Music History Events: Legal Issues
November 27, 2000 Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, on the lam after escaping from a drug-rehabilitation center on October 17, is arrested at a Philadelphia McDonald's when a policewoman recognizes him in the drive-thru lane.
August 15, 2000 The estate of Jimi Hendrix acquires jimihendrix.com, which was registered in 1996 by a domainer who is using it to sell email addresses (yourname@jimihendrix.com). This is one of many cases that rules against registrants who are squatting names of famous people.
December 2, 1999 Jay-Z stabs the record executive Lance "Un" Rivera at a party at Manhattan's Kit Kat Klub, believing Rivera bootlegged his album Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter. The rapper pleads guilty to misdemeanor assault and is sentenced to three years probation.
October 28, 1999 Performing at the Adams Mark hotel in Dallas, Kenny Rogers throws a frisbee that hits a chandelier. The broken glass hits audience member Kevin O'Toole, who claims that it leaves his face scarred and ruins his sex life. Both he and his wife sue Rogers, claiming the singer "deprived her of the services, love and guidance of her husband."
June 18, 1999 A judge dismisses a case brought against Prince in 1994 claiming he stole the idea for his symbol-shaped guitar. In the opinion, the judge writes: "Defendant may as well have had this protracted litigation in mind when he lyrically asked: 'Why do we scream at each other. This is what it sounds like. When doves cry.'"
June 16, 1997 In the UK, The Verve release "Bitter Sweet Symphony," which lives up to it's title: the song is a huge hit, but Mick Jagger and Keith Richards end up getting credits and royalties.More
May 29, 1996 This item appears in The Guardian: Newly widowed Stella Serth has been convicted of a public order offence in Tasmania. Mrs. Serth has been fined £200 for dancing on her husband's grave and singing "Who's Sorry Now?"
April 1, 1996 After blowing through more than $30 million, MC Hammer files for bankruptcy protection.More
February 20, 1996 Snoop Doggy Dogg is acquitted of murder, ending an ordeal that started in 1993 when his bodyguard shot and killed a rival gang member from the Jeep Snoop was driving.More
November 3, 1995 Hootie & the Blowfish settle out of court with Bob Dylan, who sees their lifting of lyrics from "Tangled Up In Blue" on their hit "Only Want To Be With You" as more plagiarism than tribute.
June 21, 1994 A judge rules against George Michael in his lawsuit against his record label, Sony, derailing his music career for two years.More
May 6, 1994 Pearl Jam cancel their summer tour when they can't find enough venues that won't use Ticketmaster, leading to a battle between the band and the ticketing behemoth.More
April 25, 1994 A jury rules that Michael Bolton's 1991 hit "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" plagiarizes The Isley Brothers 1966 song of the same name and awards $5.4 million in damages, the largest ever in a music plagiarism case.More
March 7, 1994 The Supreme Court rules that parody constitutes fair use in deciding that 2 Live Crew's version of Roy Orbison's "(Oh) Pretty Woman" (where the woman is now big and hairy) is legal.More
October 31, 1993 Tupac Shakur shoots two white off-duty police officers in Atlanta, who are treated and released from the hospital. Accounts of the incident are sketchy, but it appears that at least one of the cops instigated the incident and was possibly inebriated. Charges against Tupac are later dropped.
August 21, 1993 Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch is raided by police after a child who stayed there comes forward with allegations of molestation. Jackson lets police strip search him, which he finds very humiliating. No charges are filed, but Jackson will later deal with more allegations.
December 17, 1991 A judge rules in favor of the British singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan in his case against the rapper Biz Markie, who sampled Sullivan's song "Alone Again (Naturally)" without permission. The landmark case establishes that samples must be cleared before they are used.More
October 11, 1991 Apple Computers reaches an agreement with The Beatles' Apple Corps, paying $26.5 million for the rights to run music software - an update to their 1981 deal that prohibited the computer maker from selling anything music-related. The deal is revised from time to time as Apple Computer makes music a major part of their business.
June 10, 1990 Members of the rap group 2 Live Crew are arrested on charges of public obscenity after performing songs from their album As Nasty As They Wanna Be in a Hollywood, Florida, nightclub. A few days earlier, a federal court ruled the album obscene, and therefore performing it is against the law. It gets even more ridiculous when a cover band performs the songs for the purpose of getting arrested, which they do. Eventually, the ruling is overturned and charges against the rappers (and cover band) are dropped.
June 8, 1990 Two days after a federal court declares the 2 Live Crew album As Nasty As They Wanna Be legally obscene, Charles Freeman, the owner of a record store in Ft. Lauderdale, is arrested for selling the album by six Broward county sheriff's deputies who are working undercover. He is later found guilty of selling obscene material and fined $1000. Police may have motive for targeting Freeman, as he is later arrested for selling cocaine.
September 30, 1989 Bette Midler is awarded $400,000 in her lawsuit against the Ford Motor Company, which had her former backing singer Ula Hedwig sing Midler's hit "Do You Want To Dance" in a 1985 commercial for the Mercury Sable. The verdict means that companies can't purposely imitate the vocals of a famous singer in advertisements without consent.
August 30, 1989 Never do business with family: Billy Joel fires his manager, who is also his ex-wife's brother. Joel sues him for $90 million, setting off a series of acrimonious court battles.
July 14, 1989 New York Family Court judge Judy Sheindlin, soon to become TV star "Judge Judy," orders Tom Jones to pay child support to model Katherine Berkery after making the singer take a paternity test. Their child, Jonathan Jones Berkery, becomes a singer.
May 2, 1989 Michael Jackson, wearing a wig and fake moustache, enteres a Zales jewelry store in Simi Valley, California. Security finds him suspicious and calls the police, who show up to explain that you shouldn't wear a disguise to a jewelry store.
November 15, 1988 After hitting it huge with their 1986 debut album, Licensed to Ill, Beastie Boys leave the label and sign with Capitol Records.More
October 24, 1988 John Fogerty's trial begins. He is accused of plagiarizing himself by using elements of his Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Run Through The Jungle" for his 1985 solo hit "The Old Man Down The Road." The suit is brought by his nemesis and former label boss Saul Zaentz, who owns the publishing on "Jungle." Fogerty wins the case.
December 24, 1987 Roger Waters cuts a deal with his former Pink Floyd bandmates, ending a long legal standoff over whether or not the band can continue without him. David Gilmour and Nick Mason are allowed to use the name Pink Floyd, but Waters gets the copyright on The Wall concept. Gilmour and Mason have already released the album A Momentary Lapse of Reason as Pink Floyd.
March 17, 1987 Reacting to a Beastie Boys concert three weeks earlier where the group used a giant inflatable penis as a stage prop and encouraged girls in the crowd to bare their breasts, the city of Columbus, Georgia passes an anti-lewdness law prohibiting nudity, simulated sex, and objectionable language at any show attended by minors.More
January 13, 1986 Ozzy Osbourne is taken to court by the parents of John McCollum, a depressed teenager who shot himself while listening to Ozzy's song "Suicide Solution." The parents claim that their son was driven to suicide by Ozzy's song. The court later throws the case out.
April 13, 1982 David Crosby is busted for freebasing cocaine, leading to a downward spiral that winds through the Dallas County Jail.More
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