Prof. Longhair's Heirs Reclaim Legacy, Royalties
Submitted by N.O.V.A. July 2005
Times Picayune	06-7-1998


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After Albert Grossman, the impresario credited with shaping the early careers of Bob
Dylan, Janis Joplin and others, died en route to a 1985 music conference in France, his
widow journeyed to London's Heathrow Airport to claim his remains.

Clutched to the body, say documents filed in a recent lawsuit, were 1971 master tapes
of recordings made in Baton Rouge by Professor Longhair, patron saint of New Orleans
piano.

Two years after Grossman's death, music from those tapes turned up on the Rounder
Records album "House Party New Orleans Style." Professor Longhair, a.k.a. Henry Roeland
Byrd, had died in 1980, but this posthumous album became one of his most popular,
winning a 1987 Grammy for best traditional blues recording and selling an estimated
40,000 copies.

To date, all Longhair's heirs have to show for the album's success is the Grammy award
itself. They say not a nickel in royalties has come their way.

"It's a typical example," said entertainment lawyer Justin Zitler, "of people from out
of state coming in here and using the product of Louisiana talent without proper
compensation."

The saga of Professor Longhair hews closely to a sinister subplot of New Orleans'
storied musical heritage: Even as the music is celebrated the world over for its
richness and diversity, the artists who make it often have been ripped off.

Aaron Neville reportedly earned no money from his 1966 classic "Tell It Like It Is,"
which hit No. 2 on the national charts. Veteran R&B singer and pianist Eddie Bo has
come across new CDs in record stores bearing his name, CDs that he knew nothing about,
much less got paid for. Frustrations over bad business deals contributed to the break-
up of the original Meters.

"New Orleans has more poor rhythm and blues legends per capita than any place in the
world," Zitler said. "It's part of our charm, but it's also really sad. Professor
Longhair was possibly the most egregious example."

Longhair's heirs are in the forefront of an effort to buck that trend. In 1993, six
siblings (one of whom is now deceased) joined together in a corporation, SongByrd.
Under the guidance of Zitler and his partner, accountant Alan Godchaux, they are
reclaiming their father's legacy and tracking down money owed the estate of one of New
Orleans' greatest musicians. And in so doing, they are fine-tuning a strategy that they
hope can be brought to bear on behalf of other neglected New Orleans greats.

In five years, Longhair's intellectual property - mostly publishing and songwriter
royalties from his compositions and artist royalties from his recorded performances -
has generated nearly $1 million, including $450,000 from a music publisher who has
worked with the estates of Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley.

The Rev. Alexander Byrd, Longhair's eldest son and the president of SongByrd, credits
the efforts of Zitler and Godchaux - part accounting, part lawyering, part detective
work - for the family's good fortune.

"Justin and Alan have done this family a great favor in taking this and working it like
they have," Byrd said. "We have a great appreciation for what they have done."

*** Legends after death ***

Death can elevate a star to the status of legend. Longhair was never a bona fide star
in life, but has certainly become a legend since his passing.

Throughout the 1950s, he cut a series of singles for Atlantic Records and several
regional labels whose longterm influence far outstripped their commercial success. His
unique piano style, a rollicking combination of barrelhouse, Caribbean and second-line
rhythms, would later inspire a spectrum of talent that ranges from Fats Domino to Elton
John. Longhair wrote "Tipitina," the song for which the local music clubs are named,
and "Go to the Mardi Gras," the seminal Carnival anthem.

But by the 1960s, discouraged by his limited commercial success, he gave up music and
disappeared into obscurity, sweeping floors and working odd jobs. Then in 1971 a young
producer named Quint Davis sought him out for a then-fledgling event called the New
Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Longhair's Jazzfest performance triggered a personal and professional resurrection.
With Davis and the late Allison Miner managing his career, Longhair won more acclaim
and earned more money in his remaining nine years than he had in the whole of his life.
The "Bach of Rock" toured Europe, and became the toast of the pop world's elite,
performing at the behest of such fans as Paul McCartney and the members of Led
Zeppelin.

