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Hall of Fame - "Truth In Music" Segment 11/30/07
  
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Doo Wop Singers to Imposters: & 'Enough!' - Doo Wop Controversy
Jon (BOWZER) Bauman
Vocal Group Hall of Fame
TRUTH IN MUSIC
Committee Chairman
Some good news going into the weekend:
Governor Pawlenty
of Minnesota signed
Truth in Music
into law today,
bringing our total to four new states completed
in '08.
They are Indiana, Mississippi, Colorado and Minnesota.
Our Maryland bill is on
Governor O'Malley's desk
and we are trying to arrange
a bill signing ceremony shortly.
Vermont has now passed both the House and the Senate.
They have to reconcile a
minor amendment and then
we will
be on
the Gov's desk
for signature. We expect Ohio and Rhode
Island to
continue moving along normally.
If they pass this session we
will be law in 26 states
over
half the country!!!
______________________
The Truth in Music Law
is designed to stop unscrupulous concert
promoters
from deceiving the public with“impostor groups” which have
no connection,
legal
or otherwise, to the
authentic groups.
Fundamentally, this is a consumer protection bill,
as the public
pays
hard-
earned money
to see a show and has no idea what it’s even
getting.
The bill makes it mandatory for a live performance to include at
least one
recording
member of
the group who still has the right to use
the group name.
Otherwise,
the act must
be billed as a “tribute” or a
“salute”
so that the public knows what it’s paying for.
An ancillary effect of this
bill is to help the authentic artists themselves,
who have been
struggling
for many years to try to stop impostors to no avail.
The impostor groups
take
their jobs,
their money, their legacy and their applause.
The bill is necessary because existing law has completely failed to work and
impostor groups
have multiplied. There may be as many as
50 groups of “Coasters”
and “Platters” performed nationwide, often at the same time in different venues.
The bill shifts the burden to those groups to prove that they actually have rights
to the group
names.
The specific guidelines the bill provides give clarity to venues
as
to whom to book,
and to
the state attorney general’s office as to what
constitutes a violation.
This is much more efficient and cost-effective than
any other way of
dealing
with
this very specialized area.
"Truth In Music" Has Arrived! The Truth In Music Bill was created to protect the
artists from Identity theft
and to protect the Consumer from being mis-lead to believe they are seeing the legendary artists that made the hits
songs famous,
when in
fact they are not.
The Truth in Music Law
is designed to stop unscrupulous concert promoters
from deceiving the public with “impostor groups” which have no connection, legal
or otherwise, to the
authentic groups.
Fundamentally, this is a consumer protection bill,
as the public pays hard-earned money to see a show and has no idea what it’s
even getting. The bill makes it mandatory for a live performance to include at
least one recording member of the group who still has the right to use the group name. Otherwise, the act must be billed as a “tribute” or a “salute” so that the public knows what it’s paying for.
An ancillary effect of this
bill is to help the authentic artists themselves,
who have been struggling for many years to try to stop impostors to
no avail. The impostor groups take their jobs, their money,
their legacy
and their applause.
The bill is necessary because existing law has completely failed to work
and impostor groups have multiplied.
There may be as many as
50 groups of “Coasters”
and “Platters” performed nationwide,
often at the same time in different venues.
The bill shifts the burden to those groups to prove that they
actually have rights to the group names. The specific guidelines the
bill
provides
give clarity to venues as
to whom to book, and to
the state attorney general’s office as to what constitutes
a violation.
This is much more efficient and cost-effective than any other way of
dealing
with this very specialized area.
Because of the above, we have passed 22 states so far, including
NY, CA, FL, NV, TN, TX, MO, PA, NJ, MI, MA,
CT,
IL,
IN,
WI, VA, ME, CO, MS, MN,
including
SC, and ND.
Thanks again for all your help!
Jon "Bowzer" Bauman
Chair, Truth in Music Committee
Vocal Group Hall of Fame
South Carolina Bill Amended
Existing Law to be Amended - North Dakota
Sun Feb 10, 2008 at 06:00 AM MST
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 Tomorrow, "Bowzer," the deep-voiced leader of the band Sha Na Na --
you know, the greaser who does the arm thing -- will be at Colorado's Capitol.
