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STRATEGY FOR THE DAY: be filled with optimism

I noticed a fascinating short article in the Quick Takes section of L.A. Times about a recent find of Beatles tapes, lyrics, and memorabilia. This is like winning the lottery except that it arrives with a ton of legal limbo attached! One of my songwriting students sent me the following from Earthlink's news page. It's pretty much the same as the Times article:

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LONDON - All you need is luck.

A vacationer who purchased a suitcase at an Australian flea market found a trove of Beatles memorabilia inside, including photos, concert programs and unreleased recordings, The Times newspaper reported Tuesday.

While the materials have yet to be authenticated, some experts believe the collection is the lost "Mal Evans archive," originally belonging to the Beatles' roadie and sound recordist.

Evans was killed by police in Los Angeles in 1976 after he had brandished a fake gun. The contents of the suitcase were lost during the police investigation, The Times said.

Fraser Claughton, 41, from Tinkerton, England, found the suitcase in a small town outside of Melbourne, The Times said. Realizing the suitcase was not empty, he bought it for about $36.

"It's like finding the end of the rainbow in Australia," The Times quoted Claughton as saying. "I spotted one tatty old suitcase, which frankly I wouldn't have given house room, but when I picked it up there was something in it."

The 4 1/2 hour reel-to-reel tape recording includes John Lennon and Paul McCartney experimenting with alternative versions of some previously unrecorded tracks. The collection also includes previously unknown versions of new recordings of "We Can Work It Out" and "Cry Baby Cry."

The tapes, labeled "Abbey Road... not for release," will be evaluated by the Beatles' record label, Apple, and examined by experts to determine their origin and authenticity.

"With the exception of (two tracks) it sounds very exciting indeed," memorabilia consultant and Beatles specialist Peter Doggett told The Times.

A spokeswoman for Christie's said while the auction house has had no contact with the collection as of yet, there is "Beatles memorabilia in every pop memorabilia sale - it's very popular."

In 1998, a notebook compiled by Evans, containing draft lyrics for "Hey Jude" and "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," sold for $185,000 at a London auction.

A year earlier, McCartney obtained an injunction to prevent Evans' widow from selling a scrap of paper with the original lyrics to "With a Little Help From My Friends."

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So let the legal wrangling begin! First, note that a piece of paper with handwritten lyrics on it has multiple owners: The tourist who bought the suitcase owns a piece of paper. The publisher and songwriters own the words on the piece of paper. Work it out, folks.

The tapes are labeled "Abbey Road... not for release," so does anyone then have the right to sell them? Or release them?

Because of the enormous value of the contents, we are ensured of a lengthy, expensive, and very interesting court battle. Can't wait!!!

I've been hugely busy...

Yesterday's workshop at El Camino College had some great class participation with students suggesting song in various sontemporary song forms I hadn't even thought of. I've been using "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls (John Reznik is the writer) as an example of the oldest song form (verse / verse / verse / verse, etc.) given a contemporary twist by raising one of the verses up an octave, thereby functioning as a chorus. One of my students pointed out that Billy Joel's "Piano Man" did the same thing. And he was right! A lot of fun, a lot of energy, I had a great time.

I have another wonderful group of students in my four-week class. Last session coming up this Tuesday eve. Enormous range of experience and music styles but everyone is excited and participating. Student songs are strong. One student went through the five tracks on the class CD and wrote lyrics to all. Another gal has an astonishingly good voice and honest, deeply-felt songs. I'd love to see her write (or get hold of) a couple songs with potential for airplay; I think she could go far. Yet another gal already has a commercial record release with her twin sister. She played a killah track in class and everyone was blown away. Also have a guy who was writing in the early 1960's, had songs covered, drifted away for a time and is getting back into it. Very good stuff all the way around. I'm loving it!

Read A Brief History Of Love Songs by Robin Frederick at the Sound Experience Music web site.

Copyright 2004 Robin Frederick. All rights reserved.