[Dixielandjazz] Record Company Screw-ups

[Stephen G Barbone]

On Nov 23, 2010, at 10:35 PM, Bert Brandsma wrote: (polite snip)

> But they had to fight for that as well. Take the daughter of Kid Ory  
> who went to court for a hit based on Muskrat Ramble. The judge said  
> that musically she was right, but was to late to claim and got  
> nothing. Although that never was written in the law books.

Yes indeed, Babette Ory waited too long to sue and the judge threw the  
case out under the Doctrine of Laches. This doctrine is not statutory  
as Bert says, but it is often enforced.

The basic defense of laches is used when the defendant, Country Joe  
MacDonald of Country Joe and the Fish, claimed that he had admitted to  
Kid Ory that he took a chorus of Ory's Muskrat Ramble and used it in  
an anti war song back in the 1960s called "Feel Like I'm Fixin to Die."

You can hear what he stole, starting with; "And It's One two three  
what are we fighting for" at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBdeCxJmcAo

Kid Ory was incensed BUT he never sued. Couple of decades later Ory  
was dead and his daughter sued, aftere registering the copyright in  
her name in 2001. The latches defense won, in part because Country Joe  
would have been adversely harmed if he had to pay damages every time  
the song had been played since Kid Ory first complained about it. The  
judge said Kid Ory should have sued when he had the chance.

In effect Laches is like a statue of limitations except that it is not  
a statute but derives from British Common Law. In effect it says the  
law will protect the vigilant, but not those who procrastinate. It is  
usually applied in Courts of Equity.

My band does a lot of gigs for regular folks who are not particularly  
Dixieland Jazz Fans. We just about always play Muskrat Ramble and when  
we get to the chorus, all of a sudden folks start dancing and singing  
"One Two Three, What Are We Fighting For." Some come up and say, we  
didn't know Jazz Bands played songs by Country Joe and the Fish.

It may be an old warhorse tune for "fans" but it is a protest song for  
those who grew up during the Vietnam War.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband