CAPITOL SINGLES SALES AT

20-YEAR PEAK-LIVINGSTON`.ew York-Sales Of Capitol Records singles for the week ending May 8 were the highest

e`-er ac`hie`-ed in any one week during the label's 20-year history, it was announced byAlan `V. hi`ingston. Capitol president. He added that single sales for the first three monthsthis }.ear v.ere 40 pet. greater than for the same period last year.

Heading the list of Capitol singles hits are eight records which Livingston pointed outwere currently appearing on all trade paper charts: These are:"Surfn' USA" by the Beach Boys; "Reverend Mr. Black" by The Kingston Trio; "I Love

You Because" by AI Martino; "Shut Down" by the Beach Boys; "Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Daysof Summer" by Nat King Cole; "18 Yellow Roses" by Bobby Darin; "Heart" by Wayneh'ewton; and "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto.

Following close behind these chart riders in sales are "King Of the Surf Guitars" byDick Dale; "Tips Of My Fingers" by Roy Clark; and "All I See Is Blue" by Jack Scott.

Five of Capitol's 11 hot singles have already given birth to fouow-up albums bearingthe same titles as the singles. Already released is the Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA". Othersdue by the end Of this month are album counterparts toi the Cole, Dale, Martino and Sakamotohits. For Cole it will mark the third timein lass than a year that a new single hasgrown into an album. The first came lastJuly with his "Ramblin Rose" LP, followedin November by "Dear Lonely Hearts".

To meet production demands, Capitol hasadded extra shirts at its manufacturingfacilities in Scranton and Los Angeles andhas turned to outside suppliers for additionalpressings.

COLPIX T0 ENTER

SPOKEN WORD FIELDNew York~Jerry Raker, general manager

of Colpix Records, announced last weekthat Colpix, mindful of the increase in thenumber of theaters, art houses and height-ened interest in cultural pro].ects, wouldenter the spoken word field.

First three packages in the new Colpixseries will be "A Little Treasury of Ameri-can Poetry" in two volumes, and "A LittleTreasury of British Poetry". LeadingAmericans on the first releases will includeWallace Stevens, Robinson Jeffers, CoriradAiken, Marianne Moore, E. E. Cummings,Archibald MacLeish, Alan Tate, OgdenNash, Richard Eberhart, Robert Penn War-ren and Robert Lowell. Among notedBritish po`ets who will read their own worksare Edwin Muir, Robert Graves, Sir HerbertRead, W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender andGeorge Barker. First album will be pro-duc.ed by Tala Productions headed byBurgess Meredith, world-famous actor anddirec.tor.

MOM/Cub C®rvell WaxBreaks lh 7 Markets

`'ew York-It's no joke that "The JokesOn lie" is splitting the sales and exposurepicture wide open in seven rna).or marketsaccording to Julie Rifkind and Buz Willisof MG}L/Cub Records.

ELifkind told MR the record, by TheCor`.eHs, is getting heavy air play in thekey Baltinore arcs.

Other markets Showing well for "TheJokes On Me" are Philadelphia, Washington,D.C., Chicago, St. Louis, New York Cityand Cincinmti.

6

NARAS AWARDS IN2 (ITIES WEDNESDAY

Los Angeles-Bob Newhart, NormanLuboff and Joanie Sommers have beenadded to the celebrities who will makeaward presentations at the fifth annualdinner of Los Angeles chapter of NARASat the Beverly Hilton ballroom May 15.Other recording industry stars set to presentthe "Grammy's" include Joe Stafford, LesBrown, Lome Greene, Connie Stevens andNelson Riddle. Soupy Sales will emceei.

Meanwhile the New York chapter willalso present Grammy awards. Volunteeringas presenters are Marion Anderson, JimmyDean, Duke Ellington, Eileen Farrell, StanGetz, Joe Harnell, Steve Lawrence andEydie Gorme, Dudley Moore, Peter Nero,Leontyne Price, Pat Thomas and JonathanWinters. Merv Griffin will emcee and MetTorme will entertain.

MELODl( POP NEW KEY FOR FAITHHollywood-Columbia Records' Percy

Faith, in a special album, "Themes ForYoung Lovers" to be released May 13, de-parts for the first time from the lush, largeork string sound associated with hin, anduses melodic pop material including plentyOf rockers and surfers.

A consistent gold record winner with hisalbums, Faith found stepping out of char-acter a simple feat. "The average personcan't tolerate the sound of some rock androll performers" he says, "yet when youtake away the performers and just listento the melody you can find much that'sappealing. We tried to place this materialon a pedestal. Some was quite melodicand deserved a grand treatment".

To promote the project, Columbia ispreparing a special press kit with promo ma-terial for stores and tradei advertising. Faithhinself will make personal appearancesamong Columbia's distribs in key cities andamong deejays.

''Just so" Columbia's Percy Faith signol8 his or.

chestra as, for the first time, he abandons thelarge ork string sound in favor of melodic poplo be heard in a new LP to be released May 13.

BIGGEST ARMADA (ONVENE SETNew York-Final plans were shaping up last week for the fifth annual convention o£

ARMADA at the Eden Roc Hotel in Miami Beach June 25-26, with indications that itwill be the most spectacular in ARMADA's history. The convention has already attractedkey manufacturers who will tie in their sales meetings with the convention, plus cocktailparties and luncheons.

Dave Kapp, Kapp Records prexy, now in Europe, is expected to make the keynoteaddress. Amos Heilicher, in the president's annual address will focus on "The CriticalYear Ahead". Dave Miller, topper of Miller lnt'l, will also speak. Record companiesscheduled to hold sales meeitings are: Command, ABC-Pm't, Jay-Gee, Colpix, Veei Jay,United Artists, Atlantic and Atco.

Symposiums will be held on "Diversification For Distribs" (for neiw entries into the rackfield); "The Return Privilege"; "The Proposed Standard Contract"; and "The Manufacturer-Distrib Relationship in a Changing. Market".

The ARMADA Executive Board will meet June 24, opening day for registration.

THE: MUSIC REPORTER. MAY 18,1963