to Levy among them Connie Francis, queried the BBC to ascertain the
publisher and in this way the initial disks were cut. Levy notes he made
no effort to promote the song he merely urged that artists bear in mind
the dignity of the material and exercise care in their choice of material for
the flip side. Even if the publisher wished to stop the flood of records, this
was impossible owing to the compulsory or automatic license provision
of the Copyright Act. Publisher Lou Levy and singer Connie Francis will
donate their royalties to the family of Patrolman J. D. Tippit, who was shot
in the Dallas tragedy, and to worthy causes. ABC-Paramount will donate
a portion of the royalties to charities, and possibly others will take similar
action. Levy stated in part:  No one has ever been able to explain the cre-
ative process. Whatever magic is involved . . . touched two young songwrit-
ers in London . . . when the news about President Kennedy came to them
over the air it was part of the BBC s tribute . . . But songs are not made
just to be sung and heard. They are created to be sung again and again.
And so many fine artists have recorded this song: Connie Francis, Mahalia
Jackson, Toni Arden, Kate Smith, Millicent Martin. Translations are be-
ing made in many languages; it is a song to be heard  round the world . . .
It will be a part of every remembrance . . . royalties are being donated by
many of those involved . . . Our part in making this song is small, but we
feel well rewarded. As the week closed, discussion reached a high point,
centering around the theme of what was the proper role of the music-
record industry and the radio industry-with regard to  event songs, in
this specific instance a song dealing with one of the most tragic events in
the nation s history.33
[ 124 ] The Day the Worl d Stood Stil l