[Dixielandjazz] Re:was/ODJB/ Now Song Borrowing!

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/17/03 6:22:18 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
barbonestreet at earthlink.net writes:

> That kind of thing was/is quite common in jazz. W. C. Handy has been 
> accused of
> "stealing" many of the Blues he copyrighted, including St. Louis Blues. And
> through the years, many such accusations are made essentially that the folks
> who copyrighted the tunes were just smart enough to claim composer credit 
> first
> and that many of the tunes were being played previously in part or entirely 
> by
> other bands and could be classified as "traditional"
> 
> 
Folks I spent about 10 hours a day or more this weekend listening to 
Dixieland CDs of various groups, and unless my ears are really playing games on me, I 
distinctly heard the melody lines for many Broadway musical hits.

While listening to tunes like Alabama Jubilee, and others I could actually 
sing along the lyrics from Broadway productions with the music.

Could it be that publishers like Gershwin and others took borrowing liberties 
of Dixieland melodies to write their masterpieces and hits?

I will listen to these CDs again and make a list of the songs I hear if 
anyone is interested, or thinks I have just lost my mind.

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins