Good Luck Charm Copyright Dispute

[poormadpeter]

Another variety article - sadly there was no follow-up that I could find to say how the case ended up being settled.

Variety Good Luck Charm march 14 1962 55.JPG

[Mister Moon]

Thanks for the post, poormadpeter.

This is from Alan Hanson's excellent website :

Early in its chart run, however, Good Luck Charm became involved in legal wranglings that would have future consequences for Elvis. Variety reported on the legal issues as follows in its March 14, 1962, issue:

“There’s a legal hassle in the making over ownership of ‘Good Luck Charm,’ latest Elvis Presley release on the RCA Victor label. Aaron Schroeder, who wrote the song with Wally Gold, says it’s owned by his Arch Music firm, while attorney Lewis A. Dreyer says it belongs in Presley’s Gladys Music firm. According to Dreyer, cleffers who’ve written songs for Presley in the past (including Schroeder) have signed contracts that any song they submit, if recorded by Presley, belongs to the singer’s publishing company.

“In the case of ‘Good Luck Charm,’ which was recorded by Presley about five months ago, a notice of copyright was filed by Gladys Music. Almost simultaneously, Schroeder … filed a notice of copyright for his Arch Music firm. There’s a heated controversy going on now as to who actually has the rights to ‘Good Luck Charm.’ But, in the meantime, Victor has been shipping the disk with the Gladys credit on the label.”

• Composer Schroeder refused Colonel Parker’s extortion demand

The bottom line was that Schroeder, who in the past had complied with Colonel Parker’s requirement that composers sign over the publishing rights to their songs recorded by Presley to the singer’s publishing company, was no longer willing to do so. Schroeder, who composed hundreds of songs, many recorded by other top artists— including Roy Orbison, Duane Eddy, Sammy Davis Jr., Nat King Cole, Perry Como, and Pat Boone—decided he was going to retain the publishing rights to Good Luck Charm.

The dispute over Good Luck Charm reached the courts in May 1962. By that time, Presley’s Gladys Music had filed a second infringement suit against Schroeder and Gold and Arch Music over an answer record to Good Luck Charm, titled, Don’t Want to Be Another Good Luck Charm, released by Judy and Jo. Schroeder’s Arch Music had licensed the answer song’s recordings rights to Capitol Records, against which Gladys Music also filed a lawsuit.

Regardless of which side won in court, the dispute over the publishing rights to Good Luck Charm resulted in Aaron Schroeder never again writing a song for Elvis Presley to record. Soon thereafter other composers, including Leiber and Stoller, Pomus and Shuman, and Otis Blackwell, all past providers of hit tunes for Elvis, either stopped or only infrequently provided songs to Presley.

• Elvis lost his stable of hit-writing composers

The consequence for Presley was that the recording material available to him deteriorated in quality through most of the 1960s. For the most part, RCA found itself issuing as Presley singles inferior movie soundtrack songs, past LP cuts, and rejected tunes from past recording sessions. The result was that Elvis tumbled in the charts. And it all happened because in 1962 Aaron Schroeder drew a line in the sand over Good Luck Charm.

****More here :

http://www.elvis-history-blog.com/good-luck-charm.html

[George Smith]

Thanks for both posts, gents: I think I already knew about this in a general sense.

The wheels were just about starting to come off the wagon at this time.

Did mega-talented Schroeder continue to have major hits with other artists post-Elvis?

[Mister Moon]

620415 -.JPG

[poormadpeter]

Thanks for the post, poormadpeter.

This is from Alan Hanson's excellent website :

Early in its chart run, however, Good Luck Charm became involved in legal wranglings that would have future consequences for Elvis. Variety reported on the legal issues as follows in its March 14, 1962, issue:

“There’s a legal hassle in the making over ownership of ‘Good Luck Charm,’ latest Elvis Presley release on the RCA Victor label. Aaron Schroeder, who wrote the song with Wally Gold, says it’s owned by his Arch Music firm, while attorney Lewis A. Dreyer says it belongs in Presley’s Gladys Music firm. According to Dreyer, cleffers who’ve written songs for Presley in the past (including Schroeder) have signed contracts that any song they submit, if recorded by Presley, belongs to the singer’s publishing company.

