As house painters Newton H. Newton and Phil Burton remodel the Club Monterey on Broadway, owner Gibley auditions acts for his club's reopening. Theatrical agent B. Templeton Jones brings his client, aspiring singer Ann Stuart, to try out for a spot, and when Gibley doesn't hire her, Ann becomes discouraged. When Phil, who has watched Ann perform from his ladder, enters a dressing room and tries on a suit from the costume rack, Ann mistakes him for one of Gibley's partners and asks his help in winning a contract. Phil sympathizes with Ann, and when she runs off stage, he follows her, trips and hits his head. After Phil awakens in a hospital room and discovers that he is suffering from amnesia, his physician, Dr. Gardiner, dubs him "John Doe" and suggests he return to the Club Monterey, where someone might recognize him. While seated at a table in the club, Phil begins directing the band, giving Gibley the idea to launch a publicity campaign exploiting Phil as an amnesiac band leader.