{"id":51433,"date":"2017-04-10T00:05:53","date_gmt":"2017-04-10T07:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=51433"},"modified":"2017-04-08T11:34:35","modified_gmt":"2017-04-08T18:34:35","slug":"sue-sue-blues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/sue-sue-blues\/","title":{"rendered":"Sue Me, Sue You Blues"},"content":{"rendered":"
The following is an article from Uncle John\u2019s Bathroom Reader<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n

\"George_Harrison\"<\/a>The business side of music can be a world of cutthroat legal practices and endless litigation. Here\u2019s the story of one of the biggest music legal battles of all time.<\/em><\/p>\n

SOLO FLIGHT<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1969 George Harrison was on a break from the Beatles and was doing some concerts in Copenhagen, Denmark, with the group Delaney and Bonnie and Friends. One day he slipped out of a press conference, grabbed his guitar, and started playing some guitar chords that were in his head. Then he added in two religious chants: the Christian \u201challelujah\u201d and the Hindu \u201chare krishna.\u201d Later he played it for the band, who joined in with four-part vocal harmony. Harrison fleshed out some verses about yearning to be closer to God, and titled it \u201cMy Sweet Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

A week later, Harrison flew to London to help produce an album by singer\/keyboardist Billy Preston and gave him \u201cMy Sweet Lord\u201d to record. The song went nowhere, but Harrison decided to record it himself for his first post-Beatles album, All Things Must Pass<\/em><\/a>. Released as a single, \u201cMy Sweet Lord\u201d became a number-one hit in January 1971.<\/p>\n

At the time of the song\u2019s birth, Harrison thought elements of the song just popped into his head. He later figured out that subconsciously he\u2019d been inspired by an old gospel song called \u201cOh Happy Day.\u201d Harrison insisted he hadn\u2019t \u201cstolen\u201d the song, he just used it as a starting point. And even if he had copied it directly, there were no legal ramifications\u2014\u201cOh Happy Day\u201d was in the public domain.<\/p>\n

But as it would later turn out, another song did \u201cpop\u201d into Harrison\u2019s head and subconsciously inspire him. And that one had serious legal ramifications.<\/p>\n

COVER ME<\/strong><\/p>\n

As \u201cMy Sweet Lord\u201d rose up the charts, a cover version was released by a group called the Belmonts (formerly Dion and the Belmonts, best known for the 1959 hit \u201cA Teenager in Love\u201d). But instead of a straight cover of Harrison\u2019s song, the Belmonts\u2019 version interspersed lyrics from \u201cHe\u2019s So Fine,\u201d a 1963 hit by the girl group the Chiffons. It was uncanny: The songs meshed together perfectly, with nearly the exact same chord structure and many of the same notes.<\/p>\n

The Belmonts\u2019 version was only a minor novelty hit. But it caught the attention of executives at Bright Tunes, the music publishing company that owned the copyright to \u201cHe\u2019s So Fine.\u201d In 1971 they sued Harrison, his label (Apple Records), and his publisher (Harrisongs Music Limited), claiming that Harrison had plagiarized \u201cHe\u2019s So Fine\u201d and turned it into \u201cMy Sweet Lord,\u201d and was now profiting from it.<\/p>\n

YOU NEVER GIVE ME YOUR MONEY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Guiding Harrison in the lawsuit was his business manager, Allen Klein. They\u2019d worked together since early 1969, when Klein became the Beatles\u2019 business manager. Klein handled the Beatles\u2019 financial affairs shrewdly, saving Apple Records from bankruptcy, negotiating a new royalty rate ($.69 per album\u2014the highest ever, at the time), and working for only a percentage of increased business. Nevertheless, Paul McCartney didn\u2019t trust Klein (he had an abrasive demeanor and was rumored to engage in shady business practices), and never actually signed the contract authorizing Klein to make decisions for him\u2014one of the many disagreements that led to the Beatles\u2019 breakup in 1970.<\/p>\n

Harrison tried to settle the suit quickly by offering to purchase the copyright to \u201cHe\u2019s So Fine\u201d (for an undisclosed sum, probably less than $100,000, which would be about $600,000 today), but despite being on the verge of bankruptcy, Bright Tunes declined. Reason: Klein had secretly met with Bright Tunes execs and told them they\u2019d get more money by suing Harrison than by settling. He produced documents showing that Harrison stood to make more than $400,000 (about $2.4 million today) from \u201cMy Sweet Lord,\u201d to which Klein told Bright Tunes that they had a right\u2014and a shot in court\u2014at ownership.<\/p>\n

SOMETHING IN THE WAY HE SUES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bright Tunes was in deep financial trouble at the time, and Klein likely knew it. A lengthy court battle would further deplete their funds, making Bright Tunes far more likely to settle for an offer\u2014 any offer\u2014made for their back catalog. By encouraging Bright Tunes to sue Harrison, Klein was actually hoping to bring down the price on \u201cHe\u2019s So Fine\u201d so that he could buy the rights and sue Harrison for copyright infringement himself.<\/p>\n

Unaware of Klein\u2019s duplicity, Harrison was baffled when Bright Tunes declined his offer. Instead, they amended their lawsuit to request ownership of \u201cMy Sweet Lord\u201d and half of all songwriting royalties earned by Harrison on the song, past and future. Harrison said no and the matter was headed for court.<\/p>\n

I, ME, KLEIN<\/strong><\/p>\n

But in late 1971, before the case could be heard, Bright Tunes filed for bankruptcy (after they turned down another offer from Harrison\u2014this time to buy their entire catalog). All legal matters would be delayed until the company was financially stable again.<\/p>\n

