The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 31

ARTSCEI Domestic engineers think creatively, 1 1 Music City TODAY for entertainment, 2D TV Logs, 8, 9D Comics, 10D SECTION The TENNESSEAN THURSDAY, July 30,1987 lit: I' DIANE -J) BARTLEY animates country stories, songs His yodeling on 'Snow White' was for this famous dwarf Television Live talent contest set on Ch. 61 but it was no problem at all. It's just a falsetto thing. "Then one day I heard them talking that they were having trouble with one voice and it was Bashful. Up until then I didn't even know that that was the voice I'd done in the yodel sequence.

"J.CFlippin, this great movie actor and big Broadway actor, had done the original speaking tracks. He'd gone to New York to be in a big Broad way hit show and wouldn't come back to re-record the Bashful parts that were inaudi- ble. "Well, when I heard them talking about it I didn't have no more sense than to say, 'Uh, I would appreciate it if you'd let me read So Disney Said, 'Yeah. Your voice is very clear, understandable' or something like that And they decided to use my voice to strengthen J.C's. "Actually what you hear, I guess, is both our voices.

Them engineers must have been geniuses." Becoming Bashful in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was an interesting coincidence, for Clements' comedy character in his country music act of the time was that of a bashful country boy. And the character wasn't far from the truth. He was born on a farm near Warrior, Ala on Sept. 6, 191 1. His mother died when he was six.

As a teen-ager he traveled to Chicago to visit an uncle and half-sister. "I heard the National Barn Dance on radio. I was very bashful at that time, but I finally got enough nerve to go down there. I said, 'I play and sing' and they au- ditioned me playing Bradley Kin-' ROBERT K.OERMANN Staff Writer Snow White may be celebrating her 50th anniversary, but her dwarf Bashful is 75. At least his voice is.

Country star Zeke Clements, who yodeled in Walt Disney's animated classic, starred on national radio shc'ss and composed his way into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, walks with a cane today but still has the twinkle in his eye of the young man who captivated Hollywood 50 years ago. "I was wondering if anybody would remember my implication with Snow White," he says with a chuckle. "I swear I never met the woman. I might have known her sister, though." Clements is as proud of his association with the world's first animated feature film as he is of the classic songs he's written for Eddy Arnold, Kitty Wells, Red Foley and other superstars. "I guess I'm one of the few who are still around from that production.

"I really never had heard of Snow White when I auditioned. Growing up in Alabama we didn't have any of those fairy tales or stories." Clements and a group of fellow country radio singers picked up extra money in Hollywood in the 1930s by working as extras in movies. Several of them answered the casting call for vocalists to the Disney studios in 1937. "I was the only one that auditioned who could yodel to fit the frames. You had to fit your part to the existing music track.

The recording went on for a long time, CATHERINE DARNELL li 1 Tajt1. Billy Easley Stall Zeke Clements gestures in mid story as he recalls his radio days as "The Man From Music Mountain." The Nashville Songwriters Mall of Fame member is celebrating Snow White's 50th anniversary along with movie-goers everywhere, for he was the yodeling voice of Bashful. act of stupidity," Clements says with a laugh. "I was the bashful guy with the red wig and the teeth blacked out and the freckles. I wish somebody had made some kind of movie of it" In 1931 he left the band and got a daily morning radio show on WSM.

He then went to Detroit and Turn to PACE 1 ID, Column 1 ber of the Oklahoma Cowboys lured him away. "The Oklahoma Cowboys was a fantastic show. When we played the Princess Theater in Nashville, downtown was blocked with people waiting for the theater to open. We did 1 1 shows and they never did run the movie. "I did comedy most of the time.

I think it was just kind of a natural caid'sguitar. "The man said, 'Why don't you come back tonight and be on the Barn So I did. "I got $10. In 1929 that was a whole week's wages for most people." He remained with what was then country music's most famous for nearly two years until a $90-a-week of fer to tour as a mem Jam to break with tradition I Scene and Heard Good News Television-Channel 61 is doing it again. Nashville's low-power station is proving that television can break all the rules.

Not too long ago, Channel 61 introduced a music video show with live, call-in requests a first in Nashville TV. Now, it has scheduled a live, four-hour talent contest beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday night No auditions required the 50 soloists will just step up to the microphone, slip on their taped accompaniments and let loose. Admittedly, this could be TV at its worst But it also is definitely unique TV in the high-tech '80s, and a sample of what low-power TV can bring to a community. When was the last time you watched such a spectacle and saw the winner proclaimed, live, in the final moments? The Miss America and Miss USA pageants come close, but they're not local.

