Bill Randle Show
1956 WEWS TV 5
Cleveland
The Bill Randle Show
March 4, 1956
27:02
featuring:
Dick Duane- 'To Make a Mistake'
Louis Ferdinand Busch (July 18, 1910 - September 19, 1979). Also known as Joe Fingers Carr the name he used as a pianist.) -
Lebensraum
Louis Bush was born and raised in Louisville during the ragtime era and the jazz age. The family name was Bush, but he later added the "c" largely for the uniqueness. Truly blessed with an inherent music talent, he was already leading a ragtime and jazz band Lou Bush and His Tickle Toe Four, by the time he was 12 years old.[1]
'Star of 'Eleventh Hour Melody' and 'Zambisi' Plays Lebensraum from 'Joe Fingers Carr Plays the Classic'
Nicky Noble - To You My Love (Je n'est cest pas )
Nick Noble (b. Jun. 21, 1936) was an American pop singer born in Chicago. Noble was popular in the mid-1950s, and he scored four hits on the newly-created Billboard pop charts between 1955 and 1957. His singles remained popular in Chicago in the early 1960s, his 1962 cover of Carl Belew's "Hello Out There" reaching the WLS Top 15. He regained national chart status in 1978 with the Country and Easy Listening hit "Stay With Me".
Singles
- "The Bible Tells Me So" (Wing Records, 1955) U.S. #22. Orchestrated by Lew Douglas. Backing vocals by Jack Halloran Choir.
- "To You My Love" (Mercury Records, 1956) U.S. #27. Orchestrated by Carl Stevens. Backing vocals by Jack Halloran Choir.
- "A Fallen Star" (Marcury, 1957) U.S. #20. Orchestrated by Carl Stevens. Backing vocals by Dick Noel singers.
- "Moonlight Swim" (Mercury, 1957) U.S. #37. Orchestrated by Carl Stevens.
The Four Coins - 'The Great Pretender' (The Platters) + 'Memories of You''Bill Randle Fits in an Elvis Picture Giveaway Teaser...then immediately 'The Four Coins' go into the eerily harmonious..' Memories of You'
Billy 'Mr. B' Eckstine (22:00 - 26:42) - 'The Bitter with the Sweet'Greets Eckstine (24:00 )Quick mention of seeing Count Basie doing 'April In Paris'Asks B. to sing it
He agrees.
'April in Paris' (26:42)Bill does quick wrap-up:HOLDS UP A PICTURE OF ELVIS AND TELLS AUDIENCE HOW TO GET A COPY BY SENDING A SASE...'WE'RE LATE...GOTTA GO!'
OUTRO SHOW THEMEFADE TO BLACK
(HA HA)
DJ Randle was known for Introducing Elvis Presley to Northern Audiences. He offers a picture of Elvis at the end of the show.
35th anniversary special-WKYC-TV 3 in Cleveland with host Judd Hambrick..Most of the special is here intact except for the ending, which I have on YouTube (TimL2005)..Brief but enjoyable trip down memory lane..
The Pied Piper of Cleveland. The lost Elvis Presley movie
Elvis, his band and Bill Randle on October 8th, 1955. At one of the filmed performances
Las Vegas Movie Examiner
Terra KingHal Wallis, who produced most of Elvis Presley's movies has been quoted as saying "the only sure thing in Hollywood is an Elvis Presley film".
If this is true, and I have no doubt it was at the time, then someone missed the boat on a "sure thing" movie.
Elvis' first movie
Most Elvis fans will tell you that the first film Elvis appeared in was "Love me Tender". This however is not correct. Elvis appeared in an earlier film entitled "The Pied Piper of Cleveland".
Plot synopsis from IMDb
Elvis Presley's first film is a documentary on the career of disc jockey Bill Randle, who in the 1950s was as well known as Alan Freed. Due to legal problems over ownership of the film, this movie was only shown in public once, and has yet to be released officially. Universal Studios reportedly still has the negatives in its vaults.
Some people don't even believe this film exists. However, there are some clues that it might have existed.
Bill Randle produced the film himself.
Included in the film are not only Elvis, but Bill Halley and his Comets, Pat Boone, LaVern Baker, Roy Hamilton, Johnny Ray and others. These entertainers were shot at high schools and auditoriums on and around October 20th, 1955, around Cleveland.
Presley's first national appearance was on Randle's TV show. When he introduced Elvis, he mentioned a "short movie" Elvis had been in. It is believed he was referring to the "lost movie".
There is a plaque at Brooklyn High School commemorating one of the performances that was held in their auditorium. It was placed there by the "Rock n Roll Hall of Fame".
What Happened to the film????
The original forty-eight minute film was supposed to be cut down to a twenty- minute short for national distribution.
The film supposedly showed once in public in Cleveland, and excerpts were shown on a local Cleveland TV station in 1956.
So, if the film exists, where is it? Was it cut down to the twenty minute short? If so, where are the portions cut out? Could someone have kept them? Is it in someone's own private collection?
What about Universal Studio? If they own it, why haven't they pulled it out in all these years and made a huge amount of money on it? Do they even know they have it?
Lots of questions, hopefully someday there will be an answer. I would love to see this film.
The Pied Piper
of
Cleveland
NEW Updates!
Bill Randle:
Unsung Elvis Promoter
Bill Randle (1923-2004) was a key person in the emerging popularity of Elvis Presley in the 1950s.
He was an influential Cleveland disc jockey and the first one outside of the South to write about Elvis in a newspaper in 1955.
I worked as his assistant in the 1970s at a Cleveland university and he told me some interesting stories about his days with Elvis.
For example, Randle together with his fellow disc jockey Tommy Edwards, helped promote Elvis in 1955 in a series of live appearances in Cleveland at the "Hillbilly Jamboree" show and on WERE radio.
Randle was also the producer of the first commercial film made of Elvis performing in a concert.
It was to be a Universal documentary short titled,
The Pied Piper of Cleveland:
A Day in the Life of a Famous Disc JockeyThe filming took place at Brooklyn High School in Cleveland, Ohio. The other performers included: Pat Boone ("Ain't That A Shame"), Bill Haley & His Comets ("Rock Around the Clock"), The Four Lads ("Moments to Remember") and Patricia Wright ("Man in a Rancoat").
Unfortunately, due to budget problems, this documentary was never completed and released.
According to an article in People Magazine dated 11 January 1993, the existing footage was sold to a European company for nearly $2 million.
It remains a mystery why this very rare first commercial footage of Elvis has not been released.
How much of this footage still survives? It is difficult to know for sure, but the complicated copyright rights issues are probably the reason it has not been released on DVD.
I was told by Bill Randle that he was asked by Elvis to be his manager before Col. Tom Parker took over. He even said he had a contract ready to be signed, but I never got to see it.
Bill Randle was also the disc jockey who introduced Elvis on national television on The Dorsey Brothers "Stage Show" [see Elvis Debut on Television]
Randle had a wide variety of interests he worked on. He was someone with a curious mind and was not always involved as a disc jockey or a record producer. For more background, seei
The Pied Piper of Cleveland: A Day in the Life of a Famous Disc Jockey is an American musical documentary film produced in the fall of 1955 documenting the career of disc jockey Bill Randle. Arthur Cohen directed the film, which was produced by Bill Randle himself.
Included in the film was live footage shot at several live shows at local high schools and auditoriums on and around October 20, 1955. Performers featured included Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and His Comets, Pat Boone, LaVern Baker, Roy Hamilton, Johnnie Ray and others. This was the first film Presley ever appeared in, and is the "movie short" referred to by Randle when he introduced Presley on his first national TV appearance on Stage Show in early 1956. It was Bill Haley's second film appearance after his group appeared in the 1954 short film, Round Up of Rhythm.
A plaque commemorating one of the filmed performances is located at Brooklyn High School in the Cleveland area, and was installed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The original forty-eight minute film was supposed to be cut down to a twenty minute "short" for national distribution, but never made it that far. As of 2005, 50 years after its was produced, the movie remains unreleased. There is some dispute over whether or not this film actually exists, although it was shown publicly, albeit only once in Cleveland, and excerpts were also aired on a Cleveland television station in 1956.
According to music historian Jim Dawson, Randle, before his death, sold the rights to the film to PolyGram, although it has been reported that Universal Studios has the negatives of the film in its vaults.
Bill Randle (March 14, 1923 - July 9, 2004) was an American disc jockey, lawyer and universityprofessor.
He was born William McKinley Randle Jr. in Detroit, Michigan. In Detroit, he hosted a popular show on WJLB-AM radio (now WDTK) called The Interracial Goodwill Hour, featuring rhythm and blues music and hot jazz. As a pioneering disc jockey at radio station WERE in Cleveland, Ohio he helped change the face of American music. In the 1950s, Time Magazine called Bill Randle the top DJ in America. His popularity and huge listening audience allowed him to bolster the careers of a number of young musicians, including The Four Lads, Bobby Darin, and Fats Domino. Nicknamed "The Pied Piper of Cleveland", a 1955 musical documentary film was made about him titled The Pied Piper of Cleveland: A Day in the Life of a Famous Disc Jockey. The film includes a Cleveland concert at Brooklyn High School on October 20, 1955 featuring Pat Boone and Bill Haley & His Comets with Elvis Presley as the opening act. It is the first film footage of a Presley performance.
Curiously enough, Randle almost did not survive early radio. One Thanksgiving, he played an unusual version of "Silent Night" sung by gospel and blues artist Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Many persons called in to complain and the station manager, longtime radio and television fixture Sidney Andorn fired Randle. The next morning, WERE owner Ray T. Miller, the chairman of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, rehired Randle after he learned he had so many listeners to Randle's program, and fired Andorn instead.
While working in Cleveland, Randle would travel back to Detroit for some radio programs. In the late 1950s, Randle would fly back and forth from Cleveland to New York where he produced radio shows in both markets. He sat alongside other top DJs of the era including Carl Reese, Phil McClain and Howie Lund.
A wealthy Bill Randle left Cleveland radio in the 1960s to enhance his education. During the 1960s, Randle appeared on the local CBS affiliates in New York City interviewing celebrities. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Wayne State University and a law degree from Oklahoma City University. He went on to earn a doctorate in American studies, a master's degree in sociology from Western Reserve University, a master's degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master's degree in education from Cleveland State University. He also has an honorary doctorate from Bowling Green State University. Randle also studied history at Columbia University under Richard Hofstadter. While away from radio, Randle taught communications at Kent State University and the University of Cincinnati.
At age 64, he passed the Ohio State Bar exams and opened a law office in Lakewood, Ohio where he practiced bankruptcy and estate planning law for sixteen years. He also was knowledgeable in energy and zoning law.
In addition, Randle became an educator, and taught sociology and mass communication classes at several universities. In the 1990s, he also returned to radio anchoring the Big Show on Sunday afternoons and an early morning drive time show - on the now defunct WRMR 850 AM in Cleveland, Ohio - that featured a combination of Big Bands, early rock and roll and new artists such as Norah Jones, Michael Buble and the Backstreet Boys.
Dr. Randle died of cancer in Cleveland on July 9, 2004, while still doing his legendary "Big Shows" on Sundays over Cleveland radio station WRMR 1420-AM. In a sad irony, WRMR was sold off the day before and signed off two days later with Randle's final broadcast, which had been prerecorded. His wife of 51 years, Annalee, with whom he had a daughter, Patricia, predeceased him in 2000.
Announcer Alan Douglas hosted Cleveland talk shows.
The Alien Autopsy connection
Pied Piper of Cleveland achieved bizarre notoriety in the 1990s when it was linked to the infamous "Alien Autopsy" film circulated by producer Ray Santilli. According to Santilli, he was attempting to obtain a copy of Pied Piper from a man who claimed to have been the cinematographer on the film. Instead of the rare Elvis film, Santilli claims, the cameraman offered him footage he claimed to have shot in the late 1940s of an alleged autopsy of an alien recovered from one of the UFO crash sites.
The FOX network produced a popular documentary, Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction? centered around this footage, which was later debunked (by FOX) as being a hoax. This has led to some claims that Pied Piper is likewise a hoax, however documentation supporting the film's existence predates the Alien Autopsy affair by many years.
