It’s 1979 and I’m in high school. Street Academy of Albany. And it’s there that I discover this musical genre called rap.
And back then, “rap music” was pressed on 12-inch vinyl records, and usually contained one long rap song on side A, and an instrumental version on side B. I bought my first rap records during that time – Kurtis Blow’s ‘The Breaks,” Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s ‘”Freedom” and “The Birthday Party,” and the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.”
And it’s the Sugarhill Gang’s seminal 15-minute rap track, layered over the instrumental brake from Chic’s “Good Times,” that is the basis of today’s blog post.
What do you mean you’ve never heard “Rapper’s Delight”?
Now you’ve heard it. You’re welcome.
Couple of things to note from this song. You know that instrumental break that lasts for 15 minutes? The early version of this song actually USED the rhythm track from Chic, until Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards (the creative force behind Chic) contacted some attorneys. Rogers and Edwards are now credited as writers of the song, and the version you hear is created with live musicians who are re-creating the original Chic bass line.
Another thing. Although the trio rapping are known as “Wonder Mike,” “Master Gee” and “Big Bank Hank,” there are some raps that reference a rapper named “Casanova.” That’s actually the lyrics from a rap created by rapper Grandmaster Caz. His lyrics and his rap were actually “borrowed” by Big Bank Hank and used in “Rapper’s Delight.” Hank didn’t even bother changing Casanova’s name in the lyrics – listen for “I’m the C-A-S-A, the N-O-V-A and the rest is F-L-Y” stanzas.
What’s even more ironic about this? Later in “Rapper’s Delight,” Big Bank Hank makes a reference to “Never let an MC steal your rhyme.” Big words, Hank.
So what if I told you that the Sugarhill Gang, with Wonder Mike and Master Gee, are still touring today?
There’s just one problem with their tour.
They can’t legally bill themselves as the Sugarhill Gang. That’s right. They own the rights to their stage names, but when they tour they are branded as “The Rapper’s Delight Experience.”
And as you can see from the trailer for the documentary “I Want My Name Back,” it’s not a pleasant experience.
Sadly, this has happened many, many times in recorded music. There are dozens of doo-wop and R&B groups who never legally held the rights to their own bandnames; such names were either owned by the group’s manager or by the record company. Over twenty different men can lay claim to performing on record as “The Drifters,” including Clyde McPhatter, Ben E. King, Charlie Thomas and Johnnie Moore. I think only Thomas and King are still alive today, but there are plenty of faux “Drifters” bands criss-crossing the country and playing on nostalgia tours, performing with vocalists that are younger than the songs themselves.
When I wrote for Goldmine magazine, I wrote a lengthy piece on the history of Little River Band. Yeah, the original lineup of Glenn Shorrock, Beeb Birtles and Graheme Goble – the voices on every one of their hits – legally cannot tour as “Little River Band” or say in their press reports that they are former members of LRB. Why? Well, over time when each member left LRB, they sold back the rights to the name. Eventually the name was owned by a bass player who currently tours America with his own version of LRB. Hmm…
When I worked with the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon, Pa., there were many former members of harmony and doo-wop groups who, as well, had lost the rights to their names. Sometimes the names were sold outright; sometimes the bandmember left and signed over his rights to the name and the corporation. Maybe you’ve heard of the Vogues, who had hits like “Five O’Clock World” and “Turn Around, Look At Me”? There are currently two “Vogues” groups touring today; one featuring original member Chuck Blasko, who can only perform as “The Vogues” in Western Pennsylvania; and another group that currently owns the trademark and sometimes has original member Bill Burkette on lead vocals.
And in the case of the Sugarhill Gang, I suspect that the record company – Sugarhill Records – actually owned the name of the group, considering that the trio were actually assembled by label head Sylvia Robinson to record “Rappers’ Delight” in the first place. This isn’t anything new; at one time Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were also signed to Sugarhill Records, and when Flash wanted to leave the label, he had to sue just for the right to record under the name “Grandmaster Flash.” Not even referencing the Furious Five, just “Grandmaster Flash.” Argh.
So whether Wonder Mike and Master Gee can still perform in concert under their more familiar sobriquet, or they have to perform under a “We know who we are and we hope you know who we are” nickname… I keep thinking back to that original “Rappers’ Delight” song.
Never let an MC steal your rhyme.
And while you’re at it, look over those contracts.
Never let an MC steal your name.
Or your royalties, for that matter.
Chuck The Writer 
Yeah I mean we all saw what happened when Homer decided to name his MC the “Hell’s Satans”.
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Chuck, I suppose that in modern journalism, we never allow the facts to get in the way of a good storyline. But, as a music writer who has actually written a fair and factual article on Little River Band in the past, it would behoove you to at least make a feint nod at the truth. As someone who is actually privy to the facts, let me give you an assist.
As you well know, the guy who is fronting LRB in the US now whom you refer to as “a bass player” is Wayne Nelson. His voice is also on all the hits from the band after 1979 when he joined as a full member of the group. He sang lead vocals on “The Night Owls” as well as “Take It Easy on Me” – two of the band’s six top tens over six consecutive years. It’s disingenuous to insinuate that Nelson would have no legitimate reason to tour as a lead singer for the band since the band has had many over the years. He sang lead while the original guys you mention were in the band and interestingly, has served in the position longer than any other previous lead singer.
As you say, the original guys who wrote most of the hits (and were made extremely wealthy from the royalties) sold their rights to the use of the name to remaining members. They did not surrender songwriter’s royalties or mechanical royalties from record sales. At this point, record sales are somewhere between 25 and 30 million, several million of which have been sold after their departure. You do the math… When the music scene changed in the 80’s and the coliseum shows dried up, so did their passion for the name and it’s use. They left the band one by one assuming the band would implode without their membership. To everyone’s surprise, the demand for the songs they created survived as the success was more about material than personnel. Classic rock radio and the band’s continued road work has perpetuated the demand for the material with Reminiscing playing over 6 million times on radio. You can do the math on that one as well…
When one of the happy anniversaries rolled around and it appeared that there was more American money to be made, the three principals overcame their collective loathing for each other and decided to reclaim their destinies. They sent letters to Stephen Housden and Wayne Nelson thanking them for keeping the tribute band together and wished them luck in their future endeavors. They didn’t approach the guys about rejoining the band, instead they tried to fire guys from a band they were no longer members of. Naturally, since neither Housden or Nelson had written the hits and since their 20 some years of investment in the band name was rewarded by performance revenue, they disagreed with the BSG contention. An Australian judge (important to note) ruled that the contracts Birtles, Shorrock and Goble had willingly signed did in fact surrender their rights to use the name Little River Band. Contrary to your post, the court ruling DID allow them to perform as the original voices of Little River Band and use the same reference in their press releases.
No one has stolen anyone’s band name or history as Goble later contended in a song released. As a matter of fact, Goble was the band member who delighted in having departing members sign the severance contract that he and Glenn Wheatley, band manager developed. Had the guys approached to rejoin the band they started, the landscape might have looked different. Maybe your blog title should also include “never sell your birthright if it means that much to you”.
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