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<DIV>Hi all and especially Bob Ringwald. Happy</DIV>
<DIV>Thanksgiving my best wishes, including good health,</DIV>
<DIV>for all your days.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>This question is really for the professional musicians</DIV>
<DIV>but anybody can venture an opinion.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>First: my background. I studied music and worked for the team of</DIV>
<DIV>Sy Oliver, Dick Jacobs and Johnny Warrington from Jan. 1950
thru.Aug.1955.</DIV>
<DIV>I helped with the copying of Sy';s arrangements, (creating "parts").</DIV>
<DIV>I did various functions at record dates. I ran the mail order
business</DIV>
<DIV>for Dick and Johnny, and I took lessons from all three!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I studied at Manhattan School of Music from Sep. 1952 thru June 1955.</DIV>
<DIV>I was graduated with A Bachelors Degree in Music Composition and a</DIV>
<DIV>Masters Degree in Music Theory and Education.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Six nights a week I was playing "professional" piano with the Carmine
Marino trio</DIV>
<DIV>from 1952 thru August of 1955. I was also writing for many bands, singers
and</DIV>
<DIV>dancers in New York during this period.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Schedule: 7:00am - 1:30 pm - working for Sy. Sometimes I was forced to
stay</DIV>
<DIV>all day. Recording dates etc. The school didn't care so long as you
took all the</DIV>
<DIV>exams or could do the work. (You can't fake sight singing!)</DIV>
<DIV>Time at school varied. I took the train to 103rd street and arrived at 2:00
or so.</DIV>
<DIV>I played piano in the Village (Greenwich) starting at 8:00 p.m. and
quitting around 3:00.</DIV>
<DIV>Slept on the train, and at home, grabbed a bite, and back to the
office. </DIV>
<DIV>Office work was five days Mon - Fri, Playing was 6 days Tues- Sunday.
Sleeping</DIV>
<DIV>was all day Sunday and Monday night, Ask my wife! We would "date" on
Monday</DIV>
<DIV>nights. She would sit with my parents and I would go to sleep. At
about</DIV>
<DIV>11:00 o clock I would walk her home. We started dating in 1949 and we
</DIV>
<DIV>were married in 1954. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Those were the "early" years. In 1955 I went into the army. I was a private
in the</DIV>
<DIV>infantry. To make a long story longer, I got a call from the commanding
officer</DIV>
<DIV>of Fort Ix. "Are you the young soldier who has been playing the
piano?" he</DIV>
<DIV>barked. "Yes Sir", I responded. I was sure I was going to
the brig.</DIV>
<DIV>"Can you play for a show?"... "Yes Sir!" I was assigned to a Broadway
</DIV>
<DIV>troupe making a tour. (Tough work, but someone has to do it!)
Gee! I have</DIV>
<DIV>to carry a few pencils instead of a rifle.</DIV>
<DIV>As an aside, I played for the first singer and she said </DIV>
<DIV>"Wow! A soldier who can play the piano."</DIV>
<DIV>I respond "No Mam' you have that wrong, It's a piana player in a soldier
suit"</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>After the army, and I'll keep this as short as possible</DIV>
<DIV>I had an office in Times Square. 145 West 45th Street. I sublet some room
from</DIV>
<DIV>Frank Silver, composer of "Yes! We Have No Bananas" and many other
tunes. </DIV>
<DIV>I was recording director for a few small New York based labels. (free lance
work)</DIV>
<DIV>I wrote scores for advertising agencies, did a lot of writing for Dean
Kinkaid. </DIV>
<DIV>I worked for various Broadway Shows - helping with auditions, rehearsing
singers or dancers,</DIV>
<DIV>arranging, copying and mostly "ghost writing". I wrote arrangements
for radio (live bands),</DIV>
<DIV> and TV shows. I almost NEVER wanted my name in the credits. I saw bad
things</DIV>
<DIV>happen to some people who were too well known.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Writing tunes is easy. </DIV>
<DIV>Every pro. player in jazz makes up tunes every time they play.</DIV>
<DIV>I didn't say good tunes or great tunes, or even new tunes.!</DIV>
<DIV>If you can improvise ......</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>When I arrived at my office each morning I would write out about 15 new
songs.</DIV>
<DIV>No intention of selling them or even playing them. It was like having
breakfast</DIV>
<DIV>or "working out" for an athlete.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In 1958 - I wrote a "song" poking fun at Rock And Roll. Three notes - One
chord and </DIV>
<DIV>Four words. One of the agents took it off of my desk and gave it to some
kids to rehearse.</DIV>
<DIV>He also gave it to Steve Allen and eventually it got published by Southern
Music and</DIV>
<DIV>produced by Bob Thiele on Hanover Records. I wanted the to take my name off
of the</DIV>
<DIV>sheet music and the recording. Too late. Within two months there were 50
air plays</DIV>
<DIV>a day and 500,000 copies sold. (Number 13 on the Billboard chart)</DIV>
<DIV>Okay, I'm sorry!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>My reason for giving you this background: I have a question that has
been bugging</DIV>
<DIV>me for about a week. I have the education and work experience to know the
answer. </DIV>
<DIV>I don't know the answer, do you? </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In transcribing music, mostly from 1920, 1930, and 1940 I see that
there ere</DIV>
<DIV>two sets of lyrics for the verse of a song but NO REPEAT sign.</DIV>
<DIV>Also: There is only one lyric for the Chorus - and it has a REPEAT. </DIV>
<DIV>Hmmmmmmm</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I don't get it!</DIV>
<DIV>Maybe you have an explanation. If so, let's hear it.</DIV>
<DIV>Also what is the source of your information?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>You may quote the Harvard Dictionary Of Music, but I'll show you</DIV>
<DIV>at least one example where it is wrong.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Cheers,<BR>Al<BR>Pianist, Composer, Arranger, Conductor, Teacher and Music
Prep.<BR>Please visit me at<BR><A
href="http://alevy.com">http://alevy.com</A></DIV></BODY></HTML>