Expect to see lawmakers, maybe Dianne Primavera and Ray Rose, doo-woppping
around the joint. "You have to have one fun bill a year," explains Rep. Jim Riesberg,
who is pushing a "Truth in Music" proposal. |
| Cara DeGette :: Doo-Wop Colorado: Pol On 'Truth In Music' Quest |
 Riesberg wants Colorado to join 18 other states with a law targeting fake bands and musicians. His idea initially came from a constituent, he says, who came to him after a sell-out performance of a well-known band that filled the civic center in Greeley, which Riesberg, a Democrat, represents.
"[This constituent] was a real fan, and at the concert he realized that the music was the same -- but no one on stage had ever been affiliated with that band," Riesberg says. "He discovered they were doing it all over the country. He said, 'How could they do that?' And I wondered the same thing."
Riesberg doesn't remember which fake group it was that played Greeley, but nationally, some bands with familiar old-time names like the Drifters, the Platters and the Temptations go on tour and perform the old music -- but none of the musicians were actually part of the original band.
Which brings us to "Bowzer," the doo wop leader of Sha Na Na. Now nearing 60 years old, the musician, whose real name is Jon Bauman, is the chairman of the Truth In Music Committee of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. And he's on a mission to protect original artists from identity theft -- and music aficionados from being misled. Riesberg calls his proposal, House Bill 1196, "truth in advertising" and Bowzer is scheduled to be at the Capitol to testify in favor of it on Monday.
Riesberg says he's not trying to put tribute groups -- who play the music of past greats -- out of business. He just wants to keep them honest. The proposal, modeled after a similar Pennsylvania law, would install civil penalties of $5,000 for pretenders who engage in false and deceptive tactics.
"It's really very simple," Riesberg says. "You can't claim to be someone you're not, and the audience has the right to know, when they're plunking down their hard-earned dollars, who they're listening to."
Stay tuned: Check in tomorrow for a classic story of greed and depravity -- a man with a schtick who was busted in Colorado Springs after impersonating one-hit wonder Terry Jacks in the mid-1990s.
Cara DeGette is a senior fellow at Colorado Confidential and a columnist and contributing editor at The Colorado Springs Independent. E-mail her at cdegette@coloradoconfidential.com
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Alabama Legislature may silence impostor performers
al.com - Birmingham,AL,USA
In Atlantic City, a casino had been advertising the Cornell Gunter Coasters,
the Elsbeary Hobbs Drifters and the Platters, but changed the ads to say the ...
Alabama Legislature may silence
impostor performers
| 2/10/2008, 12:43 p.m. CST
By PHILLIP RAWLS
The Associated Press |
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Sen. Bobby Denton, who hit the record charts 50 years ago, and
Jon "Bowzer" Bauman, the comedic vocalist from Sha Na Na, are singing the same song — politically speaking.
Denton, D-Muscle Shoals, is sponsoring and Bauman is promoting a bill in the Alabama Legislature that would silence impostor performing groups. To Denton and Bauman, the fake singing groups are committing a musical form of identity theft.
Most often, they use the names of vocal groups from the 1950s and 60s, but these impostors have no original members in the group and no legal title to the name. To get bookings, they charge a cheaper fee than the original performers.
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 "Audiences are being taken while the real artists sit home wanting to work as a result of this sophisticated
form of identity theft," Bauman said.
Bauman was the lanky vocalist in Sha Na Na who cracked up audiences by wearing black sleeveless
T-shirts and trying desperately to flex the muscles on skinny arms.
He still tours today with "Bowzer's Rock N' Roll Party" and is still honoring the 50s and 60s performers who
inspired Sha Na Na's singing and comedy. When not touring, he leads a drive by the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon, Pa., to try to get every state to pass a "truth in music advertising" law to crack down on impostor groups.
So far, 18 states have passed laws, including Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina.
Bauman has not visited the Alabama Legislature yet, but he's told Denton that he's ready to flex his muscles if needed.
So far, Denton is doing fine solo. He got the bill approved unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, and it is now awaiting a vote by the Senate.
Like impostor laws already on the books, Denton's legislation prohibits the use of a group's name unless the performers have the registered trademark on the name or there is at least one original member in the group who has legal rights to the name.
The legislation authorizes the attorney general and county district attorneys to enforce the restriction and it provides for penalties ranging from $5,000 to $15,000.
Bob Crosby, president of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, said Pennsylvania and New Jersey have used the law to crack down on shows. In Atlantic City, a casino had been advertising the Cornell Gunter Coasters, the Elsbeary Hobbs Drifters and the Platters, but changed the ads to say the performance was a "tribute" to the three groups.
