[Harp-L] A Whiter Shade of....Yikes!

["robert paparozzi" <chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Yikes, check this out, I think Gary Brooker will be turning a"Whiter Shade
of Pale" when he see's his NEW royalty checks!....what do y'all think about
this??!!

Harp Content:

What if George Fields, Tommy Morgan or Delbert McClinton claimed partial
writers credit for contributed such MEMORABLE parts on "Moon River", "Rainy
Days and Mondays" and "Hey Baby".................Yikes!!!!

Procol Harum Organist Wins Court Case
Dec 20, 11:44 AM EST
 A judge awarded a 40 percent share in the copyright of "A Whiter Shade of
Pale," one of the most famous pop songs of all time, to a former organist
for Procol Harum.
 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 that 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 song's organ solo "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 said Fisher, 60, was entitled to royalties from May 2005, when he
began court proceedings.
 "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 5 hit in the U.S.
 Rolling Stone magazine has ranked it 57th in a list of the 500 greatest
songs of all time.
 Brooker says he and Reid wrote the song before Fisher joined the band in
March 1967. It was released in May.
 Fisher, now a computer programmer living in south London, left the band in
1969. Brooker, 61, still tours with Procol Harum.
 In a statement, Brooker and Reid 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.