“In the case of ‘Good Luck Charm,’ which was recorded by Presley about five months ago, a notice of copyright was filed by Gladys Music. Almost simultaneously, Schroeder … filed a notice of copyright for his Arch Music firm. There’s a heated controversy going on now as to who actually has the rights to ‘Good Luck Charm.’ But, in the meantime, Victor has been shipping the disk with the Gladys credit on the label.”

• Composer Schroeder refused Colonel Parker’s extortion demand

The bottom line was that Schroeder, who in the past had complied with Colonel Parker’s requirement that composers sign over the publishing rights to their songs recorded by Presley to the singer’s publishing company, was no longer willing to do so. Schroeder, who composed hundreds of songs, many recorded by other top artists— including Roy Orbison, Duane Eddy, Sammy Davis Jr., Nat King Cole, Perry Como, and Pat Boone—decided he was going to retain the publishing rights to Good Luck Charm.

The dispute over Good Luck Charm reached the courts in May 1962. By that time, Presley’s Gladys Music had filed a second infringement suit against Schroeder and Gold and Arch Music over an answer record to Good Luck Charm, titled, Don’t Want to Be Another Good Luck Charm, released by Judy and Jo. Schroeder’s Arch Music had licensed the answer song’s recordings rights to Capitol Records, against which Gladys Music also filed a lawsuit.

Regardless of which side won in court, the dispute over the publishing rights to Good Luck Charm resulted in Aaron Schroeder never again writing a song for Elvis Presley to record. Soon thereafter other composers, including Leiber and Stoller, Pomus and Shuman, and Otis Blackwell, all past providers of hit tunes for Elvis, either stopped or only infrequently provided songs to Presley.

• Elvis lost his stable of hit-writing composers

The consequence for Presley was that the recording material available to him deteriorated in quality through most of the 1960s. For the most part, RCA found itself issuing as Presley singles inferior movie soundtrack songs, past LP cuts, and rejected tunes from past recording sessions. The result was that Elvis tumbled in the charts. And it all happened because in 1962 Aaron Schroeder drew a line in the sand over Good Luck Charm.

****More here :

http://www.elvis-history-blog.com/good-luck-charm.html

Great stuff.

[Mister Moon]

..
Jo (of Judy & Jo) - "Don't Wanna Be Another Good Luck Charm" - Capitol single 4745 - Released April 1962.

Capitol 4745.JPG

[charro1971]

Could this be the reason why Elvis never sang this great song live?

(Good Luck Charm was a number 1 hit on both sides of the Atlantic, wasn't it?)

[George Smith]

Could this be the reason why Elvis never sang this great song live?

Perhaps but unlikely: Vegas Elvis generally seemed to overlook his early - mid 60s output.

Yes, there were exceptions, but that's my impression.

[brian]

Did mega-talented Schroeder continue to have major hits with other artists post-Elvis?

He wrote a #12 hit in late 62 for Gene Pitney called ''Half heaven-half heartache''.

I think that was the only one so it didn't hurt Elvis that much.

[brian]

Could this be the reason why Elvis never sang this great song live?

(Good Luck Charm was a number 1 hit on both sides of the Atlantic, wasn't it?)

No.

''Good luck charm'' was very dated by the late 1960s and 1970s.

[jurasic1968]

But instead he could sing live Little Sister, Feel so Bad, Return to Sender in 1969.

[londonflash]

Could this be the reason why Elvis never sang this great song live?

Perhaps but unlikely: Vegas Elvis generally seemed to overlook his early - mid 60s output.

Yes, there were exceptions, but that's my impression.

More's the pity, in my opinion.

[poormadpeter]

Could this be the reason why Elvis never sang this great song live?

Perhaps but unlikely: Vegas Elvis generally seemed to overlook his early - mid 60s output.

Yes, there were exceptions, but that's my impression.

More's the pity, in my opinion.

It's not really true, to be honest. Are You Lonesome Tonight, It's Now or Never, Can't Help Falling in Love, Little Sister, Reconsider Baby, Fever, Hawaiian Wedding Song, and What'd I Say were all included in live shows. The early 60s hits such as Stuck on You, Good Luck Charm and She's Not You haven't aged very well, and certainly weren't particularly apt for a man approaching forty. These hits may have been professional and slick, but they were also pure pop and very much of their time. Considering Elvis only recorded three secular non-soundtrack albums in the early 60s, it seems like a fair ratio to make it to live performances.

