in plugging myself as “Happy Hare from WADO Radio etc etc… and now here they are…The Drifters!” The guys dashed out with bright smiles, and launched right into the music. I retreated from the stage into the dark wings, and fast- timed it down the hall toward the alley where I had parked my car in a reserved space.

I wondered: where was all this fabled glamour and magic of the Apollo Theater that I had heard so much about? Then, a Divine Revelation: I heard the bell-like tones of a singer I knew well, running pristine 8th note scales in one of the closed dressing rooms. It was unmistakable. The voice was Ella Fitzgerald’s,

I even recognized the style of the pianist, cueing her as she skittered in effortless half steps up and down her three octave range. The uniquely gossamer touch belonged to Count Basie, rehearsing her…. for what? I impetuously cracked open the door to capture the magic.

The Count heard me, rotated on his stool, scowled at me, and slammed his piano lid shut. Ella saw what he saw and glared fiercely. “Sorry! Forgive me, Miss Fitzgerald!” I shouted, closing the door firmly and scampering down the hall on adrenalin-charged legs.

I had reached the rear exit when I heard rapid foot steps behind me and felt a hand clutching my shoulder, stopping me cold. I turned to look into the alarmed face of the Stage Manager.
“Don’t go outside,” He commanded sharply. ”There’s trouble”
Continued next week.

Ella

Actually I had met Ella years ago while standing on a street corner in L.A. with Paul Weston, the west coast head of Columbia Records. Ella told Paul that she was due to team with Peggy Lee on national TV and that she was supposed to adlib between songs with Peggy and she wasn’t good at just talking. Paul smiled and said, “Ella…just sing.”

The Beatles in Cleveland

Dave Schwensen’s book, “The Beatles in Cleveland” has caught fire. There is a passage in his book describing how Specs Howard and I “appropriated” the 1964 concert when a teen riot broke out in the audience. It was a WHK promotion, but the Police Chief shut it down. We told him we could restore order and he agreed for us to mount the stage and quell the riot. It worked. Specs and I became known as the guys who “saved” the Beatle concert. The book is full of such gems. Signed copies of the book are available through www.BeatlesInCleveland.com

It’s available online at Amazon,com, Borders.com, Barnesandnoble.com and others. If a store doesn’t have it they can order it and get it within a couple of days.

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Change is inevitable except from vending machines…..The Buddha

If the world didn’t suck, we would all fall off……Einstein.

Life isn’t like a box of chocolates. It’s more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today might burn your ass tomorrow… George Bush

If you eat brain food, you’ll be a smart ass tomorrow….. Happy Hare

If Jimmy cracked corn and he didn’t care, why even write the song?.............................. Aristotle

Can’t we all just get along?.....Rosie O’Donnell