The legislation has no impact on singers performing other artists' songs provided they don't assume the artists' name.
"There is no law against singing someone else's song. I do that all the time, but I don't do them as Frank Sinatra or Elvis," Denton said.
Denton, 69, first hit the charts in 1958 with "A Fallen Star." He followed up with "Back to School" and "Sweet and
Innocent." His work and that of many others from northwest Alabama helped establish Muscle Shoals as a popular recording center for rock and soul acts.
Bauman, who has traveled the nation promoting the legislation, contacted Denton for help in Alabama.
"Sen. Denton's history in the music industry helps him to understand this issue from the point of view of the
authentic artist as well as the consumer," Bauman said in an e-mail.
Colorado truth in music
 MSNBC.comTruth and Doo-Wop
Can't tell a fake from the original? How one man's campaign against musical
impostors might help.
By Jerry Adler
June 4, 2007 issue - Let us consider two great experiences of Western culture.
One is viewing "Girl With a Pearl Earring," by the 17th-century Dutch master
Johannes Vermeer,
which hangs in a museum in The Hague. The other is a
performance of "Up on the Roof" by the
20th-century R&B group the Drifters.
For that, you have many choices, including Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters and
Charlie Thomas's Drifters, various "cover" bands (which do their own versions
of classic hits), "tribute" bands
(which mimic the original performances
down to the white shoes) and a shadowy category of groups that perform under the original
names and may
benefit from the audience's assumption that at least one of the
elderly gentlemen on stage once
crooned the
selfsame lyrics on "The Ed Sullivan
Show." Fate decreed there would be only one Vermeer, but many
Drifters—and Coasters and Platters and other
rock groups from the era before MTV. "How many?" asks
Jon Bauman rhetorically.
"As many as you can pay for.
On New Year's Eve, one in every city."
Bauman is better known as "Bowzer,"
the T-shirted lunk from Sha Na Na
(the band in "Grease").
Now 59, he runs his own oldies shows and heads the
Truth in Music committee of
the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, crisscrossing the country at his own expense promoting
laws to penalize bands
who falsely advertise
a connection
to an earlier group.
Nine states now have such laws
—New Jersey was the most recent—and bills are awaiting
signatures in seven more.
Impostors are "a form of identity theft," he says, "against artists whose music changed the world.
I look on this as an extension of the civil-rights movement."
To the dwindling cadre of doo-wop pioneers who can still snap their fingers without wincing,
Bauman is a hero. "Jon is a dedicated soul," says Herb Reed of the first group to call itself the Platters.
More than a half-century later Reed still
sings bass as part of a group descended from the original Platters
by a genealogy only slightly less convoluted than the
Plantagenets'. "Those impostor groups are destroying
the market for me," he says, competing for bookings by cutting
their prices, so that in his late 70s he's down
to a mere 180 dates a year.
But supporters of the Truth in Music bills are also positioning it as a consumer issue,
appealing to a quirk of human nature
that prizes authenticity above phenomenology. "Consumers are being confused," says Maxine Porter, manager of Bill Pinkney's
Original Drifters. "There's a history, a specific identity with a name, and all that is part of the consumer's decision-making process. " Economists struggle to understand this phenomenon.
"Even well-established art experts are at a loss to explain why a (perfect) copy is considered so much less valuable than the
original," Bruno S. Frey of the University of Zurich wrote in a 1999 paper. To return to Vermeer for a moment, most people will
never see the original "Girl With a Pearl Earring," but last week a new Vermeer museum opened in Delft containing only
reproductions. Or if you'd like a
hand-painted copy on stretched canvas to "impress your friends," you can buy one online for as little as $155, compared with
$100 million for the original. You could probably tell them apart, especially if you chose to supersize your copy—the original is
just 16 by 18 inches, but you can have copies in sizes up to three feet by four feet. But would you be confident in your ability
to know which was the Vermeer? And if not, then does it matter?
For that matter, how many casual R&B fans could pick out an original member of the Coasters from a distance?
(That's a trick question; the last surviving original member, Carl Gardner, retired from touring recently after a stroke.)
Early R&B groups were mostly faceless voices on the radio, in part because record companies weren't eager to remind
audiences that their faces were usually black. And yet, in doo-wop as in painting, an undeniable aura clings to the authentic,
the genuine, the original. Which is why if you go to a concert by the faux Drifters or a performance by the Platters manqué,
you will always see, says Bauman, one guy in his 70s there so that you, the discerning doo-wop consumer, can nudge your
seatmate and say, "That's the real one!"http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18881824/site/newsweek/
MSN Privacy . Legal
© 2007 MSNBC.com
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/22/ap4043495.html
Associated Press
NY Law Targets Band Impersonators
By MICHAEL VIRTANEN 08.22.07, 9:20 AM ET
ALBANY, N.Y.
Knockoff music acts that impersonate the real performers
can face fines up to $15,000
under a new law in New York.
"Music artists work for years to
build names for themselves in the entertainment industry," Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Tuesday
after signing the amendments to the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law. "We should not allow others to impersonate their work
and profit from that deception."
Called the "Truth in Music
Advertising Law," it prohibits
copycat performances that
attempt to cash in through false
and
misleading representations
like names, billings and
promotions similar to the
original artists. nforcement by
the state
attorney general's
office can bring civil
penalties ranging from
$5,000 to $15,000.
The measure was inspired when
well-known recording artists like
the Platters, the Coasters and the Drifters suffered
financial losses
when their acts and routines
were copied without permission, according to the governor's office.
The Drifters, a doo-wop vocal group, first formed in the 1950s at Atlantic Records, had a string of '60s hits
like "This Magic Moment" and "Under the Boardwalk," and an
array of members through
decades of recording and
performing. Several early
members are dead.
The legislation has been dubbed
the "Bowzer Bill" for Jon "Bowzer" Bauman of the band Sha Na Na
who has lobbied lawmakers in
Albany and other state capitals.
He says that while there are
Drifters, Coasters and
Platters
performing with an authentic recording member of the
band, there are many
others with none.
"There are some groups that have been really very heavily damaged
by this, for the most part the
groups that had
the most hit
records from the doo-wop era," Bauman said. "Unscrupulous people have abused those names and they
are putting out multiple impostor groups under those names.
We don't even know how
many there are."
The law requires performing groups to have at least one member of the recording group that they claim a connection
to and a legal right to
use the name. Or else they must label the production a "tribute" or "salute" or else own the
recording group's trademark or have
its authorization.
Sen. John Flanagan, a Long Island Republican who sponsored the bill, said that while some old hits
endure, the law should protect
both the band's reputation and
concertgoers from fraud. "Fans want to see the groups
they love and should get what they pay for," said Assemblyman
Peter Rivera, a Bronx Democrat
and another sponsor.
Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maine, South Carolina, North Dakota, Virginia, New Jersey,
Florida, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Missouri, Texas and Nevada have enacted similar laws, according to the
Truth in Music Committee
of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation.
California and a
few other states are expected to follow shortly,
said foundation
President Bob Crosby.
"A lot of these groups have
spent their life savings chasing
the predators in litigation.
It's been really tough because there's
always another gig and the gigs happen faster than the litigation," Crosby said. "No one is in favor of fake groups except
for the impostors.
It's a form of identity theft."
The next step is enforcement, Bauman said. There are ongoing actions in New Jersey and Pennsylvania with one coming
soon in Nevada, he said. Attorney William Charron, representing Singer
Management and Live Gold Operations, obtained
a temporary restraining order Friday in a New Jersey federal court to block the attorney general from interfering with a
show at the Atlantic City
Hilton by their groups the Elsberry Hobbs Drifters, the Cornell Gunter Coasters and the Platters,
he said. They're scheduled to return
to court Sept. 7, seeking a
preliminary injunction.
"The arguments were constitutional, that our clients have valid
licenses to these trademarks," Charron said. He said the
law "has the potential for misuse.
That's where our clients find themselves unfortunately caught. They deserve to have
their
names cleared," he said.
Mar. 02, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Not so great pretenders
Originals support 'Truth in Music'
By SEAN WHALEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
Mary Wilson, left, an
Mary Wilson, left, an original member of the Supremes, and Jon "Bowzer" Bauman, former leader of Sha Na Na, testify on Thursday.
Photo by Gary Thompson.
Sonny Turner, right, of the original Platters singing group, testifies from Las Vegas during a teleconference meeting Thursday of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor in Carson City.
Photo by Gary Thompson.
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CARSON CITY -- Bowzer broke into song before a Senate panel on Thursday.
