Joe Valino: Learnin' the Blues (Pt. 1)

What we currently know about jazz in the 1940s and 1950s is but a fraction of the full story. For every major artist and recording, there are dozens of others that never gained visibility or resonance and faded away, forgotten with the passing of time. Every so often, like the debris from a ship lost at sea, a story will wash up that tells us something we didn't already know. This story is about Joe Valino [pictured].

Yesterday, Drew Techner, whose dad Joe Techner [pictured] played in Elliot Lawrence's band between 1948 and 1951, sent along a link to a fascinating clip. It's the super-rare demo of Learnin' the Blues, recorded by Valino in 1954, a year before Frank Sinatra's Capitol version.

Rather than go on, why don't I simply share with you an email Drew sent me:

"In 1954 my father Joe Techner was enjoying a reputation as a hot jazz trumpet sideman in Philly, but his father, an electrical contractor, felt Joe should try and become a contractor in the music business. My father Joe Techner's only attempt as a music contractor came in 1954 for South Philly vocalist Joe Valino (born Paolino). My dad hired the musicians and studio for Valino's Learnin' the Blues and Lonely Boy on the Gold Star label.

In a November 15, 2000 Philadelphia Weekly article, Carmen Dee (who my dad later worked for at Palumbo's) remarked that Valino's career was damaged because he dissed Sinatra. The article goes on to try and figure out how this could be. Dee was quite right. Apparently the writer did not know the details that Valino's relative and I had discussed two years earlier.

On August 23, 1998, I met Valino's niece, Lisa Paolino. Valino had died in 1996 with no surviving children, and Lisa had all of her beloved uncle's music and effects. She told me what my father had told me years before: Sinatra heard the demo and sent goons down to Philly to pressure Valino to give up the song. Joe and his girlfriend were getting out of a cab and another cab pulled up, men got out and beat both of them up. She had her face busted up as well. They made clear their purpose stating he had to give up the song or they were going to come after the entire family. Lisa recently recounted these details to me.

The public first heard the demo on the popular Joe Grady and Ed Hurst WPEN 950 Club radio show in Philadelphia. When Sinatra heard it he said, 'This is for me. It's perfectly suited for my style.' Sinatra didn't have a hit for some time and needed a boost.

'They say when Sinatra heard it, he made it and Capitol had it out in something like 5 days,' reported Betty Burtt of the Granite State Free Press (Lebanon, NH), May 12, 1955.

Valino's recording of Learnin' the Blues was hexed. The 2000 Philadelphia Weekly story was entitled, 'The Sad Song of Joe Valino.' In a lesser sense, it could just have well been called, 'The Sad Song of Joe Valino and Joe Techner.' My father had difficulty getting money from Valino to pay the band. Joe had to borrow from his father to pay the musicians. Joe then went to Local 77. With the union's pressure, Valino eventually paid.

In a April 9, 2008 City Paper article, Lisa said the Learnin' the Blues recording was made at his mother's house. I recently spoke to Lisa who explained that this was a rough recording and not a studio recording. Some time later, my father contracted a studio for the demo with the following personnel: Joe Techner, trumpet; Jerry Gilgor, drums; Gene Kutch, piano; Vince Forrest (Forchetti), trombone; Ace Tesone, bass. The sax was either Mike Goldberg and/or Al Steel.

My father was very much involved in the Valino recording. He and Valino went to the composer's home to listen to the selection played on the piano.

The song was written by Vicki Silvers, a Havertown housewife and mother listed as "Dolores Silvers" on the Gold Star record. She was known as Vicki Hollander when she won Miss Press Photographer of 1948. On March 31, 1955, The Philadelphia Daily News reported Dolores as 25 years old and the daughter of "Philadelphia's one-time great ragtime pianist" Arthur di'Tullio. Her husband was Arthur Silvers, a sales manager for a clothing manufacturer.

With this information, I did the following research that appears to be our Dolores "Vicki" Silvers:

The 1930 Federal Census shows that Arthur di'Tullio was an Italian-born furniture upholsterer living at 2119 Hunting Park Avenue in Philadelphia. His daughter Dolores was 1 year and 4 months old when the enumerator visited the household on April 5, 1930.

The Social Security death database lists a Dolores Silvers born November 7, 1928 with card issued in Pennsylvania. She died December 16, 2007 in Valrico, Hillsborough Co., Florida. Her age on April 5, 1930 was 1 year, 4 months and 30 days! Her husband Arthur Silvers preceded her in death at Valrico, Florida on June 18, 2006.

So how did Sinatra get a hold of the demo and why did he rough up Valino? The 1955 Daily News article was entitled, 'Blues' Record Hit Dazes Young Mother' which stated, 'The moment the word got out that Sinatra would record it, offers from music publishers poured in to Vicki. She turned down half a dozen before she agreed to place her song with Barton Music, owned by Sinatra, and managed by Ben Bartin, music business veteran and father of Eileen Barton, recording star.'

After numerous discussion with Joe's niece Lisa, my guess is that Valino actually wrote most of the song. Lisa explained that her uncle was playing the song for years before Silvers got involved. There is some credence to this belief. On the back of Joe's Sinner and Saint album (Debut), the following notation is listed, "Current Debut singles: Joe Valino, Learnin' the Blues, 1952." I think Silvers did make substantial changes to the song and then ruthlessly cut Valino out of the deal when Sinatra's publishing company approached her. Valino probably protested to Silvers and Barton, and was stepped on.

