[Dixielandjazz] More on You Can't Cheat a Cheater

[Dick Baker]

Noticing the exchange about lead sheets, I'm 
reminded that I did battle with this tune for the 
Stomp Off index this morning, and it's an example 
of all the ways a compiler of such an index can 
get a headache.  Most sources agree that the tune 
was written by Phil Napoleon, Frank Signorelli 
and Tommy Dorsey (although the 1993 Stomp Off CD had Jimmy Dorsey).

It was recorded 23 April 29 by Tom Dorsey & His 
Novelty Orchestra (Tommy Dorsey, Frank 
Signorelli, Eddie Lang, Stan King), OKeh 41422.
Then a month later by Napoleon’s Emperors (with 
the Dorsey Bros. on tb & cl and Frank Signorelli on pno), Victor V-38069.

Now get this:  The composer credits on OKeh 41422 
are Dorsey, Lang & Signorelli.  The credits on 
Victor V-38069 are Napoleon-Signorelli-Dorsey.

Now comes the copyright registration, and it gets stranger yet:
         You can't cheat a cheater; melody by 
Phil Napoleon, Henry Signorelli and
         Tom Dorsey. © 1 c. Sept. 28, 1929; E 
unp. 11391: Southern music pub. co.,
         inc. New York.

BUT wait a minute: The 1929 copyright catalog 
index places this under "Thomas Dorsey," who also 
wrote "Hokum Boys from Tennessee" that year, 
i.e., Thomas A. "Georgia Tom" Dorsey!  There's no 
other Dorsey entry in the index.  And Frank and 
Henry Signorelli are separate listings in the 
index, so its editors definitely considered them different people.

Well, I guess that of the conflicting label 
credits, we take the one that more or less 
matches the copyright registration.  But what about the true composer names?

The Victor Project 
(http://victor.library.ucsb.edu/index.php -- a 
great source) entry also shows Phil, Tommy and 
Frank as composers, citing as source "Disc label 
(BHC)" or "Victor blue history card," presumably 
a recording studio document.  Since there's no 
other Henry Signorelli in the copyright books 
1927-31, I'm going to cross my fingers and guess 
that (a) "Henry" was a joke played by Frank and 
(b) "Tom Dorsey" on the copyright was our 
trombonist, but the copyright book compilers 
presumed he was the earlier Dorsey, who used 
"Thomas Dorsey" on his other copyrights that year 
and was listed in the index that way.




--Dick Baker
Working on an updated version of the Stomp Off 
Records Tune Titles and Composers Index
See working draft at http://dickbaker.org/stompoff/index.pdf