In January 1980, then 61, Longhair died of natural causes. Thousands of mourners filled
the streets for his jazz funeral.

His widow, Alice, tried unsuccessfully to keep track of his musical catalog, and her
death, in October 1989, only cast his affairs into further disarray. The estate's
succession dragged on, and the Byrd siblings quarrelled among themselves.

"None of us, especially me, knew anything about the music," Byrd said. "When Daddy
lived, he took care of it. When he died, whatever was being generated was through Mama.
None of the children per se were involved in the issues of music. When Mama died,
everything completely collapsed. It was almost like that was the end of the line."

Not for the music industry, however. Both in the United States and abroad, labels big
and small continued to make money by selling new and existing Longhair CDs - without
paying any royalties to the family.

*** Starting from scratch ***

Zitler and Godchaux started their campaign on behalf of SongByrd from scratch:
Searching the racks of music stores, buying copies of all the different Longhair CDs
they could find, and then contacting the companies that had released them, asking about
the money.

"The number of CDs and vinyl records released with Longhair music on them is mind-
boggling," Zitler said. "When we took it on, it was almost as if Professor Longhair had
fallen into the public domain. That was basically the attitude: 'Oh, it's Professor
Longhair. No one ever looks at these rights. Anybody can use it.'

"We had to make our way into the scene, tread carefully here, a little bit stronger
there, and recapture all of his rights. It was a long-term project that we believed in,
whether it was a little bit of money or a lot."

It was time-consuming, tedious, often frustrating work. It meant following a 40-year
paper trail of copyrights and deals through myriad twists and turns involving companies
that sometimes had shut down or been bought out.

"I had spoken to another attorney before Justin about doing some of these same things,"
Byrd said. "He told me, 'Reverend Byrd, it's out of the question. What you're talking
about is just not worth it.' "

But Zitler and Godchaux soon discovered that they had underestimated not only the
amount of work that would be required, but also the amount of money that could be
collected.

Before the formation of SongByrd in 1993, a Los Angeles film producer offered
Longhair's children $125,000 for all rights to their father's music and likeness. Most
were ready to accept, but they finally decided to hold out.

"When (the offer) was made, I felt like we would be selling a pig in a sack," Byrd
said. "We had to at least find out what we were selling. When we started scrutinizing
it, we discovered that it was worth more."

Much more, as it turned out. After solidifying Longhair's publishing catalog of 33
compositions, the estate realized $200,000 in the first two years alone.

Atlantic Records turned over $50,000 in back royalites dating to Longhair's earliest
recordings. Barclay, a French company, ponied up tens of thousands of dollars owed on
the classic Longhair album "Rock 'n Roll Gumbo." Mardi Gras Records, a local label,
paid several thousand dollars for using Longhair's version of "Big Chief" on the "Mardi
Gras In New Orleans" compilation CD.

More debts are outstanding. Longhair's "Tipitina" was included on the soundtrack to the
1987 movie "The Big Easy," which sold several hundred thousand copies. "That soundtrack
is probably the biggest-selling album of any kind that has a Longhair song on it,"
Godchaux said. "We expect to eventually collect a big chunk of money on that."

In five years, Zitler has initiated litigation only once on SongByrd's behalf: To
reclaim the tapes used for "House Party New Orleans Style."

*** Journey to Woodstock ***

In 1972, Longhair, guitarist Snooks Eaglin and manager Davis journeyed to Woodstock,
N.Y., to make a record for Grossman's Bearsville Records. But the sessions didn't go
well. Davis said the living conditions in Woodstock were primitive, and that Eaglin,
who is blind, was unnerved by the sound of falling snow.

Also, Davis said, the sidemen provided by Bearsville to accompany Eaglin and Longhair
were garden-variety rockers with no idea how to handle distinctive New Orleans rhythms.
"They had Janis Joplin's ex-sidemen thrashing away in the snow, trying to play this
music they had never heard before," Davis said.