As another special feature: The show, called the Sing Your Praise talent search, will be simulcast on WNAZ radio (89.1 FM) another rare occurence in Nashville television. All this began a few weeks back when the Covenant Christian Bookstore in Rivergate Mall began circulating entry forms at its checkout counter. Anyone could sign up no questions asked with the first 50 promised a slot on Saturday's show. Twenty-five others are on a standby list, according to Channel 61 general manager John Wesley Hembree. If someone fails to show up at the station's studios, a standby will be notified to rush on over.

The winner of the marathon event will receive a recording contract with Day Wind Records, a Goodlettsville-based company which produces accompaniment tracks for sing-along performers. Hembree says the talent search winner will record one of those accompanying tracks, and therefore will receive a studio-produced, top-quality demo for use in furthering hisher career. Judges for the contest are: Rick Cua, formerly with The Outlaws and now a Christian rocker; Jim Murray, a former member of The Imperials and now a soloist; and Dottie Leonard, president of Day Wind Records. COMEDY CONNECTION The Showtime cable network is launching an on-air Comedy Club Network with Zanies Comedy Showplace here included as one of America's 15 "hottest comedy clubs." Participating clubs will join in Showtime's six-month Laf f-Of a showcase of rising talent across the nation. Showtime isn't ready to release its complete list of member clubs, according to New York publicist Vicki Stearn.

But Stearn did confirm that Zanies in Nashville is among those to be included. As a member of the network. Zanies comics will be featured in a series of Showtime talent showcases short, 5- to 10-minute segments beginning in September. Lenny Sissel-man, Zanies manager, said he understands that Showtime will tape 8-10 top comedians at each club. "I pretty much have in mind who I'll put up," Sisselman said.

Participating clubs also will have the advantage of Showtime promotion window decals, banners, in-club items including napkins, matches and employee t-shirts and on-air listings of coming club performers. Any club in the country would be pleased to be included, said Sisselman with more than a touch of pride. TV TALK WKRN-Channel 2 has purchased The Will Shriner Show, a "soft talk show" with a comic edge, for a Sept 1 4 launch, according to program director Larry Roe. The show, hosted by ex-comedian Shriner, will air at 1 0 am, following Donahue, and will replace the current Who's the Boss? and Bargain Hunters. WDCN-Channel 8 has announced it has purchased the Movie Classix package for Saturday night airings, beginning Aug.

22. The first six weeks will be devoted to old Alfred Hitchcock films, starting with The Man Who Knew Too Much. Vanessa Moody, a top-notch reporter for WKRN-Channel 2, has gone on to greener pastures. She's taken a reporting job at CBS affiliate, WTVT- TV in Tampa. Fla.

I li Charlie Daniels Guests to be told in advance cial broadcasts on radio and televi- sion. Portions of last year's Jam were broadcast to a global listening audience of 120 million via the Voice of America. Volunteer Jam began in October 1974 with a Daniels "homecoming" concert at War Memorial Auditorium. The star decided to make it an annual event The second such show, held in Mur- Succeeding shows grew bigger and bigger, and garnered increased media attention. The fifth became a PBS TV special; the sixth was syndicated nationally; the 10th became a two-hour Dick Clark-produced TV special; Showtime put the 11th on cable.

Volunteer Jam XII was July 1 2, 1986 at Starwood and starred Don Henley, J.D. Souther, The Judds, an Allman Brothers reunion, John Schneider, Charlie McCoy, Marty Stuart, Restless Heart, Solomon Burke, Bobby Jones New Life, Carl Perkins, John Conlee, Pat Boone, Dwight Yoakam, Orleans, Henry Gross, Dobie Gray, Con Hunley, Rockin' Sydney, The Outlaws, Grinderswitch, Papa John Creach, Toy Caldwell, Bill Monroe, Judy Rodman, Jason Ellsworth, Walkin' Outside, Judy Bailey and then-governor Lamar Alexander, as well as the Charlie Daniels Band. In February, Daniels' management firm said that because of high temperatures in the month of July that the event would not be repeated in the summertime. Daniels will have guests on hand this morning at his press conference, said his publicist Liz Thiels yesterday. "Rack Daniels, the Volunteer Jam raccoon will be in attendance, and I'm also expecting Bubba Skynyrd the alter-ego of WKDF radio DJ Carl P.Mayfieldl"shesaid.

ft Volunteer Volunteer Jam XIII will be held Sept 6 at Starwood Amphitheatre, country-rock star Charlie Daniels said yesterday. "This Labor Day weekend edition of my favorite party is going to be a little different than previous Jams," Daniels said yesterday afternoon, "because I'm inviting fewer guests and the concert won't last as long." "There is a special reason for this, which is going to cause me to break with tradition and announce some of the guests in advance," he said. AIDS benefit concert planned. Page 4-D. Prior Jams have contained as many as 25 different acts and have lasted more than 12 hours.

