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

[David Lennick]

Interesting that Nat Shapiro's Popular Music books list only Taylor and Lane as 
composers, and the song being published in 1948. The Variety book doesn't list 
it at all, so I presume it's non-ASCAP.

dl

On 12/17/2012 9:32 AM, Kristjan Saag wrote:
> The court has probably decided long ago. The article was from 1997.
> Kristjan
>
>
> On 2012-12-17 14:38, Jeff Sultanof wrote:
>> 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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