Harrison\u2019s camp was also in chaos. Earlier in 1971, Harrison had organized the Concert for Bangladesh. From the proceeds of the concert and album sales, nearly $10 million was raised for UNICEF to help refugees in the war-torn Asian nation. But little of it actually went to those in need. Klein, acting as Harrison\u2019s business manager, should have arranged the donation with UNICEF prior to the concert or the album\u2019s release, but he didn\u2019t. Because of this, a hefty portion of the proceeds was taken out for taxes. And because it was reported after the fact, the IRS\u2014and Harrison\u2014suspected that Klein had embezzled some of the money. When Klein\u2019s contract with Harrison expired in 1973, it wasn\u2019t renewed.<\/p>\n

In January 1976, nearly five years after the lawsuit was first initiated, Bright Tunes finally pulled itself out of bankruptcy. At that point Harrison offered Bright Tunes another deal: He would pay them $148,000 (40% of estimated royalties for \u201cMy Sweet Lord\u201d) to settle the suit, but he would get to keep the copyright. Again\u2014on the advice of secret collaborator Allen Klein\u2014Bright Tunes turned it down and went to court in the hopes of more money. In the summer of 1976, the case finally went to trial.<\/p>\n

MY SWEET LAWSUIT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most of the trial was spent on testimony from musicologists (hired by both Bright Tunes and Harrison) who broke down and analyzed the basic musical elements of the two songs, \u201cHe\u2019s So Fine\u201d and \u201cMy Sweet Lord.\u201d According to Bright Tunes\u2019 experts, \u201cHe\u2019s So Fine\u201d used two musical motifs. Motif A is the notes G-E-D repeated four times. Motif B repeats the notes GA-C-A-C four times, with an extra \u201cgrace note\u201d the fourth time. \u201cMy Sweet Lord,\u201d they further argued, used the same Motif A the same four times, then Motif B three times instead of four. In place of the fourth repetition, \u201cMy Sweet Lord\u201d used a passage of the same length with the same grace note in the same place. Each motif is fairly common, they said, but for both songs to use the two motifs together and for the same number of times was no accident.<\/p>\n

HEAR YE<\/strong><\/p>\n

In August 1976, U.S. District Court judge Richard Owen delivered his verdict. \u201cIt\u2019s perfectly obvious,\u201d said Owen. \u201cThe two songs are virtually identical.\u201d Owen went on to say, however, that he didn\u2019t think Harrison intentionally stole \u201cHe\u2019s So Fine.\u201d He noted that there are only eight notes in the scale, and that \u201caccidents do happen.\u201d Though Harrison acknowledged being familiar with \u201cHe\u2019s So Fine\u201d (it was a massive hit), Owen said that while Harrison didn\u2019t steal the song, he did infringe on the copyright. The difference: Harrison\u2019s theft was unintentional or \u201csubconscious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Judge Owen ruled that a copyright had still been violated, a decision upheld on appeal with the court noting that United States copyright law does not require the showing of intent to infringe.<\/p>\n

Monetary damages were decided three months later, in November 1976. The royalties for \u201cMy Sweet Lord\u201d\u2014based on the sales of singles, albums, and sheet music\u2014totaled $2.1 million. But Bright wasn\u2019t awarded the entire amount. Judge Owen determined that only 75 percent of the song\u2019s merit and success was due to \u201cHe\u2019s So Fine,\u201d with the other 25 percent owing to Harrison\u2019s lyrics and arrangement. So Owen recommended Bright get 75 percent of the royalties, about $1.6 million. Had Harrison been found to have intentionally stolen the song, Bright Tunes would probably have gotten the full amount.<\/p>\n

After five years, the case was finally decided, but no money would change hands…yet.<\/p>\n

HALLELUJAH<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shortly after the trial, Bright Tunes entered into an agreement to sell its entire catalog of songs\u2014and their subsequent litigation rights\u2014for $587,000 to music publisher ABKCO, a company owned by…Allen Klein. Still stinging from the Concert for Bangladesh scandal, Harrison refused to pay Klein the $1.6 million he owed Bright. By now, Harrison had become aware of Klein\u2019s secret double-cross with Bright, and filed a motion with the court arguing that Klein was ineligible to get any money from \u201cMy Sweet Lord\u201d because the plagiarism trial was the result of Klein\u2019s illegal dealings.<\/p>\n

It took another five years for that decision to be handed down. In February 1981, the U.S. District Court ruled that Klein had indeed illegally betrayed Harrison back in 1976, thereby compromising the integrity of the findings of the plagiarism suit. As a result, the financial terms from the case were ruled invalid, meaning Harrison didn\u2019t have to pay anybody the $1.6 million in royalties.<\/p>\n

WILL IT GO ROUND IN CIRCLES<\/strong><\/p>\n

The court also ruled that Harrison reimburse Klein $587,000. That\u2019s what Klein paid for the Bright Tunes catalog. With Harrison paying that amount, Klein would break even\u2014but not profit\u2014from his purchase of the Bright Tunes catalog.<\/p>\n

But there was yet another twist. The judge ruled that because of Klein\u2019s machinations, and because Harrison would, in essence, end up paying for the Bright Tunes catalog, Harrison would be the sole owner of the copyright to \u201cHe\u2019s So Fine.\u201d After a decade-long legal battle, Harrison would own the song he\u2019d inadvertently plagiarized years earlier.<\/p>\n

AFTERMATH<\/strong><\/p>\n

Harrison channeled his anger and frustration over the suit into two hit songs, \u201cThis Song<\/a>\u201d and \u201cSue Me, Sue You Blues<\/a>.\u201d But the impact of the \u201cMy Sweet Lord\u201d debacle was felt for years to come, in an explosion of pop-music plagiarism cases:<\/p>\n