Daily News from New York, New York • 470

By BILL BELL tITC ATT Jones, the greatest country sin ger anve toaay, naa iwo neroes. 'f 7: Surveying the recording bis CT1HE RECORDING INDUSTRY, on the verge of collapse a few years ago, I I appears now to be holding its own. But it is in the midst of some changes, which promise to revolutionize the pop-music business in a few years. I have deduced these shifts from recent interviews I've conducted, but they also are evident in the results of a survey by the Recording Industry Association of America on sales in 1983: Cassettes continue to capture a larger share of the market, accounting for 37 of the retail sector, up 9 over 1982, and 43 in the direct-marketing sector, up 11. In the retail area, cassettes now trail albums by 18, while in the direct-marketing sector, they trail albums by only 5, with 43 of all dollars spent as opposed to 48 for LPs.

Last year, cassettes trailed albums by 34 in the direct-marketing sector. Music buyers increased in the 20-24 age group, up 2 (from 23) in the retail sector and 5 (from 17) in direct marketing. Rock music increased slightly in. share of dollars, up 1 (from 34) in retail sales and 2 (from 17) in direct Blackdance music showed a resurgence, moving to 11 6f dollars spent, a rise of 4 from 1982 in the retail sector, while doubling to 4 from 2 in the direct-marketing area. Country music was down in sales in both categories, dropping 2 (to 13) in retail and 4 (to 20) in direct marketing.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this survey and the changes taking place in general is the success of crossover performers, particularly in the black and country categories, who seem to be giving the public all the pop pablum it wants but are not doing much to whet the appetites of those with rich esthetic tastes. "There was God," he said, "and the only other one was Hank Williams." It was probably true, but Jones had the order reversed it was Williams, the drunken genius of country music, who commanded his fiercest loyalty. By 1979,. when Jones was reduced to a shambling boozer and cocaine addict, he put a life-sized photograph of Hank Williams in his car and drove around Nashville, talking and singing to it. Later that year, he made a comeback FRIDAY DOOEIS appearance in a Nashville nightclub and sang his old hits in Donald Duck's voice until he was carried away in a straitjacket Now, back in his native East Texas with his fourth wife, Jones seems to have driven out the demons that have pursued him for most of his 52 years.

He is singing better than ever, too. The story is told by journalist Dolly Carlisle in RAGGED BUT RIGHT, The Life tc Times of George Jones (Contemporary. which portrays Jones as a wreck waiting for someplace to happen. Jones, who inherited the title King of Honkytonk after Hank Williams died at 29 from the effects of booze and drugs, is one of the most-honored, most-imitated and most-respected performers in the country. But the story that Carlisle tells is less about his music than the dramas and traumas of this most tortured and emotionally immature man, born in poverty and reared in an unhappy home where hard liquor and the Good Book were contending companions.

His parents were squatters, dirt- George Jones poor in the great Depression, and he was the eighth and last of their children. He started singing when he was 10, a star attraction for a traveling husband-and-wife gospel team. He quit school in the seventh grade, began playing guitar and singing in beer joints when he was 15, married for the first time at 18 and joined the Marine Corps at 19 (to escape jail for nonpayment of support for his estranged and pregnant bride). His first hit record was "Why Baby Why" in 1955. Four years later, he scored with his first No.

1 seller, a boozer's hymn called "White Light-nin'." As the hits piled up, Jones drifted deep into alcoholism and two more failed marriages (No. 3, Tammy Wynette, was a troubled star, too). Carlisle tells a tale that hits like a slug of rotgut. The only major flaw is the discography. It lists 21 albums George has more than 150, and Carlisle should count them all or forget it.

Ml READY FRIDAY SATURDAY Not at Mohegan Lake, Mento Park, Yonkers, White Plains. Flushing or World Trade Center Lib- rrwSi. JSsT jLmmmSkM DAVE BRUBECK Newport 1958 (Columbia) As we approach another season of the Kool Jazz Festival in New York, it's always thrilling to reflect back to the days when the annual music event first got started in Newport, R.I. Of course the current festival could never compete with the old ones, mostly because they presented the pioneers of jazz. One of those trailblazers was the late alto saxist Paul Desmond, whose recording on this 1958 offering demonstrates the man's worth and how he is missed in jazz.

This recording features bassist Joe Benjamin and drummer Joe Morello on such tunes as "Things Ain't What They Used ta Be," "C-Jam Blues" and "Flamingo," the latter of which shows Desmond at his most memorable. sound investments from Capitol 99 4 ecu Lp. ust 898 BRASS CONSTRUCTION Renegades mm TINA TURNER Private Dancer IINA TURNER PRIVATE DANCER Tina Turner "Private Dancer" has "Let's Stay Together" "What's Love Got to Do with Brass Construction "Renegades" with "Never Had a Girl tfjaUet Like You" more. Drass construction $6 off! wooden video cassette cabinet Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes VIOLENT FEMMES Hallowed Ground (Slash) It is virtually impossible for most performers to maintain a degree of integrity when they begin fusing styles, but Violent Femmes a rock roll band from Milwaukee seems to succeed quite well here with its effective melding of, yes, punk-rock, free-form jazz and country. On the surface, however, some rockers may put down this new entry as being a bit silly and maybe a rip-off of Dylan, Velvet Underground, Larry Gross and Weird Al because of the sardonic humor.

In addition, Gordon Gano, the band's 21-year-old lead singer, songwriter and guitarist, will hardly win any singing contests. Moreover, the band's corni-ness abounds. And yet there is a sound created by Violent Femmes that is different from other contemporary groups; one that is original, stimulating and highly appealing. One of the most striking features is the cohesion reached between bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Victor DeLorenzo, who uses brushes rather than sticks to create and sustain a pulsating groove rarely heard in rock 'n' roll. My favorites are Hear the Rain" and "Black Girls," which are certain to become hits.

Violent Femmes is brilliant and unquestionably the most exciting new rock n' roll band on the scene. This one may appeal to crossover types, but it's mostly for those with a penchant for punk-rock. STAN GETZ CHET BAKER Line for Lyons, i I iMStory ville); It's been said that one Of the prerequisites for being "hipin 'the "jazz 5 off! wooden audio cassette cabinet F7S9 1012 holds 10 V.H.S. or fj OQ 8l 12 Beta tapes. 2 drawers, stacks, fully assembled hui-jul, noias ju Statafafrrf imdgrminri faith orig.

14.99 cassettes in 3 sliding trays, fully assembled 12.99 ong. Intermediate murkdoten taken 3l-42 off! BASF chrome blank video cassettes world back in the '50s was knowing about Chet Baker's recording of the ballad "My Funny Valentine." Though Baker is a gifted trumpeter and hardly a singer, the vocal phrasing and sensitivity he reached on that tune were superb. Here Baker has joined forces with tenor saxophonist Stan Getz with a new rendition of "Valentine" that was recorded live last year in Stockholm. Surprisingly, I find this version much better because it's more lyrical and tender as opposed to morose. But other gems on this new album like "Stella By Starlight" and Sonny Rollins' ingenious tune "Aire-gin" also make this album a candidate eventually for the collectors'-item category.

THE EMOTIONS Sincerely (Red Label) Music buffs -bewitched, bothered and bewildered by contemporary rap-funk and scatch-scratch music may be pleased to know that the recording industry is still releasing high-quality '60s rhythm 'n' blues. The Emotions are a threesome, but their sound at times resembles a 'full choir, particularly pn such' cuts as the'title tune -and "You're the This albumis' top-She! (A) nT-120 2-4-6 hr. V.H.S. B)T-160 V.H.S. BASF 99 649 8 i TldO orig.

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