To Enlighten Mr. Fang

[Bradchevy@aol.com]

On Tue, 19 Mar 1996 13:25:50 -0500 WFang01@aol.com posted (regarding Paul
McCartney's non-ownership of his own songs):

>>How did he "lose" the rights in the first place? a) sold them  b) never had
them  c) didn't feel like paying for them when MJ bought them??? BTW, MJ
should have GIVEN Them away for free after "Say, Say, Say"...<<

  Since Mr. Fang has frequently enlightened me on things Who-ish, allow me to
enrich his Beatle knowledge with a brief overview of the situation.

  The correct answer is d) none of the above. Lennon and McCartney were
minority partners in Northern Songs which published their compositions (and,
unlike most of the musicians of their day, were lucky to even have that
much). The majority owner was music publisher Dick James, who sold out his
controlling interest behind their back for vast sums of moolah without giving
L&McC the opportunity to make an offer. When the new owners put the catalog
up for sale again, McCartney suggested to Yoko Oh-no that they make a bid to
return ownership back to Lennon & McCartney. He was ready, she said "hold on,
I think we can get it for less" and then Whacko Jacko made off with it with
an outrageously high bid.

  So a) is not correct because HE wasn't the one who sold them,  b) is not
correct because he owned a PORTION of them and c) is incorrect because he
wanted to buy them but honorably felt the songs should return to McCartney
AND Lennon and made the proposal to do that very thing before Joke-o blew the
deal.

  And now we move on to the essay portion of our exam........