Jerry Jeff Walker sues over new album

Mon Nov 13, 5:19 PM ET

Jerry Jeff Walker, who recorded 1973's "Viva Terlingua!" live in Luckenbach, has sued over a tribute album that was recorded in the little Hill Country town with different musicians.

Walker filed a lawsuit in federal court in Austin on Nov. 1 against Palo Duro Records. He contends the company infringed on his copyrights to five songs and that the new album, "Viva! Terlingua! Nuevo!: Songs of Luckenbach Texas," so closely resembles his original, people could think he had something do with it.

Walker, 64, a native of upstate New York, settled in Austin in the early 1970s.

He found inspiration in regular trips to Luckenbach, a place where an eccentric band of characters gathered to tell stories, play music and relax. In August 1973, he brought the Lost Gonzo Band and some recording equipment to the Luckenbach dance hall, hoping to capture some magic in one of his favorite places.

The new album was recorded before a live audience in the Luckenbach dance hall, but this time with the likes of Jimmy LaFave, Cory Morrow and others singing lead.

Walker wasn't invited to that gathering in January, even though members of the Lost Gonzo Band and scores of other musicians attended, the Austin American-Statesman reported Monday.

"I was sort of dumbfounded by this `Nuevo' recording," Walker said in a statement.

The original album captured the emerging Austin-based progressive country scene that thumbed its nose at the Nashville, Tenn., establishment. Walker's string of freewheeling songs put him among the leaders of that movement and became the soundtrack to decades of rowdy Texas parties and inspiration to a generation of aspiring musicians.

"`Viva Terlingua!' that was Jerry Jeff Walker's creation. We think the record company just ripped off the whole idea," said Walker's Austin lawyer, Julie Ford.

Though the album appears to be a tribute to Walker and his groundbreaking work, Palo Duro founder Chris Thomas said the recent release was a tribute to the quirky town of Luckenbach, about 75 miles west of Austin, and a showcase for younger artists such as Austin's Walt Wilkins.

"We have no interest in dishonoring that (original) release," Thomas said. "If anything, this compliments (Walker's) legacy."

Thomas' lawyer, Mike Tolleson of Austin, said most artists voluntarily grant licenses when someone else wants to record their songs because they receive about 9 cents per song per album sold.

Walker's Groper Music declined Palo Duro's request, so the company sought what is known as a compulsory license. That allows a copyrighted song to be used without the consent of the owner if certain rules are followed, including giving the copyright owner proper notice.

Walker's lawsuit charges that notice wasn't given for five of his songs recorded on the album. Tolleson said notice was given within the mandatory 30 days of the October manufacturing and distribution of the latest album.

So I'm not sure here. Is he mad that he wasn't
a) invited to sit in
b)consulted prior and given the ability to veto
c)pissed off people will be making money off his name
d)pissed off that people might think its him
e)all of the above