The Baton
- Place of Publication: Detroit, MI
- Language: English
- Date of Publication: 1941-1943
- Periodicity: 5 nos., irregular
- Editor: Tim Gayle
- Publishers: Tim Gayle
- Lacunae: Vol. 1 no. 1 - Vol. 2 no. 7; Vol. 2 no. 9; Vol. 3 no. 1; Vol. 3 no. 3-?; Vol. 4 no. 1-3. A copy of these issues could not be located.
- Type: Full Text
- Continued by: The New Baton
The Baton was edited and published by Tim Gayle from offices in the Michigan Theater Building in Detroit in 1941 and on South Wabash Avenue, Chicago in 1943. Each issue contains some 32 pages in a magazine format. According to an editorial note in the March 1941 issue, The Baton began as an eight-page newsprint publication in Petoskey, Michigan. RIPM’s copy consists of what could be located, four issues from 1941 and a single issue from 1943. Should other issues be located, they will be added.
The Baton sought to cover popular music in multiple genres and entertainment generally with a primary focus on the midwestern United States, including Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh, in addition to New York. Popular song and singers, big bands, radio musicians and ensembles, music publishing, Broadway shows, and the music trades fell under The Baton’s purview. In addition to regular geographic columns, J. Fred Coots wrote a monthly column “Tales of Tin Pan Alley,” the editor provides a general news column “Gone with Gayle,” and J. Leonard Cook has a piano advice column. A short record review column is regularly found, along with musical and general advertising.