[78-L] 78-L Digest, Vol 51, Issue 22 -" Everybody loves Somebody"

[Jeff Sultanof]

Unfortunately, my copy of Coslow's autobiography is in storage. Does anyone
have access to a copy? Does he bring this up?

Midnight Moon may not have been published. Sam was a great salesman of his
own music, and perhaps he played the melody for Ken Lane. Lane was all over
Hollywood as a vocal coach at the time; he was also on the radio as a vocal
group leader. By all accounts, he was a nice guy and not a crook; this is
certainly not a scenario where a song was simply stolen, or the artist had
his name attached to get royalties.

I think the court will probably side with Coslow's daughter.

Jeff Sultanof

On Mon, Dec 17, 2012 at 5:45 AM, Kristjan Saag <saag at telia.com> wrote:

> And the interesting thing is how Ken Lane got to be the composer...
> Kristjan
> --
> On 2012-12-17 11:25, Nigel Burlinson wrote:
> > John:
> >
> > Here's the answer:
> >
> > SAME OLD SONG: A New York music company is asking a Superior Court judge
> in
> > Los Angeles to review a 47-year-old case and declare that the wife of
> > composer Sam Coslow is no longer entitled to royalties from the 1960s
> Dean
> > Martin hit "Everybody Loves Somebody."
> >
> > Coslow, who died in 1982, got his start on Tin Pan Alley, and some of his
> > songs became well-known standards for such artists as Bing Crosby, Billie
> > Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and Spike Jones. He even won an
> > Academy Award as the producer of a short film featuring Groucho Marx and
> > Carmen Miranda.
> >
> > At issue is an agreement reached between Coslow and two lyricists in
> 1950 to
> > split royalties from "Everybody Loves Somebody." A court fight determined
> > that Coslow wrote the melody during the 1920s, only he called his song
> > "Midnight Moon." Ken Land and Irving Taylor penned the now-familiar
> lyrics.
> >
> > Sands Music Corp., which according to the suit obtained "Everybody Loves
> > Somebody" from Sinatra Songs Inc., claims that the copyright to "Midnight
> > Moon" expired on Dec. 31, 1995. Therefore, the company no longer wants to
> > pay royalties to Coslow's heirs.
> >
> > But the copyright held by the two lyricists still has years to go, and
> > Coslow's daughter thinks it's unfair that two men who slapped some words
> > onto her father's song should receive all the royalties.
> >
> > But fair or unfair, "that's the way we interpreted the agreement," said
> > Sands' lawyer, David S. Olson. "We're just asking the court to tell us
> what
> > to do."
> >
> > Coslow's daughter, Cara, says the copyright's clock should have started
> > ticking for everyone in 1950--when they signed the agreement splitting
> the
> > royalties.
> >
> > "They took a song and attached different lyrics to it," Coslow said. "I
> > could add lyrics to 'Rhapsody in Blue' tomorrow and it would still be
> > 'Rhapsody in Blue.' "
> >
> > Coslow, who is director of casting at Carsey-Werner in Studio City,
> insisted
> > that everyone is still singing the same old song. "I can give you all our
> > records,' she said. "I'll show you the sheet music. I'll even hum a few
> bars
> > for you."
> >
> > As for "Everybody Loves Somebody," its latest incarnation was as a jingle
> > for Western Union commercials. The lyrics went something like this:
> > "Everybody needs some money sometime." Try singing that to "Rhapsody in
> > Blue."
> >
> >
> >
> > (taken from "The Los Angeles Times"" August 3 1997)
> >
> >
> >
> > I found no recordings of "Midnight Moon" and it's not listed on his ASCAP
> > file!
> >
> > Nigel Burlinson (burlinson at orange.fr)
> >
> >
> >
> >> Message: 14
> >> Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2012 20:04:58 +1100
> >> From: "John Rogers" <johnhrogers at optusnet.com.au>
> >> Subject: [78-L] Everybody Loves Somebody question
> >> To: <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> >> Message-ID: <000001cddc35$9a81fd00$cf85f700$@com.au>
> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> >>
> >> Everybody Loves Somebody (Sometime) was published in 1947 and recorded
> by
> >> Frank Sinatra.  It was successfully revived by Dean Martin in 1964 and
> was
> >> used as the theme of Martin's television series.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Sheet music from 1947 and 1964 shows words by Irving Taylor and music by
> >> Ken
> >> Lane.  However, a number of internet sites including the ASCAP database
> >> credit Sam Coslow as co-lyricist.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> I would appreciate it if anyone can explain how Coslow was added to the
> >> lyric credits.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> TIA
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> John Rogers
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> *****
> >
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> >
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