OK – I never miss an opportunity to tell one of my favorite stories.
Ca. 1976, when I was working in Hollywood, California, I got a phone call from a publisher. She said, “We have a new album being released tomorrow, and we forgot to copyright all the songs! Can you help?”
Since I specialized in writing lead sheets, the primary way to copyright songs under the latest (1909) law, I sure could. But it took me about an hour and a half to produce a single, finished lead sheet, and my usual time was about a week, sufficient for most music publishers.
“How many songs on the album?”
“About 10. But we need it right away!”
"That would be a rush job, at double fee, about 48 hours. OK?’
“Sure, sure. Can you do it faster?”
“What’s the name of the album?”
“Hotel California, by the Eagles.”
“No problem. But it will be triple fee.”
My colleague and I stayed up all night, delivered the lead sheets the next day, then sacked out. Just another typical rush job, but one I’ll never forget!