[Dixielandjazz] How The Union Cleared The Dance Floor

[Gary Lawrence Murphy]

then came Jan 1 1951, the day when all ASCAP artists refused to be played
on the radio unless there was more money in it for them; that morning was
the beginning of a great gold rush for the friends of Roy Acuff, the
Nashville based musicians who instead signed their rights to his BMI, and
who gladly let all their records replace what America had been listening to
since the dawn of radio.

and now you also know why everyone coast to coast knows so much about Hank
Williams and Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family repertoir, and so very
precious little about their own local folk music traditions.

On Mon, Mar 25, 2013 at 11:22 PM, ♫ Sharp Bill - - B# ♫ <A1tradtrmpt at att.net
> wrote:

> This is  "sent forward note" to me , which I find interesting - - - It
> will probably stir someone's pot ( when pot was something you cooked in, or
> you were so poor that you didn't have one to piss in, as daddy used to say).
>
> ***************************************************
> This is a note from our next door neighbor who played the trumpet in a big
> band group. He is now 87 and remembers all of the big band places .
>
> The musicians union  had a  hand in killing the big bands. If you weren't
> in the union you could not play in ballrooms., dance halls, clubs and many
> other places. At one time, if a big band came to Akron to play at the
> Palace or Lowes theaters, the theaters had to hire an equal number of Akron
> musicians to sit in the orchestra pit. Isn't that ridiculous? When I came
> to Akron in 1947, I was playing in a band at East Market Gardens and was
> called down to the Union and fined for not being in the Akron union. ( I
> was in the Indiana union). In 1944  ?, the Union called a national strike
> and there were no recordings made with musicians on them.  Maybe you have
> heard some old recordings of Dick Haymes or Frank Sinatra with only vocal
> groups or choirs backing them up. The union was very strong then. Then
> after the big bands were dying out, along came the Rock groups. The young
> guys told the union to go to hell. There were troubles, but eventually a
> "Right To Work Law " was passed and the union has become very weak. All the
> old union guys are gone. I'd to say to them, " see what you did you smart
> asses. You killed the best music this country ever had".  Well, I'll get
> off my soap box. It's probably much more than you wanted to hear.
>
>
> ♫BILL
> ___;;;___/
>    (_III_)   \
> retired educator,
> avocation: musician,
> (cleverly disguised as a responsible adult)
>
>
>
>
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