Remembering Steve Allen the Songwriter - Part Two

Legend has it, Steve made a public bet with Frankie Laine that he could write 50 songs each day for one week. They sweetened the wager by ponying up a grand and sharing the experience with fans of the television program by taking it to the street. The two entertainers set up a workspace in the window of some music store in Hollywood and composed away, for all the viewers to see. Steve won the contest, and Frankie had to fork over a thousand bucks. I would love to have seen a video of the incident, sounded like fun to me. One of the songs to come out of the bit was “Let’s Go to Church Next Sunday” recorded by Perry Como and Margaret Whiting. There was another time in the 1990’s when he set up in the lobby of a hotel in Kalamazoo, Michigan to supposedly prove that he still had his songwriting chops. In one day, in front of group of over two-hundred spectators, he penned a total of 400 songs. His compositions expanded into musical theater as he contributed
Remembering Steve Allen the Songwriter - Part Two