Joe "Fingers" Carr
JOE "FINGERS" CARR aka Lou Busch
Born Louis Ferdinand Busch, 18 July 1910, Louisville, Kentucky
Died 19 September 1979, Camarillo, California Pianist / arranger / orchestra leader / composer. Lou Busch is best known for his honky-tonk piano recordings under his stage name, Joe "Fingers" Carr. He got his start early, leading his own band by the age of 12 and leaving home at 16 to work as a professional musician. He played with a number of sweet big bands--Clyde McCoy, Henry Busse, and George Olson--then took a short break to study at the Cincinnati Conservatory. After that, he went back to the sweet bands, this time joining one of the most successful of them, Hal Kemp's. Busch stayed with Kemp for most of the 1930s and married the first of his several wives, the band's girl singer, Janet Blair. After the band's lead arranger, John Scott Trotter, departed in early 1936, Busch and fellow band member Hal Mooney split most of the arranging duties. When Kemp died in from a car crash 1940, they moved to Los Angeles and started working as studio musicians, but World War Two came along and pulled Busch into the Army for a three-year stint.When he returned to L.A. in 1945, he hooked up with Johnny Mercer's fledgling Capitol Records label and ended up working as an A&R executive. He continued to do occasional session work as a pianist, though, playing behind Kay Starr, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Dean Martin and others. In 1950, he sold the label on the idea of recording his ragtime playing, and he made up the name Joe "Fingers" Carr during his initial studio session. "Sam's Song", his second single, became a # 7 hit. He also "covered" Del Wood's piano version of "Down Yonder", which was a big country hit, and took it to # 14 on the pop charts in late 1951. Although Capitol played up the nostalgic caricature of Carr the honky tonk pianist, wearing derby hat, bowtie, vest, and suspenders, Busch tried not to let his recordings slip into mere novelty. He was a serious student of ragtime, writing many pieces of his own and inspiring younger players long before the '70s rediscovery of the genre. There were also several Capitol singles by "Lou Busch and his Orchestra". One of these, "Zambesi", an adaptation of a South African song, was a # 2 hit in the UK in early 1956, though it peaked only at # 75 in the USA. His only other British hit was "Portuguese Washerwoman" (# 20 UK, # 19 US), this time credited to Joe "Fingers" Carr. In the late 1950s, Busch left Capitol for Warner Brothers, where again he worked as both performer and executive, although he grew less and less interested in the former. His most noteworthy accomplishment as an A&R man for Warner Bros were the series of highly successful musical comedy albums he produced with comedian Allan Sherman, including the # 2 hit single, "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" (1963).
Busch died in an automobile accident in 1979.
- Born Louis Ferdinand Bush, 18 July 1910, Louisville, Kentucky
- Died 19 September 1979, Camarillo, California
Although Lou Bush (not Bush, as often spelled) is best known for his honky-tonk piano recordings under his stage name, Joe "Fingers" Carr, his contributions to space age pop go well beyond that. He got his start early, leading his own band by the age of 12 and leaving home at 16 to work as a professional musician. He played with a number of sweet big bands--Clyde McCoy, Henry Busse, and George Olson--then took a short break to study at the Cincinnati Conservatory.
After that, he went back to the sweet bands, this time joining one of the most successful of them, Hal Kemp's. Bush stayed with Kemp for most of the 1930s and married the first of his several wives, the band's girl singer, Janet Blair. After the band's lead arranger, John Scott Trotter, departed in early 1936, Bush and fellow band member Hal Mooney split most of the arranging duties. When Kemp died in from a car crash 1940, they moved to Los Angeles and started working as studio musicians, but World War Two came along and pulled Bush into the Army for a three-year stint.
When he returned to L.A. in 1945, he hooked up with Johnny Mercer's fledgling Capitol Records label and ended up working as an A&R executive. He continued to do occasional session work as a pianist, though, and provided the key ingredient in the 1949 Jo Stafford-Paul Weston hit, "Ragtime Cowboy Joe." In 1950, he sold the label on the idea of recording his ragtime playing, and he made up the name, Joe "Fingers" Carr, during his initial studio session. His first single, featuring his original tune, "Ivory Rag," became an international hit.
Although Capitol played up the nostalgic cariacature of Carr the honky tonk pianist, wearing derby hat, bowtie, vest, and suspenders, Bush tried not to let his recordings slip into mere novelty. "I think the first record I did was gimmicked, but I insisted on not doing that later," he told author Terry Waldo. "I was helped a great deal by [Rudi] Blesh's book They All Played Ragtime that came out about the same time ... I believed in recording the music straight.
Carr's success spurred a revival of ragtime in the form of camped-up honky tonk. A German pianist going by the name of Crazy Otto included Bush's "Ivory Rag" in his "Crazy Otto Medley" and scored another international hit. Dot Records enlisted Johnny Maddox to cover it for U.S. release and the result was one of the biggest instrumental hits of 1955. Johnny went on to become a staple of the Dot catalog, and fellow Dot artist Lawrence Welk decided to add a honky tonk pianist--first "Big Tiny" Little, then Jo Ann Castle--to his roster.
In the midst of his success as Carr, Bush married singer and Capitol artist Margaret Whiting, but the couple divorced after a few years. He must have married and divorced at least one other time during this time, because Bob Thompson recalled that it was easy to recruit Bush for Katie Lee's Songs of Couch and Consultation since "he was trying to keep up with alimony for three wives."
In the late 1950s, Bush left Capitol for Warner Brothers, where again he worked as both performer and executive, although he grew less and less interested in the former. His most noteworthy accomplishment as an A&R man for Warner Brothers were the series of highly successful musical comedy albums he produced with comedian Allan Sherman, including the hit single, "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah."
Bush died in an automobile accident in 1979.