Sinatra may have also suppressed Gold Star. Betty Burtt reported, "Gold Star, which for some reason seemed in no hurry to get it out and around: my requests for it got nowhere.'

Burtt suspected Sinatra interference. On May 13, 1955, she privately wrote, 'unless the Gold Star record was intended as a demo (of sorts) for Sinatra, and with Mr. V.'s knowledge, I think he got a raw deal and I'm still sizzling, and I still think he has the best version...' This is from a handwritten note from Burtt in Valino's scrapbook.

Thanks to Lisa Paolino for re-contacting me and sharing newspaper clippings from Joe’s personal scrapbook. She also said she found a music sheet marked "Gene Kutch 1954" showing the demo was originally Learned the Blues. Silvers first copyrighted the song February 24, 1955.

Shortly after Valino's death, local radio personality Jerry Blavat told The Daily News, 'Joe was a very talented man. Philadelphians loved him, because he was a local guy. He could've been a superstar with Learnin' the Blues. In fact, Vicki Silver had written the song for Joe, but when Sinatra heard Joe's voice, which sounded so similar to his own, he did the cover and Frank had a reputation; Joe couldn't compete with that,' Blavat said."

Go here to listen to the Joe Valino demo of Learnin' the Blues.

I don't know from goons and copyrights, but Sinatra's Capitol recording does sound remarkably similar to Valino's demo. How did that happen? To find out, I reached for my favorite Sinatra book, Sinatra! The Song Is You, by New York Sun jazz critic Will Friedwald:

"Learnin' the Blues had been a local hit single in Philadelphia for singer Joe Valino, then known as the Sinatra of the City of Brotherly Love. Valino's disc had been sent to Sinatra by amateur composer Dolores Vicki Silver. Sinatra later recalled that of all the song submissions he received over the years, 'only one that was sent to me that ever had any—to use a strange word—professionality. It was called Learnin' the Blues, and it was written by a girl named Silver from Philadelphia...she never wrote another one that I know of.' "

According to Will's comprehensive liner notes for Frank Sinatra: The Complete Capitol Singles Collection, "using the disc as a demo, the song's composer, Delores Vicki Silver, mailed it to Sinatra." The notes go on to quote Frank Military, a close acquaintance of Sinatra's at the time: "We heard of a record by a young kid being played in Philadelphia, so Ben [Barton, Sinatra's publishing partner], and I went down to Philly and saw Vicki Silver, who'd written it. I said that we thought that this would be a great song for Sinatra and that we'd like to publish it."

Did Valino buy the rights to Silver's song before he recorded it? Or did he mean to but didn't or couldn't? Did Silver send the demo to Sinatra's people? Or did Valino hoping for exposure? Was Valino truly roughed up as he claimed? Or was that the story he told after Sinatra acquired the rights from Silver and recorded the song? We'll never know. What we do know is that the freewheeling bravado Valino used on his demo clearly pre-dates Sinatra's confidence retooling at Capitol, making this demo a significant work. This demo isn't some Sinatra sound-alike strutting around with a mike; it's a rare example of a singer's vocal style that Sinatra adapted.

And if we're being completely honest, I rather like Valino's vocal sincerity a bit more than Sinatra's restrained reading of the song here. I also like the off-beat bluesy feel of the arrangement on Valino's recording as well as Techner's muted trumpet solo. It sure makes you wonder whether Techner's approach here inspired the use of Harry "Sweets" Edison's mute similarly on Sinatra's Capitol recordings.

Like any good music business story, this one has a couple of twists. Recording Sinatra's Learnin' the Blues appears to have been a bit of a struggle, according to Sinatra discographies. Thirty-one takes were required, most of which were likely false starts by the orchestra. Once waxed, Learnin' the Blues became Sinatra's biggest hit of the 1950s, remarkably his only No. 1 hit in the decade. Which also may help explain Valino's motive for needing a great story about the song that got away.

Hats off to Drew Techner for shedding light on Joe Valino and for generously sharing the rare and haunting Valino demo on YouTube with all those who have long yearned to hear it!

Comments

[Jan Derrer]

This is another JazzWax highlight! Interesting, well researched, historical relevant.

[Lisa Paolino]

There does seem to be questions about the fact that Joe recorded Learnin the Blues three years prior to Sinatra. In interviews with Joe's band members who were on the road with him they have stated that Joe was playing the melody years before Vicki Silvers ever took credit for writing the song. The melody of the song was recorded in raw form at my Grandmother's and according to many witnesses, Joe played the song on the piano ,over the phone to Vicki. Vicki may have helped with the lyrics but that is about as far as it goes.
Once Joe's Gold Star version was released, Ed Hurst took it to New York to Barton Publishing for Sinatra to hear. Sinatra wanted the song and was able to obtain it through his dealings with Silvers and as Techner has stated, Joe was forced to give it up. I have newspaper clippings from columnist Betty Burke in Boston who verifies that Joe's version came first and is by far the better rendition of the song. Thanks for thinking of Joe.
Lisa Paolino

[ivan Santiago]

This film noir story had it all: intrigue, crime, mystery, and commendable detective work. I am left to wonder about the exact nature of the relationship between Valino and Mrs. Silvers. (Pardon me if I'm having too much of a "Double Indemnity" moment!) Valino is indeed a good singer, and I found plenty to like in his recording, but his version comes short next to the forceful authoritative phrasing in which Sinatra imbues his.

[Jessica]

Jerry Gilgor, the drummer, was my grandfather...