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

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

This is interesting. The hysterical claims at the end of the article
are pretty silly.

Quick, hum the beginning of Whiter Shade. It's an integral part of the
song as known by the buying public, and the most interesting part
musically. If it hadn't been for that organ intro, the song might never
have been a hit. 

Does that mean that every studio musician who plays an interesting or
memorable solo on a recording deserves songwriting credit? If it helps
to sell the record to the public, it bears consideration.

In this specific case, regardless of when the song was written, Booker
was an integral part of the band (therefore not a work-for-hire hourly
session musician, which might have lessened his claim), and what he
played begins the song - it's the first thing the listener hears.

However, this case blurs the line between arrangement and composition.
If an arrangement significantly alters the public perception of a song,
and helps to sell it in the process, maybe that has economic value
beyond work for hire.

If you've ever seen the sheet music for "I Left My Heart in San
Francisco" as originally written, it's a mess (as I recall, it's also a
waltz). Whoever rescued it from the dustbin of history and rearranged
it into one of the most memorable tunes in the last 50 years deserved
more than arranging credit - without their work, it might never have
made a dime and Tony Bennett might be best known for the Hank Williams
covers he was singing at the time.

Harp content: To what extent did Tommy Morgan and George Fields come up
with those parts they made memorable? I suspect they were playing
written parts.

But all-written scores are a relic of a bygone era. For the last thirty
years or so records have depended heavily on the chops, imagination,
and stylistic savvy of the actual players of instruments, and less on
the on-paper scoring skill of a single individual. Record producers
won't shun musical contributions from session musicians and go back to
all written parts because the records won't be as good or sell as well.
Maybe it means creative musicians will be better compensated. Remember,
it wasn't so long ago that songwriters were treated very badly by the
music industry, and there was probably similar grousing by the industry
when they started demanding their due - though I suspect the Beatles
basically annihilated the status quo before a shot was fired.

Winslow

--- robert paparozzi <chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> 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.
> 
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