[George Smith]

Could this be the reason why Elvis never sang this great song live?

Perhaps but unlikely: Vegas Elvis generally seemed to overlook his early - mid 60s output.

Yes, there were exceptions, but that's my impression.

More's the pity, in my opinion.

It's not really true, to be honest.

Which is the bit that's not really true, Peter?

[poormadpeter]

Could this be the reason why Elvis never sang this great song live?

Perhaps but unlikely: Vegas Elvis generally seemed to overlook his early - mid 60s output.

Yes, there were exceptions, but that's my impression.

More's the pity, in my opinion.

It's not really true, to be honest.

Which is the bit that's not really true, Peter?

That the early 60s output was especially overlooked - or certainly not as overlooked as is often suggested. Many of those songs had simply dated very quickly, but at least he found eight or so become live regulars or semi-regulars. Most of his output during this period were soundtracks after all. A song like I Feel So Bad probably wouldn't have fitted Elvis's voice by the 1970s, and His Latest Flame (for example) is hardly a dynamic song for the kind of stage performance Elvis put together. There are songs that could have been naturals (A Mess of Blues being an obvious example), but I don't think the fact that he didn't sing Good Luck Charm or She's Not You on stage is a great loss - and they're the type of songs that probably would accompanied a handing out of scarves even if they did get included.

[George Smith]

I would suggest that the early 60s was overlooked when compared to the 50s.

If we take Summer 54 - Summer 58 and compare it to Early 60 - Early 64 we find these two lists:

1. That’s All Right
2. Mystery Train
3. Trying To Get To You
4. I Got A Woman
5. Heartbreak Hotel
6. Blue Suede Shoes
7. My Baby Left me
8. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy
9. Hound Dog
10. Don’t Be Cruel
11. Love Me Tender
12. Love Me
13. Long Tall Sally
14. All Shook Up
15. Teddy Bear
16. One Night
17. Jailhouse Rock
18. Blue Christmas
19. Trouble
20. A Big Hunk O’ Love

1. Fever
2. It’s Now Or Never
3. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
4. Reconsider Baby
5. Hawaiian Wedding Song
6. Can’t Help Falling In Love
7. Little Sister
8. What’d I Say

There are some excellent early 60s songs that could have worked well within the 1970's set lists, but it's all academic now anyway.

Just my opinion, as always.

[poormadpeter]

I would suggest that the early 60s was overlooked when compared to the 50s.

If we take Summer 54 - Summer 58 and compare it to Early 60 - Early 64 we find these two lists:

1. That’s All Right
2. Mystery Train
3. Trying To Get To You
4. I Got A Woman
5. Heartbreak Hotel
6. Blue Suede Shoes
7. My Baby Left me
8. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy
9. Hound Dog
10. Don’t Be Cruel
11. Love Me Tender
12. Love Me
13. Long Tall Sally
14. All Shook Up
15. Teddy Bear
16. One Night
17. Jailhouse Rock
18. Blue Christmas
19. Trouble
20. A Big Hunk O’ Love

1. Fever
2. It’s Now Or Never
3. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
4. Reconsider Baby
5. Hawaiian Wedding Song
6. Can’t Help Falling In Love
7. Little Sister
8. What’d I Say

There are some excellent early 60s songs that could have worked well within the 1970's set lists, but it's all academic now anyway.

Just my opinion, as always.

Yes, that's true. There were some classic 60s songs that could have made it, but there were classic 50s songs that could have made it too. There were around 113 songs recorded in the 1950s, but only around 70 secular non-soundtrack recordings in the 60s - and many of those were second-rate songs or completely inappropriate for a live show (pretty much all the "lost album", and pretty much all of Pot Luck).

No doubt Elvis could have worked some of his singles from the 60s into a live show - but not that many. Bossa Nova Baby? Kissin' Cousins? One Broken Heart? Sure Devil in Disguise might have worked, but that's really the only early 60s hit that wasn't performed that could have worked well given the show Elvis wanted.