Jon Bauman, better known as the former leader of the oldies group Sha Na Na, testified in
support of a bill that would make it a deceptive trade practice for musical groups with no
original members to pass themselves off as the Coasters, Drifters, Platters or others.
"Get a job," Bauman intoned, quoting the 1950s Silhouettes hit.
"For too many years, these impostor musical groups have been duping consumers out of
their
hard-earned entertainment dollars and cheating the pioneers of rock music out of their rightful legacy," Bauman told the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee.
Bauman was joined by Mary Wilson, an original member of the Supremes, and Sonny Turner,
an original member of the Platters, who testified from Las Vegas, in supporting Senate Bill 53,
dubbed the "Truth in Music" bill.
Wilson told lawmakers that at least five groups are performing as the Supremes. Breaking into song,
Wilson said she tells those groups: "Stop! In the name of love, before you break my heart."
The bill is intended to protect both consumers, who may not know they are buying tickets to
a fake group's performance, and artists who only have their legacy as performers to rely on
to make a living, Wilson said.
Turner continued the musical testimony in the hearing. "Only you, can pass this bill for us,"
he sang to the melody of the Platters' hit "Only You."
The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee passed the bill out with a few minor amendments,
including one making it clear that venues that offer such acts, including hotel-casinos, are not
responsible for any bogus act. The bill will have to pass both houses and be signed by the
governor before it becomes law.
Commerce Chairman Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, said the bill would become effective upon
passage and approval, to provide protection to the performers as quickly as possible.
Bauman, who is chairman of the Truth in Music Committee of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, said he is pleased with support
for the bill that the group has received from Nevada's casino industry.
"We're completely on the same page," Bauman said. "We're not interested in acting as if the venues are culpable here.
Because we feel that they are not."
The bill was introduced by Sens. Joe Heck, R-Henderson, and Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, on behalf of some Las Vegas
performers, including Wilson.
Bauman told the panel that the Truth in Music Committee has succeeded in passing similar legislation in nine other states
and is seeking approval in 12 more, including Nevada.
The bill would prohibit a group from calling itself the Drifters, for example, unless one original member of the group is part
of the performance. Exceptions would be made for groups clearly identifying themselves as a "tribute" band. Individuals
holding rights to a group name also would be exempted from the provisions of the bill.
Civil fines of $5,000 to $10,000, for violating a court order, could be assessed against promoters or groups failing to
follow the provisions of the law.
The attorney general's office had reviewed the bill and didn't foresee any additional costs associated with enforcing the
proposed law because the office already has a deceptive trade practices unit.
Bauman said the legislation has reduced or eliminated imposter groups in other states. It has succeeded by placing the
burden of proof on the imposter groups to show they can legitimately use a name, he said.
It has been effective because it allows an attorney general to stop a performance before it occurs to ensure there is a
legitimate right to the group name, Bauman said.
He described the phony groups as a form of identity theft.
Wilson, a Las Vegas resident, said she has spent millions of dollars trying unsuccessfully to prosecute fake Supremes
groups. Wilson, who does not own the Supremes name, tours as Mary Wilson or "Mary Wilson formerly of the Supremes."
Bauman said performers are backing the legislation because they have to compete for jobs against fake groups that
may charge $5,000 for a performance, while a group including original members might charge $20,000.
Wilson said there are more serious issues the Legislature needs to deal with, from homelessness to care for the elderly,
but the bill is important for performers.
"It is helping Americans who have given music to the world," Wilson said.
Also testifying from Las Vegas was 1950s music fan Donald Riggio, who said he knows which groups have a legitimate
claim to a group name and which are fakes because of his love of the music.
"I take it as a personal insult to my intelligence to have these fakers heaped upon me and the other members of the
sometimes unsuspecting audience without calling them what they are -- a tribute band or review," Riggio said.
No one spoke in opposition to the measure.
Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Las Vegas, said he was embarrassed that Nevada has not been at the forefront in protecting the
artists affected by imposter groups.
But Bauman said the effort to pass the law in Nevada was intentionally delayed until the organization could see how
well the measure worked elsewhere.
Nevada is an important state for such a law because of its prominence as an entertainment capital, he said.
"Existing law has proven to be completely ineffective in stopping the practice," Bauman said. "This is a grey area.
These people have learned how to work within existing law."
TRUTH IN MUSIC BILL ADVANCES |
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