As I went to Connie’s office, I had to wait in the sitting area, a lobby which was the area where visitors would wait for someone inside to have them called into area.
One day when I passed through this lobby area, I saw a young, well-dressed gentleman waiting for someone inside to admit him inside. While I was seated next to him, he asked me who I was waiting for. I told him I had just written the song, Vacation. He seemed impressed and he invited me to come over to his office which was located within a few minutes away. I agreed and after I was finished at Connie’s office, I went to this man’s office.
His name was “Tash”, an unusual name which, later I discovered it came from his last name, Tashman. His first name was Howard and, therefore, he had switched his last name and his first. Howard Tashman became Tash Howard. He happened to have met Peggy Santiglia as well. I can only guess that Tash didn’t have the prestige or the power to offer Peggy a recording contract as did F.G.G. actually did.
Tash introduced me to a musician and music arranger named, Herb Bernstein. This story is crazy but turned out to be the most recorded song in all the years of my songwriting career. Tash heard Herb and I at the piano singing the aria from Rigoletto, the only opera I had ever seen. When I was about 7 years old, my class was treated to an all children performance of this opera which was written by Giuseppe Verdi, in the early 1800’s. The aria is one of the most famous of all of the songs from all opera’s all through history.
Tash asked us to sing it again and again, a few more times… and he sat and thought about it. I asked him to explain what he was thinking .. he hesitated and then, said “tomorrow I will have the story” … “The Story, I asked?” He nodded his head “YES!”
The next day, Tash came up with a story about a young girl whose father owned a banana farm, located south of the border who longed to sing at the opera. She was a banana grower’s daughter. Well, as the story goes, she decided to move to the city and ,sure enough, she became a star. Her father, hearing of her success, burned down his trees, moved to the city and bought himself a guitar. He ends up singing with her at the opera. He is doing the bass voice and she the soprano voice.
Tash made a recording of the song, had the super star, Charles Fox. Mr. Fox agreed to create the arrangements and and book the musicians on only one condition …. that his name would NEVER APPEAR ON ANY LABEL, ANYWHERE!
Obviously, Fox was embarrassed for, what he felt, was a silly song and a silly idea. The song was then officially copyrighted in Washington DC and the composer was in my father’s stage name, “Murray Kenton. The lyricist was Tash Howard. The publishing company was Tash Music.
Tash tried to place this master with the Chiquita Banana company. They rejected the song and the idea because of, what they felt, was their successful logo song which was always playing by the media as a banana advertisement.
Therefore, the name and title of the song became, “Juanita Banana” which was my own suggestion as a title.
I didn’t realize that most of the countries of the world were into opera and operatic music. This fact, plus, it seems that everyone loves an underdog (as in Shakespeare) and this was no exception to that concept. These two facts of life, caused the original recording produced by Tash Howard was covered by thousands of other artists throughout the world. The original recording became number one in every single country throughout South America.
It even was used in a movie in France. It became a movie in the mid 60s in the Philippine Islands. There was a soap opera in Europe……. And so on and so on.
At that time, I was in the final year of my contract as a songwriter with Connie Francis publishing company. Therefore, I could not put my name on it without being in violation of that contract. What I suggested was the my father was a songwriter who had written many songs. He certainly would be a perfect candidate as a composer with Tash Howard. Tash presented the master of, “Juanita Banana” recording to each of ten or more record labels. The song was then, officially copyrighted in my father’s stage name, “Murray Kenton. The lyricist was Tash Howard. The publishing company was Tash Music.
Finally, Metromedia Records purchased the master to be released in thirty days. The recording was starting to hit all the major radio stations throughout the USA, there suddenly came a complication.
My father, the official co-writer of what appeared as though it was headed for a hit, At the time, he worked for his brother, my Uncle Hyman, downtown Newark, New Jersey and my dad heard the song on the radio and bragged to all his friends, customers and co-workers that it was HIS SONG that Juanita was a hit record!
In the meantime, Tash received a “CEASE & DESIST NOTICE” from the Tokens attorney, very successful producers, publishers and songwriters! Their attorney claimed that the person who did the recitation, “Brute Force” was under a recording contract which was dated prior his Juanita Banana performance. The notice stated that he is required to receive a royalty on each record sold. (I am sure the contract was “PRE-DATED” to create this phony lawsuit).
This put Tash in an impossible situation since the record company paid a royalty which would only pay one “artist”.
Legal paperwork was received at my house in Irvington New Jersey and my father panicked!
He yelled to me, “What did you get me into?”…. Am I going to lose our house? What is going to happen to this family? … I NEVER WROTE THIS STUPID SONG!!!! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT AND YOUR FRIEND, TASH!
When I asked Tash what is going on, he replied, “Don’t worry, they are just after money! I will pay them off.
The Token’s ignorant strategy should have been, “Wait until the bank is fill before you try to rob it!”. The Cease and Desist Notice stopped Metromedia from pressing records and as a result, radio stations stopped playing the record.
Cleverly, a year later, Tash visited M.I.D.E.M. … an annual meeting of international publishers and movie people. Tash wisely sold the master of Juanita, separately, throughout the world, “country by country” He received enough in advance monies to pay for quite a few bills and monies left over. At that time, he was doing quite well. He created an album of Juanita Banana Part 1 with a follow up album #2.
He later engaged, “Tiny Tim” of “Tiptoe through the Roses” fame to record the song as well. It is still for sale on eBay.
The Rest of the Story :
Tash passed away in 1971 and his mother who inherited the publishing and writing royalties hired a CPA who never paid the writer, my father, a dime in royalties. He passed away and the song was then inherited by a distant relative who had mental problems. He was not getting royalties but did receive statements from the CPA. I found this person and negotiated a buyout of the copyright in 1991. I purchased Tash Music interests and now own the copyright and have the writer’s rights to all royalties from that point on.
This all happened over the past 55 years!
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