That's my opinion. Back in the early 50's the ad agencies dictated the content to TV. My friend, David Pollard, an executive with Young & Rubicam Advertising, used to let me tag along as he monitored Jackie Gleason's behavior on the Dumont TV Network. We stood in the wings...the show was live...and Jackie was a solo comic who changed costumes a dozen times during the one-hour show, along the lines of Benny Hill from the UK.
When "The Honeymooners" emerged on the CBS-TV network it was an instant success with off-the-wall Neilsen rating on Saturday night. Jackie's sidekick, Art Carney was brilliant. I knew a secretary with COLUMBIA RECORDS who told me they were seeking a novelty song for Carney. Could I come up with something for Christmas release three months away?
I took the bait and two days later delivered a draft to Connie, "Santa And The Doodle-li-Boop."
This was a kind of rap story, with underlying music, that was a letter to Santa Claus asking him for a "Doodle-li-Boop." Santa looks everywhere around the North Pole and all through his workshop. But he couldn't find a "Doodle-li-Boop" anywhere.
It was close to Midnight on Christmas Eve when Mrs. Claus told Santa to look in their basement closet. Sure enough there were a hundred "Doodle-li-Boops" and they all tumbled out. He grabbed one, ran outside to his sleigh and took off to deliver toys all over the world. The little boy would receive his "Doodle-li-boop" under his Christmas tree.
Art Carney loved the rendition I wrote and recorded it in one take. COLUMBIA RECORDS rushed out the recording and DJs played the recording around the clock. Sales were tremendous and since it was essentially a children's recording, BILLBOARD never tracked the sales. But I was receiving thousands of dollars through my licensing association with Broadcast Music, Inc.
Jackie Gleason's manager, Bullets Durgom, called me a few weeks before Christmas and offered a deal. Gleason would permit Art Carney to perform "Santa And The Doodle-li-Boop" on "The Honeymooners," a top rated television program in the 50's, if he (Jackie Gleason) could be listed as the co-writer with me. Then we would be sharing 50-50 on record sales and ancillary products, such as toys.
I gave it some thought and turned down the offer. My sense of morality was at stake. Nevertheless, I earned about $25,000 in royalties, instead of the estimated $250,000 if Carney had plugged the recording on "The Honeymooners." Oh well, money isn't everything in life, is it?
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