It Was Fifty Years Ago Today

[vienna]

I was 12 when the first album came out and 13 when they did the Sullivan show. I was also one of the very many who got a guitar soon after...

I also saw "A Hard Day's Night" when it came out at our local theater in San Francisco. When I say I saw it, I mean that literally; there were girls screaming out the Beatles names before the movie even started and, once the film did start, there was a non-stop wall of screams and I had to go back some time later to actually be able to hear the dialogue...

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[frau kaleun]

I heard something about this on the radio today and my first thought was whether or not Steve would post something about it.

Oh, and the Beatles are/were/will always be awesome. That is all.

[Sailor Steve]

LOL.

Actually I've been awaiting this day for weeks now, hoping that no one else would think of it first.

[eddie]

Just ordered this Steve, want to hear the acoustic version of Imagine!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acousti...n_Lennon_album)

[Bilge_Rat]

Beatles, schmeedles...always been more of a Led Zep fan, still am.




This is the first album I ever bought.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat

Beatles, schmeedles...always been more of a Led Zep fan, still am.

Cool. Six years from now you should start a thread to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first album.

When you do, don't forget to mention that their most famous songs were ripped off from other people, without credit.

[Jimbuna]

Most profound but quite accurate all the same

*A LZ fan*

[vienna]

When you do, don't forget to mention that their most famous songs were ripped off from other people, without credit.

Amen to that, Steve. There used to be a blues progam on the public radio here in Los Angeles called "Nothing But The Blues" and the host of the show was a personal friend of a great many of the blues greats. One of them was Willie Dixon, the famed musician, songwriter, arranger of Chess Records, who made several in-studio appearances on the program. The number of hit songs he wrote or co-wrote is staggering and the names of the people who (other than himself) recorded those songs reads like a "Who's Who" of bluse, rock, pop, and country music. He would sit in the studio and recall all the various sessions and songs he worked on and he would detail the who, what, where, when, and why of all the works. His memory was truly awesome and there were times when other blues musicians were blown away by his ability to recall even the smallest details. During the period of the program's existence, Willie was talked into filing suit against Led Zepplin by his family who felt he was being ripped off with no proper recognition and certainly no royalties. There were several songs in question, but the main offender was "Whole Lotta Love". The progress of the case was followed by the host of "Nothing But The Blues" and by interviews with Willie until, finally, a ruling came down in Willie's favor for back royalties and damages. I don't recall what the total amount was, but it was substantial. Willie then turned around and used the money to form a charitable foundation, "Blues Heaven" to support working blues and R&B musicians who may have fallen on hard times, particularly the older musicians, and to promote new blues music development through scholarships. The foundadtion also bought the original Chess Records building to use as a headquarters, in the process saving a historic cultural monument...

As a bit of a side note, Led Zep was also successfully sued by the mother of Richie Valens, of "la Bamba" fame, for the rip-off of Valen's song "Oh, My Head" and using it as their song "Boogie With Stu". She made a very tidy sum as well...

Outside of Michael Jackson, I can't think of any performer or group sued for plagiarism more often than Led Zepplin...


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[Sailor Steve]

Don't get me wrong, I like the Zep. A lot. I like their versions of the songs they did. If 'Whole Lotta Love' had just said Willie Dixon on it instead of Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant there would be no problem. It's far and away the best version of the song, at least as far as I'm concerned.

To be fair, George Harrison was also successfully sued over 'My Sweet Lord', which was a note-for-note copy of 'He's So Fine', written by Ronald Mack for The Chiffons. It happens.

John Lennon was sued by Big Seven Music and Morris Levy, who held the rights to Chuck Berry's music, over the use of the line "Here come Old Flattop..." on 'Come Together'. Berry himself said he didn't mind, and liked Lennon's song.

But that's not what this was meant to be about. It wasn't just the Beatles, as much as I love them. It's about the 50th anniversary of a whole lot of great music, starting with their first album. They were influenced by those who came before, so I could have started anywhere. I started with the Beatles because it was seeing them in a movie that started me playing, and seeing them live that cemented it.

[vienna]

I am also a fan of Led Zepplin, but right is right, and the list of those who have taken Zep to court is rather longish and this does tend to taint my feelings for them. If you look at all the other bands/performers who came up at about the same time, you would see how a vast majority went out of their way to give proper due to the blues and R&B performers and writers who influenced their careers. The Rolling Stones, The Beatles (George and a Chuck Berry pro forma suit against Lennon, notwithstanding), Cream, The Animals, The Beach Boys (also sued by Berry), and many more have given credit to those they revered. The Stones have even made it a decades long practice to intentionally include at least one old school blues or R&B opening act on all their tours as ameans of both paying back the performers and to enlighten the audience about the roots of their music. A benefit of this policy was a performance I attended in Oakland, Californis in 1969 where the two opening acts for the Stones were B. B. King and the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Both acts were allowed to do their full sets, not shortened sets as most opening acts are allowed. And, the tickets were only about ten bucks...

I remember seeing a clip of a news conference Elvis gave when he had first started to gain worldwide fame. A reporter asked who his main influnces were and Elivis started to list Arthur "Big Boy" Cruddup and a couple of other blues (or, in those days, "race") artists when Col. Parker, in a bit of a panic, cut Elvis short (the look of bewilderment on Elvis' face was amusing) and stopped the news conference, rushing Elvis out of the room. I guess the King had to appear to have come from whole cloth or, perhaps, it would be seen the King had had no clothes...

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[Sailor Steve]

I was asleep at the wheel yesterday, so this one is a day late, but speaking of getting sued...

On March 25, 1963 The Beach Boys released their second album, Surfin' U S A.




Brian Wilson was later sued for using a direct ripoff of the music from Chuck Berry's 'Sweet Little Sixteen'. Berry himself was not involved in the suit, and later said he liked Wilson's version.

[vienna]

Brian Wilson was later sued for using a direct ripoff of the music from Chuck Berry's 'Sweet Little Sixteen'. Berry himself was not involved in the suit, and later said he liked Wilson's version.

If you view the DVD of the T.A.M.I. Show (1964), both Chuck and the Beach Boys perform live, separately, and the Beach Boys sing "Surfing U.S.A.". The show was shot in a single day as a non-stop program, so Chuck and the
'Boys' were both there during the entire program and were together on stage at the finale. It would appear there was no bad feeling between them...

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[Sailor Steve]

I had to resurrect this thread because, while everyone is talking about the other famous event which happened on November 22, 1963, this also happens to be the fiftieth anniversary of the release of The Beatles' second album, With The Beatles.

[Cybermat47]

The Beatles must be famous. I actually know the names of some of their songs.

[Jimbuna]

A few tracks from the album by the Fab Four

Beatles - I Wanna Be Your Man



The Beatles - All My Loving



The Beatles - Roll Over Beethoven