FORD
12-20-2006, 12:31 PM
Procol Harum organist wins battle
LONDON, England (AP) -- A judge on Wednesday awarded the former organist of British band Procol Harum a 40 percent share in the copyright of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," one of the most famous pop songs of all time.
Lead singer Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid always claimed credit for the hit, which became part of the soundtrack for the hippy "summer of love" of 1967.
But in his ruling, the judge decided the group's organist, Matthew Fisher, was entitled to both credit and royalties.
"I have come to the view that Mr. Fisher's interest in the work should be reflected by according him a 40 percent share of the musical copyright," the written judgment said.
"His contribution to the overall work was on any view substantial but not, in my judgment, as substantial as that of Mr. Brooker."
The judge said the organ solo in the song "is a distinctive and significant contribution to the overall composition and quite obviously the product of skill and labor on the part of the person who created it."
The judge decided that Fisher was entitled to royalties from May 2005, when he began court proceedings.
Brooker says he and Reid wrote the song before Fisher joined the band in March, 1967. It was released in May that year.
In a statement, the two said Fisher's court victory created a dangerous precedent because it meant any musician who had played on any recording in the past 40 years could claim joint authorship.
"It is effectively open season on the songwriter," they said. "It will mean that unless all musicians' parts are written for them, no publisher or songwriter will be able to risk making a recording for fear of a possible claim of songwriting credit."
They intend to file an appeal.
"A Whiter Shade of Pale," famous for its cryptic lyrics -- "We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels 'cross the floor," topped the British charts for five weeks in 1967 and was a top five hit in the U.S.
Rolling Stone magazine has ranked it 57th in a list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Fisher, now a computer programmer living in south London, left the band in 1969. Brooker, 61, still tours with Procol Harum.
OK, I posted this not because I'm a big Procul Harum fan or anything. In fact I couldn't actually name any other song they have ever recorded. But my question is how future court cases will be decided in copyright areas.
In THIS case, I believe Fisher was entitled to the royalties. Clearly the organ riff - assuming he wrote it - is the melody of the song, and if that's the case, then he definitely deserves credit for writing it.
But what if, in some future case, some session horn player decides his 30 second solo was important enough to a Rolling Stones song to split the royalties with Mick & Keith? Did Michael Mc Donald (the Sammy Hagar of the Doobie Brothers) really deserve a writing credit for "I'll Wait"??
Who decides that standard? Hopefully not the ASCAP or RIAA nazis.
Discuss......
LONDON, England (AP) -- A judge on Wednesday awarded the former organist of British band Procol Harum a 40 percent share in the copyright of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," one of the most famous pop songs of all time.
Lead singer Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid always claimed credit for the hit, which became part of the soundtrack for the hippy "summer of love" of 1967.
But in his ruling, the judge decided the group's organist, Matthew Fisher, was entitled to both credit and royalties.
"I have come to the view that Mr. Fisher's interest in the work should be reflected by according him a 40 percent share of the musical copyright," the written judgment said.
"His contribution to the overall work was on any view substantial but not, in my judgment, as substantial as that of Mr. Brooker."
The judge said the organ solo in the song "is a distinctive and significant contribution to the overall composition and quite obviously the product of skill and labor on the part of the person who created it."
The judge decided that Fisher was entitled to royalties from May 2005, when he began court proceedings.
Brooker says he and Reid wrote the song before Fisher joined the band in March, 1967. It was released in May that year.
In a statement, the two said Fisher's court victory created a dangerous precedent because it meant any musician who had played on any recording in the past 40 years could claim joint authorship.
"It is effectively open season on the songwriter," they said. "It will mean that unless all musicians' parts are written for them, no publisher or songwriter will be able to risk making a recording for fear of a possible claim of songwriting credit."
They intend to file an appeal.
"A Whiter Shade of Pale," famous for its cryptic lyrics -- "We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels 'cross the floor," topped the British charts for five weeks in 1967 and was a top five hit in the U.S.
Rolling Stone magazine has ranked it 57th in a list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Fisher, now a computer programmer living in south London, left the band in 1969. Brooker, 61, still tours with Procol Harum.
OK, I posted this not because I'm a big Procul Harum fan or anything. In fact I couldn't actually name any other song they have ever recorded. But my question is how future court cases will be decided in copyright areas.
In THIS case, I believe Fisher was entitled to the royalties. Clearly the organ riff - assuming he wrote it - is the melody of the song, and if that's the case, then he definitely deserves credit for writing it.
But what if, in some future case, some session horn player decides his 30 second solo was important enough to a Rolling Stones song to split the royalties with Mick & Keith? Did Michael Mc Donald (the Sammy Hagar of the Doobie Brothers) really deserve a writing credit for "I'll Wait"??
Who decides that standard? Hopefully not the ASCAP or RIAA nazis.
Discuss......