Artists on Volunteer Jams have always been kept secret from the public prior to showtime. "I plan to reveal these names and other details of the concert at a press conference scheduled for 9:30 am tomorrow todayl" Daniels said. The press conference will be at Metro Airport All 12 previous Volunteer Jams have been sold-out concert extrava-ganzas featuring a potpourri of American musical styles, from blues to rock to country and jazz. The annual concerts have spawned four record albums and several spe- Ch. 30 gets DIANE BARTLEY Staff Writer After more than three years of low ratings, WCAY-Channel 30 owners have brought in a new general manager to turn the station around.

Skipp Moss, formerly director of sales at independent station WBFS-TV in Miami, took the reins yesterday, introduced to staffers by owner Tim McDonald of the Virginia Beach, TVX Broadcasting Group. Moss replaces John Walser, who had been Channel 30's general manager since its launch in February 1984. "It's a wonder to me they're not No. 1," Moss said yesterday, after reviewing the station's programming and past ratings books. "There's nothing wrong with the station there's no signal problem.

"It's just a matter of conveying that to the people of Nashville." Channel 30, which is also the Fox Broadcasting affiliate Nashville, has suffered from cellar-level ratings Ice cream, heat can kill you It seems like everything we've done recently required standing out in the hot sun for hours. At the Nickell reunion on Saturday we fought the temperature, sweat bees and the urge to go back for seconds. The Sunday heat wasn't much better when we were one of the judges for Miss Martha's ice cream cranking contest Judging this thing can be hazardous to your health, we were told. A couple of friends who judged last year had to eat so much ice cream that they went home and got sick. Veteran judge Tom Wiseman said last year he went home, took two Alka Selzers and went to bed.

Apparently it wasn't that bad, since he was back this year. We are pleased to report that we didn't get sick or anything. Actually it was kind of refreshing to go to one event that wasn't held at the Heartthrob Cafe. If we have to search for a parking place at Fountain Square one more time, we will be sick. Norma Watson, a Joel ton housewife, and her husband Tommy, a Metro fireman, were driving down Gallatin Road recently when they saw a van with its hood up beside the road.

She says she felt sorry for anyone who had car trouble in this hot weather. Then she saw two men come out of the Payless Shoe Store with purchases in hand. They put down the hood, got in the van and drive off. "I said, 'Have you everi'They weren't broke down at all. I thought they should have gotten a ticket" Howard Kirshner had a 30th birthday party Friday.

"The party itself was not a surprise," said his wife, SherL "But what we did was." They roasted him, did some skits and had a Turn to PACE I ID, Column 1 new general manager freesboro, was the first to feature the musical diversity that has characterized every Jam since: The Allman Brothers, Jimmy Hall, Roni Stoneman and Alvin Lee were among the performers. At Volunteer Jam in Muncipal Auditorium Daniels introduced The Devil Went Down to Georgia, which went on to become a million-selling pop music smash. TVX, which recently purchased five Taft stations in major markets ranging from Washington, DC to Philadelphia and Miami, has become the seventh-largest chain in the country and is ready to get down to business, according to Moss. He said he has been promised a bigger budget by TVX president McDonald, and plans to expand Channel 30's staff. "This is a new, big company, and he'll back me 100," Moss added.

"I see very little restructuring, but more hiring." McDonald could not be reached for comment As to how big Channel 30's future budget may be: "It's for me to con-evince him," Moss said. i Moss, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., was general sales manager for KTXH-TV in Houston prior to joining the Miami station in 1984. He also worked for WGN, the Chicago superstation, from 1978-82, as vice president and general sales manager. 1 since its sign-on. Moss said yesterday his mission is to "turn a situation of a relatively new TV station into a No.

1 station not No. 2." WZTV-Channel 17 is currently Nashville's No. 1-rated independent station. Walser, reached at home yesterday, said he preferred not to comment on the situation at this time but added "I wish TVX the very best They gave me an opportunity I would not trade the world for to sign on and build a TV statioa" He said "other opportunities" are available to him, but would not discuss those options. Moss, who arrived in Nashville Tuesday afternoon "I took one walk around downtown and bought a map" said he's getting down to business immediately.

His first course of action: to meet with Channel 30 department heads to develop a fall program schedule and promotion game plan. Promotion of the station will, he said, be one of his top priorities. -r'-ii fan, mm Tumm Skipp Moss "A they're not So. I'.