He's So Fined

When I walked into a bar on the Upper East Side of New York City back in December, I wasn’t anticipating a slap in the face by the hand of rock n roll history. It was cold and the wind on 1st Ave was about as bitter as the Fernet Branca behind the bar. The type of cold that numbs the cheeks so bad I probably wouldn’t have felt the slap had it been literal and not a metaphor. I wanted the only thing that could warm me up, the only thing that could take the chill off: an ice cold Stella and the golden glow of a pool table lamp.

As I became familiar with my drink and soaked in the artificial vitamin D from a stool beside the friends I’d met there, a song played through the speakers overhead and drifted through the drunken chatter. Amidst the conversations that filled the bar I heard the stomping intro of the tune, followed by a tambourine and a few guys harmonizing on some “ooo’s.” What came next was what really managed to catch my ear and pulled me out of a billiard table scanning daze. What I believe were kazoos came buzzing in to lead the song, welcoming a familiar melody into the bar. I looked to a pal and gave the universal bar room sign of “what song is this? I kinda dig it.” A bob of the head, a face of slight confusion, and a pointed finger to the sky. Before I could finish saying “What the hell is this?” I recognized the kazoo laden melody as the iconic slide guitar riff to George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord.”

No sooner than the lyrics had started, I had my phone out shamelessly Shazamming the song to see who the mastermind behind the cover was. It was a 1972 release from The Belmonts, a band known mostly for their backing role to Dion on late fifties doo-wop hits like I Wonder Why, A Teenager in Love, and plenty more. On this track Dion is nowhere to be found. Perhaps he’s not a kazoo guy.

Anybody who’s a somebody’s favorite Beatle is Ringo. That said, the team downstairs is no stranger to the idea that George Harrison had arguably the best solo career of the four lads from Liverpool. Arguably. And somehow, through the osmosis of music consumption, I had some prior knowledge of the controversy that surrounded My Sweet Lord and the lawsuit the song shrouded in holiness spurred. But it wasn’t until I had gotten home and the cover came across my shuffling music that I discovered The Belmonts’s dance back and forth between George’s lyrics and the words from “He’s So Fine” by The Chiffons. That’s when it clicked for me. Turns out when sung over the same chords, “My Sweet Lord” and “He’s So Fine” sound pretty similar; and when you replace Harrison’s famous “Hallelujah’s” with the Chiffons “Doo lang” backing vocals, it gets pretty interesting. Apparently, Bright Tunes thought so too because in February 1971, they opened a lawsuit on Harrison for copyright infringement that lasted nearly 30 years.

We did some digging and rock n roll investigative work and found that throughout the legal proceedings of Bright Tunes Music Corp. v. Harrisongs Music Ltd. both “He’s so Fine” and “My Sweet Lord” were studied at nauseam by the attorneys, jurors, judges, and those who make these complicated legal decisions. Ultimately, it was settled that Harrison was found liable for “subconscious plagiarism” in 1976, and was ordered to pay roughly $1.5M in damages. Perhaps even more interesting, is that among the music played in the court room was our new favorite cover by the Belmonts. Although the cover’s fluidity between both of the song’s lyrics dealt right into Bright Tunes’ argument, it was ultimately dismissed and not used as valuable evidence to sway the case. Worth a shot we suppose.

If you think this all ended there, you’d better fire up the turntable for a few more spins of these two songs. In 1978, Allen Klein, a former manager of Harrison’s, was looking to profit from the situation. Klein went ahead and purchased the rights to “He’s so Fine”, a move that ultimately backfired in court. Allen Klein saw Bright Tunes’ floundering financial situation and saw an opportunity to make a quick buck off of his previous client. However, given Klein’s prior relationship with Harrison and inside knowledge on the case, the judge deemed this was not fair play and by 1981, allowed Harrison to purchase the rights to the song that had caused him so many nightmares. With the help of the judge, Harrison paid a whopping $587,000 to Klein for the rights, the same amount Klein paid in 1978 preventing any profit on Klein’s behalf.

But we’re not finished yet. Following a number of appeals and an array of disputes around rights and royalties between Harrison and Klein, the case finally came to a close in 1998. A case that spanned six U.S. Presidents and four trips to the moon, finally rested with Harrison owning the American and British rights to the Chiffon’s “He’s so Fine.” The ultimate “I’ll do it myself” move.

If anything, let this be a reminder to open your ears when you’re at the bar next time. Not only will you probably hear some great side conversation, but you might also stumble onto some rock n roll history.