For a Classic Motown Song, Credit Is What He Wants

[Dan Gould]

For a Classic Motown Song About Money, Credit Is What He Wants

...

Over the years, “Money” has generated millions of dollars in publishing royalties. It was recorded by both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, has been widely used in films and advertisements and is now featured in “Motown: The Musical” on Broadway. But the pianist and singer Barrett Strong, who first recorded “Money” and, according to records at the United States Copyright Office in Washington, was originally listed as a writer of the song, says that he has never seen a penny of those profits.

Unbeknown to Mr. Strong, who also helped write many other Motown hits, his name was removed from the copyright registration for “Money” three years after the song was written, restored in 1987 when the copyright was renewed, then removed again the next year — his name literally crossed out.

The long and complicated tale of “Money” begins, in Mr. Strong’s telling, with a simple but mesmerizing piano riff that came to him more than half a century ago as he was working as a session musician in a recording studio here. He was 18, a Mississippi native who had grown up in Detroit dreaming of a music career and had just been signed to a contract with Mr. Gordy, who was both his label president and his personal manager — an arrangement unthinkable today because of its inherent conflict of interest, but not unheard-of at the time.

“We were doing another session, and I just happened to be sitting there playing the piano,” he recalled. “I was playing ‘What’d I Say,’ by Ray Charles, and the groove spun off of that.”

As Mr. Strong was polishing the riff, the recording engineer, Robert Bateman, recalls becoming increasingly animated. “And when I get excited, the very first thing I do is call Berry,” Mr. Bateman said at an event at the Hard Rock Cafe in 2010. “ ‘Whoa, Berry, you’ve got to hear this, you’ve got to hear this, you’ve got to hear this.’ ”

and here's the, pardon the expression, money quote:

In a letter, Barry Langberg and Deborah Drooz, lawyers for Mr. Gordy, wrote that Ms. Bradford had “erroneously listed Mr. Strong as one of ‘Money’s’ co-writers” in 1959, because “she was inexperienced and confused about the ‘authorship’ section’ ” of the copyright form, and that “when the mistake was discovered, it was rectified.” They enclosed a recently executed affidavit from Ms. Bradford to that effect.

Read the rest to find out why Gordy took Barrett Strong off the copyright.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/arts/music/for-a-classic-motown-song-about-money-credit-is-what-he-wants.html?pagewanted=2&hp&pagewanted=all

I understand why Strong is basically fucked over by the law, but I wonder if he has an actionable claim against Gordy for conspiring to damage him financially by falsely asserting, and filing false documents, claiming a clerical error in the first copyright filing. I mean, Strong can certainly prove that the music was his from the start.

The again, what's the point, because Strong couldn't fight it out in court when he's got no, um, money.

Berry Gordy is a scumbag though.

[Cali]

I remember when this song was released. It was a sensational new sound in R & B. I still remember the style, all of the lyrics and the delivery of Barrett Strong's version. There was never a doubt about the authorship of the song at that time.

Vaguely, I recall someone telling me that musical compositions must be re-filed every 7 years to retain the rights of a song. If true, this should be a crime.