While album tracks like I Want You With Me, I'm Coming Home, It Hurts Me, There's Always Me and others could have worked - what could he have done with Kiss Me Quick, Just For Ol' Times Sake, For the Millionth and the Last Time, Please Don't Drag That String Around, Finders Keepers Losers Weepers or Fountain of Love? Sadly, after 1960, those were the types of wishy-washy songs that dominated his early 60s output. Given the percentage of the 60s tracks that were viable propositions for the live shows, I'd say he chose a fair amount.

We also need to remember that Elvis's voice during the early 60s was a finely-tuned, pliable, gorgeous instrument that made those mediocre songs sound MUCH better than they were. By 1970 the voice was heavier and far less pliable and with that dulcet-toned high register from the early 60s completely gone. Without that sound those songs were nothing - most of them were nothing to start with, Elvis just made them sound good because of his beautiful voice during that period.

[George Smith]

Thank you for your response, Peter.

Your presentation of the numbers seems a little unfair: you estimate the 60s secular non-movie tracks at about 70 (agreed) but then list every 1950s recording regardless of genre. Subtract the 50s movie songs, the Gospel and Christmas songs and the number comes down from 113 to ... about 70, and Elvis chose 15 songs from that list.

And we both know Elvis' catalogue well enough to be able to suggest many songs from the 50s that would be at least as inappropriate as "Kiss Me Quick" and "Bossa Nova Baby".

Just working from the singles alone, any of the following could have been revived during the 70s: "Stuck On You", "Fame And Fortune", "A Mess Of Blues", "Surrender", "I Feel So Bad", "His Latest Flame", "Devil In Disguise", "Witchcraft" and "It Hurts Me".

If he could bring in "Hawaiian Wedding Song" then I have no problem with the above list.

Stepping into the next logical period of his studio work (1966-1968) we see that he recorded just 16 secular non-movie tracks, four of which (plus one Gospel song) found their way into his set -- that's a significant percentage.

I maintain that Elvis seemed to overlook his early 60s work on the 70s concert stage: again, just my opinion.

[poormadpeter]

Thank you for your response, Peter.

Your presentation of the numbers seems a little unfair: you estimate the 60s secular non-movie tracks at about 70 (agreed) but then list every 1950s recording regardless of genre. Subtract the 50s movie songs, the Gospel and Christmas songs and the number comes down from 113 to ... about 70, and Elvis chose 15 songs from that list.

And we both know Elvis' catalogue well enough to be able to suggest many songs from the 50s that would be at least as inappropriate as "Kiss Me Quick" and "Bossa Nova Baby".

Just working from the singles alone, any of the following could have been revived during the 70s: "Stuck On You", "Fame And Fortune", "A Mess Of Blues", "Surrender", "I Feel So Bad", "His Latest Flame", "Devil In Disguise", "Witchcraft" and "It Hurts Me".

If he could bring in "Hawaiian Wedding Song" then I have no problem with the above list.

Stepping into the next logical period of his studio work (1966-1968) we see that he recorded just 16 secular non-movie tracks, four of which (plus one Gospel song) found their way into his set -- that's a significant percentage.

I maintain that Elvis seemed to overlook his early 60s work on the 70s concert stage: again, just my opinion.

Yes, but the 60s soundtracks were hardly of the same quality as the 50s soundtracks. There are probably only about ten movie songs from the 50s that wouldn't have worked on stage. That's not the same for the early 60s. As for missing hits, there are for more from the 50s that never made the cut for some reason: Too Much, I Want You I Need You I Love You, Treat Me Nice, Don't, Wear My Ring Around Your Neck, A Fool Such As I, I Got Stung, Loving You, Hard Headed Woman etc. Sadly, no matter what the era, he was determined to leave his hits out of the show or throw them away!

[George Smith]

Yes, but the 60s soundtracks were hardly of the same quality as the 50s soundtracks. There are probably only about ten movie songs from the 50s that wouldn't have worked on stage. That's not the same for the early 60s.

Agreed, but for the 20 or so 50s movie songs that could have been used there are also perhaps 20 or so early 60s movie songs that could have been used.

Either way, this is a discussion which won't really go anywhere ... so I'll bid you a happy Easter, Peter, and leave it at that!

[Jim Dandy]

Elvis was just not reflective which was great in a lot, but not all, cases.
It seems he never reviewed his body of work to consider what worked in the past.
I wonder if her ever saw all of his 50s/'60 TV work. Perhaps he did and simply dismissed it hoping he had improved since those times.


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