back to roots: Leadbelly - take this hammer.....copyright???

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Leadbelly - Take this hammer ....... copyright????

I don't know if I chose the right subforum, I guess it's the wrong one, just remove my thread, if so.....

I'd like to cover the song "take this hammer" (an old worksong). Leadbelly interpreted this song for example. What about the copyrights????

Everywhere I search for a songwriter, it's written: Songwriter > US-Folks, but what does that mean? I wanted to cover the song and (maybe) earn some money by selling the album on which the song is. Is that illegal?

Does anyone know about this worksong? Does any copyright exist for it? Is it absolutely legal to cover it or what????

Please help...
 
The original song is public domain. Leadbelly's arrangement of it is not. If you're using your own arrangement you'll be ok. A lot of folks have done just that.

Of course, if you are at the point where you'll be recording it for massive sales, check with a lawyer on the details. But otherwise you're fine. It's an old song.
 
Thx, Hugo, ........

I tried to find out about the original arrangement, but couldn't get a real original one. There are 1000 of arrangements on the internet......

Which arrangement can I use and be sure, it's the public domain-arrangement...? Hmm...

Can I just sing "...and give it to the captain" instead of "...and bring it to the captain" (as Leadbelly does) and everything is well? IMHO, that hasn't anything to do with the arrangement...hmm

Worst case, I'll just put some bridge in the song, but I don't hope that I'll need this.
 
pablovschby said:
Thx, Hugo, ........

I tried to find out about the original arrangement, but couldn't get a real original one. There are 1000 of arrangements on the internet......

Which arrangement can I use and be sure, it's the public domain-arrangement...? Hmm...

Can I just sing "...and give it to the captain" instead of "...and bring it to the captain" (as Leadbelly does) and everything is well? IMHO, that hasn't anything to do with the arrangement...hmm

Worst case, I'll just put some bridge in the song, but I don't hope that I'll need this.
Click to expand...
I've always heard it as "carry it to the Captain". Such is the folk process. (BTW, I use it all the time as a running song. Sets my pace--though I only sing it in my head when I run.)

If you're singing it differently from Leadbelly, you'll probably be ok--but like Hugo suggests--check with a lawyer.
 
You can use any arrangement published prior to 1922 and you'll be fine. Just base your take on the song off of an early version. Or say you did :)
 
thx for answers.
Hugo H said:
You can use any arrangement published prior to 1922 and you'll be fine. Just base your take on the song off of an early version. Or say you did :)
Click to expand...
Give me the link to a version that existed before leadbelly did the song and I'll do this.

Some guys from germany told me it isn't that easy, cause the song was copyrighted by many different people in many different versions.
 
If the original writer has been dead for 70 years, you can pretty much stop worrying. It is really hard to prove someone copied an arrangement, unless you used an orchestra and handed out written scores with the arranger's name on them. Pete Seeger once told me, " If you steal a song, they'll call you a plagiarist. If you steal 1000 songs, they'll call you a great American folk singer".
It is more recent songs that will get you in trouble. Is it legal to record somebody else's copyrighted song and make money off it? Hell yes. But... at least in the U.S., you owe the copyright holder .08 cents per copy. Generally, the copyrighted song will be registered with BMI, ASCAP, or both, and the mechanical royalties are paid through the Harry Fox agency. The minimum mechanical license is 500 copies, about $40. Big deal. I covered Ira Gershwin's (not George- I was surprised) "Summertime" on my album "Reunion", and paid them their blood money. Would I have gotten away with it if I hadn't? Probably. I'm small-time. With my luck, if I hadn't paid it, I'd have won a new artist Grammy, been sued for $100,000, and after the legal fees were paid, I would have lost $1.75 making my platinum album.
I'll admit there is a sense of satisfaction that come from knowing you paid the mechanicals, and you aren't a thief. I'll tell you what gives a bigger sense of satisfaction- knowing that all of those details were taken care of by your *executive director*. Woo Hoo!- Richie
 
If it's a royalty free song sheet, the arranger has already waived mechanicals in writing. Play on, dude.-Richie
 
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