Saul Zaentz passes away, John Fogerty probably doesn't shed a tear.

Steely Dan

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The saddest story in rock
In 1988 John Fogerty was sued for plagiarising his own songs. Adam Sweeting talks to the Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman about 12 years of bitter legal battles
Adam Sweeting
The Guardian, Monday 10 July 2000 21.17 EDT

..."I have had a lot of trouble with Fantasy Records. " Fogerty told me while promoting the release of Blue Moon Swamp. "In 1988 I had to go through a plagiarism trial where I was sued for sounding like myself, and people tell me this was unprecedented. I spent more than three years trying to resolve these issues, but sadly it didn't work."

In the bizarre self-plagiarism case, Fantasy and its boss Saul Zaentz claimed that Fogerty's 1985 song Old Man Down the Road was merely his old Creedence song, Run Through the Jungle, with a new title. The label wouldn't have been able to bring the suit if Fogerty hadn't sold them the rights to his old material, something any aspiring pop star would be strenuously advised not to do in these more artist friendly days. Fogerty won the case, but then had to jump through further legal hoops to win back $1.35m dollars in costs. ...



What labels used to do to artists back in the sixties was disgusting. I bet Fogerty isn't shedding a tear. JMO

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/01/arts/music/01foge.html?_r=0

John Fogerty Is Closer to Peace With a Label

By ANTHONY DeCURTIS
Published: November 1, 2005

Battles between artists and record labels are as old as the history of recorded music, but rarely has the tension between art and commerce grown as personal as in John Fogerty's epic struggle with Fantasy Records and its longtime owner, Saul Zaentz, over the lucrative catalog of songs that Mr. Fogerty wrote for Creedence Clearwater Revival in the late 60's. That cache of roots-rock gems, including "Proud Mary," "Who'll Stop the Rain" and "Fortunate Son," was the focus of decades of vindictive lawsuits, artistic paralysis, bitter denunciations and even desperate fraternal warfare....

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...Lawsuits flew around all these issues - the members of Creedence won a significant judgment in the tax-shelter case, for example. But none of those actions match the Dickensian flair of Mr. Zaentz's allegation that Mr. Fogerty's song "The Old Man Down the Road," from his 1985 album "Centerfield," was an illegal remake of Creedence's "Run Through the Jungle," one of the songs to which Mr. Zaentz owned the copyright. Essentially, Mr. Zaentz sued Mr. Fogerty for plagiarizing himself - to the tune of $140 million. Of course, Mr. Fogerty had provoked Mr. Zaentz with two thinly disguised attacks on the album: "Mr. Greed" and "Zanz Kant Dance"...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAEd_U7TEEM"]john fogerty-ZANZ KANT DANZ(rare!!!) - YouTube[/ame]
 

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