John Fogerty just filed a new lawsuit against Doug Clfford and Stu Cook. I’ve lost count of how many times these ex bandmates and their label have exchanged lawsuits. Fogerty didn’t even drop his grudge against older brother Tom when he was dying of AIDS related TB. Now that’s a hardcore grudge.
I’ve often wondered how many great songs Fogerty might have written. The stuff he writes always sounds like CCR and he gets sued. It happened in 1985 with his album Centerfield. Fogerty has rarely recorded since. There’s little point since it’s just another lawsuit waiting to happen.
What other musicians have had their careers shut down by bitter band breakups and lawsuits? A situation where it’s just not worth their time to write music and record anymore?
40 years later and these guys are still suing each other. :rolleyes:
Fogerty’s… got issues. Frankly, so does Sting. It colors my appreciation for them as artists a little. The idea that artist-geniuses walk alone and get to shit on anyone they disagree with, because art, is pretty much BS. Any artist who disses influences and co-creative help, and gets to their little pedestal on the backs of those they’ve worked with, gets an asterisk.
I have to give the Beatles credit. They had a very bitter breakup, but AFAIK didn’t sue each other. For example Paul McCartney started Wings and wasn’t sued because some of his music might have a few Beatles licks in it.
I’m not sure I agree with the premise that anyone (certainly not Fogerty) can’t make music because of lawsuits. I think what we’re really looking at are musicians who won’t set their ego aside and who won’t accept a few limitations.
Is there anyone who had a contract so bad that they couldn’t perform for anyone, in any capacity, ever?
Maybe they can’t make the exact song or style they like. Maybe they can’t use the name they want. But if they’d suck it up and move on, they’d be making music in some way under some name, even if it’s as the artist formerly known as Fogerty.
Anyway, in terms of examples:
Prince, obviously, hence the time that he used an unpronounceable character as his name.
Queesryche is going through a bitter dispute over who owns what. Their latest album, by the one member who took all the rights, has it right on the cover: F U, and nobody believes that really stands for “Frequency Unknown”.
Wow where have you been? They sued the crap out of each other. Granted it was the lawyers going to town, and they all remained friends. At that level of business the lawsuits create themselves. McCartney would have got sued if he was a plagiarist but he wasn’t at all. George got sued though for My Sweet Lord.
You know who deserves credit for not suing?: Cynthia (and Julian) Lennon. That was a hit and run by our favorite love avatar.
The Beatles had owned the trademark to “Apple Corps” and had a label “Apple Records” and in 1978 sued Apple Computer and the settled agreeing that the Beatles wouldn’t enter the computer business (don’t see much of a problem there) and that Apple wouldn’t enter the music business (umm - at the time it probably made sense).
The Beatles ended up losing (I’m not 100% sure why as I don’t totally understand the agreement or the judges decision), but a settlement was reached - some claim Apple computer ended up paying half a billion for the rights.
Guns and Roses probably would have made more albums to begin with and probably would have gotten back together for some reunion tours if not for Axl’s douchebaggery.
Singer Geoff Tate, who released the album, actually lost the lawsuit in regards to the Queensryche name, after the album was released. His band now goes by the name Operation:Mindcrime. Tate kept the rights to play Operation:Mindcrime 1 & 2 in their entirety, while the other members retained the QR brand and the rights to play songs off those albums, just not the albums in their entirety.
In the midst of a contract dispute with Warner Music, Badfinger recorded the album Head First. Warner wouldn’t accept the music due to the ongoing lawsuit, and it wasn’t officially released for 25 years. At the same time, the band was unable to even book live performances because its manager had managed to alienate every major booking agent in the UK.
A few months later, Peter Ham committed suicide. They band broke up, although there were a couple of attempts at reforming it years later.
What you say and what I remember seems to fit my original point: Fogerty could have delivered on his obligation (thereby continuing to make music), he just didn’t want to. Since he was eventually bought out of the bad contract, we know that there was a third option all along. When he did start writing songs, who’s fault was it that he produced something similar enough to his previous work to trigger a law suit?
I say this without necessarily judging who is right or wrong in the case. Still, had his only priority been making music, nothing here would have prevented him from doing it.
After Milli Vanilli were exposed, all their music immediately became out of print, permanently deleted from the record company’s catalog. Rob and Fab did put out an album they actually performed on, but it sold something like 2,000 copies even though they performed on IIRC the Arsenio Hall Show.