Jeanne Bal

The experiences of a young, tough-minded, idealistic high school English teacher on his first job provided the stories in this series. John Novak begins at Jefferson High School in Los Angeles under Principal Albert Vane, who doesn't always agree with Novak's approach, but admires his dedication to teaching. Eventually, Vane is elected to state superintendent and Martin Woodridge becomes the new principal. (amazon)

William Harris is an old-time music publisher who made his daughter Pat a partner. Harris hates rock'n'roll and rejects all popular music submitted. His son-in-law, Steve, is more progressive and this leads to many fights between the two men. Sophie is Harris' secretary and Stubby is a song plugger who performs many of the songs submitted to the publisher.