According to Davis, he had master tapes of a 1971 Baton Rouge recording session, paid
for and produced by Davis and partner Parker Dinkins, sent to Woodstock so the New
Yorkers could hear how the music should sound. Several days later, Davis, Longhair, and
Eaglin drove to New York City, leaving the bulky boxes containing the Baton Rouge tapes
in Woodstock.

"We were living in a house with no electricity, no running water and no telephone,"
Davis said. "We got the hell out of there and went down to New York to do another
session. Why we didn't insist on going to the (Woodstock studio) vault and physically
taking those (tapes) under our arms and marching them out of the snow, was, as it turns
out, an error. We just assumed they would listen to them, maybe make a copy for the
musicians, and then send them back to us. They never did."

SongByrd maintains that Grossman ignored subsequent requests for the return of the
tapes. After Grossman's death, Bearsville licensed the masters to Rounder Records for a
reported $25,000; Rounder then issued some of the material on "House Party New Orleans
Style." Later, Bearsville licensed the masters to Rhino Records, resulting in the 1990
CD "Mardi Gras In Baton Rouge."

In August 1995, SongByrd sued Bearsville, demanding monetary damages and return of the
Baton Rouge master tapes. Bearsville contends that the company received the tapes as
compensation for the expense of the aborted Woodstock session.

"(Bearsville) essentially paid for those tapes (with) advances and expenses incurred on
behalf of Professor Longhair," said Melissa Smallacombe, Bearsville's attorney. "The
agreement between Professor Longhair and Bearsville was more than fair.

"Bearsville doesn't think they stole the tapes, and they don't think they're pulling a
fast one. Bearsville Records feels this (litigation) is an effort to take something
from them."

Initially, Bearsville argued that the statute of limitations had expired, so Longhair's
heirs could no longer make claims on the tapes.

The trial judge sided with Bearsville, but the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled that the statute of limitations didn't apply if the party possessing the tapes
hadn't given actual notice of its intention to assume ownership.

"If possession is nine tenths of the law," Zitler said, "this is the other tenth. Very
rarely will a record label come right out and say, 'Oh, by the way, we've taken this
tape from you and we intend to keep it.' "

With a final ruling expected this summer, the case is still pending. But it may already
have benefited other artists by weakening the statute of limitations.

"It's an important precedent for older artists and deceased legends, establishing their
right to not just artists' royalties, but ownership of the master tape itself," Zitler
said. "You can call up people from the classic R&B era and ask them, 'Did you sign away
your rights? Did you get anything?' To a person, they'll tell you, 'No, I'm getting
(cheated) on that.' "

*** The business of music ***

The climate of the local music business has improved in recent years. Sharks still
prowl the waters, but many artists have a better understanding of the business of their
profession. Conferences such as LMNOP, the local music confab held between the two
weekends of Jazzfest, seek to educate musicians further. Zitler is trying to finance a
pilot program that would show other attorneys how to do the work he's done on behalf of
Longhair.

Meanwhile, they continue to keep an eye on new Longhair CDs. SongByrd participated in
the production of "Fess: The Professor Longhair Anthology," a collection released by
Rhino Records in 1993. "Byrd Lives!," a 2-CD live recording drawn from several 1978
Longhair concerts, came out just before this year's Jazzfest. Zitler said the company
that released it, New York-based Nighttrain/Tuff City Records, cut a fair deal with
SongByrd.

"At least now they come to us and we work it out," Zitler said. "Now it's a lot more
civilized."

Zitler hopes the music publisher who recently bought the Longhair catalog aggressively
markets those songs for use in television and movies, and convinces established stars
such as Harry Connick Jr. and Dr. John to re-record them. Also, a Longhair biography is
in the works, and there is talk of a movie with Lou Gossett Jr. in the title role.

All of these projects generate royalities for the family and expose Longhair's genius
to a wider audience.

"With a deceased legend, getting the business end straight actually brings him into the
light," Zitler said. "People in the business know where to go to do new releases or to
honor him - it's not all fragmented.

"I'm thrilled at what we've done so far, and we've got a lot more to do."