“Ghostflowers” in review

 

First of all let me explain I’m not much of a reader of this genre.

I grew up on monsters but they were the classics. Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney (Sr. & Jr.), Christopher Lee, Peter Lorre (remember him?) but got tired of then when the claymations were too slow and the sequels became soft porn. I put it all aside, like comic books, and never went back.

I also read as if a script for a movie. Can I picture the characters or the location or the action by what is written on the page?

Still I tried to go into this reading with an open mind. I had heard about this publication for over a decade and was curious to read the final writing.

 

“Ghostflowers” is a 6” x 9” 310 page novel written by a person I know. “A love story, with blood.” Sounds like a virgin copulation, but I’m sure it is darker than that. A Jackson will buy you this Journalstone pressing which seems pretty clean for a paperback. The type font looks like a Caslon in 10-point single space (which is a bit small for these old eyes but I’ll make do) justified on a plain bond paper.  Each chapter starts with a 3-line drop cap with no consistency of where the type lands on the page except for the ½” gutter and outside border.

The cover looks like a duotone of a woman’s hair and bare shoulders credited to Don Noble. It could be a limp dead body or she is going down on someone. Across her back is a review by Mandy McHugh (?) with the term “Unputdownable…” Don’t know the author or if that is a real word. The script of the title ‘ghostflowers’ is just one of four type fonts. The title and the illustration don’t give a clue of what is inside (except for the splash of red assumable blood).

Let us take a look.

The first page is a list of ‘praises’ from other authors. This is usually reserved for the back cover, but maybe this is a ‘pep-talk’ needed to turn the page?

The dedication is to the author’s wife who came up with the idea of ‘writing a crappy novel and making some money’. Kick butt to the writer.

 

Note: These are only my interpretations and the following may give some spoilers.

 

Chapter 1

The preference of the waitress fainting and being caught by a biker has been established.

Rob yelled “Hey!” Who is Rob? Was he inside or outside?

Tina Tyler must be another waitress? She seems panicked until Rulhettes (assumable a black cook from the kitchen?) takes charge.

Deputy Duke (a cross between Festus Haggen or Barney Fife) was eating his burger at the counter while Sheriff Hicks (a stereotype of Buford T. Justice or Rosco Purvis Coltrane, but not Opie Taylor’s father) was outside in all this commotion.

Summer (we learn her name) is placed on the sofa (probably brown leather) in the office of Ralph Jenkins possible proprietor to the unknown restaurant where all this action was taking place.

So now we have Rob West?, Tina Tyler?, Sheriff Hicks?, Ralph Jenkins?, Deputy Duke?, Ruthette?, and Trager the biker. What about the couple in the booth?  What is the place they are now all enclosed and interacting?

This is a hint in the forward that this biker and waitress have some past history? What was playing on the jukebox?  Maybe Chapter 2 will fill in some of the holes?

Sidenote: On first reading of his draft the second chapter seemed like a rewrite of the first chapter. I thought that would be an interesting start as each chapter would be from a different character point of view. Character building from different perspectives. It didn’t turn out that way.

Read on…

 

Chapter 2

Why would Ruthette tells Rob to get the medical kit under the cash register when she had just told Ralph there was nothing in it to help revive this girl?

We see there is a situation between the fainted waitress and her mother

“Something just ain’t right here”

 

Capture 3

Colonel James Philip Trager is interrogated. How did the sheriff know a lieutenant colonel from a full bird colonel without the jewelry? Good thing she didn’t have a ‘paper’ straw in her glass.

Doc Bragg? Will there be more about him?

Summer calls him “James”? How did she know?

Did the sheriff give him back his knife?

Rob is jealous so he must be the boyfriend?

 

Chapter 4

The Dixie Dinette! Now we know where we are. Rt. 1 and Rt. 38, infuriately they don’t cross. The writer has a ‘thing’ about the smell of hot grease. Should the enameled pin be the stars and bars since the sheriff’s uniform had a flag patch on his sleeve?

Ruthette ‘Hawkins’ now has a last name, but we still only know the Sheriff as ‘Hicks’?

Lennon for President?

Pearl Scabury, clerk at the courthouse? What about her?

Changed focus of paragraph for a description of Summer’s body and her relationship with Rob.

Pig = BBQ

We now know that Kate and John Juniper are the couple in the booth. What about all the tourist and locals coming in after the drive-in?

Ronnie Sheffield and Kenny Cousins drive off to show off his new mustang. Was this the reason Summer was outside when she fainted or does she just wander around and not work much?

Ray Ray Pollard?

“His Eyes”

What was the ‘white pill’ taken by Hicks?

 

Chapter 5

Electra Glide to Rt. 81. Do all the readers know it is a Harley Davidson?

1^st Infantry Division in Di An ? The Big Red 1 was never stationed in Di An?

Head for the shadows. Who is he hiding from?

Stone Bridge, Virginia.

Velvet sky?

“white knights” ? The KKK?

Angeline?

Hawkbournes

‘69 dk green mustang. Kenny’s new ride?

‘Easy Rider’ reference to fill up?

Steve, the gas station attendant.  

“Look up”

Green Sinclair dino toy

 

Chapter 6

Tucker Coe? What was the name of the motel?

Loose in the night

 

Chapter 7

Rob’s ‘67 Falcon

How did ‘Stonebridge’ get a Hampton AM radio signal? From what I remember people in the valley had a difficult time receiving radio signals?

Why can’t Rob and Summer ‘Do It’ after going steady for so long?

The Midnight Rider

Feral shit of fire

The ‘Thing’

Why didn’t Rob back up and away from the attack instead of rolling up the windows?

I bet her seat was wet?

 

Chapter 8

Croatonan Ave. – Summer’s home built in 1919

Louise Moore (mother) with TV, cigarette smoke and commercial plates. What was she drinking?  Was she retired? Was Summer supporting both of them?

‘Trifling’

Words – N-Tunneo, Roanoke

Wallis?

Photos of dead relatives

 

Chapter 9

Listening in the shadows and then bounding across lawns on all fours

 

Chapter 10

Why does Summer lock the door?

Ben-Low Market her Jr. year with Green Stamps for stereo.

Change from the White Album 3^rd track to Janis “Summertime”

“Shit” her favorite word

Hangover at Va. Beach to get a tan

Diner Duds

Diaries from “daddy”.  Reason for locking the bedroom door?

Mickey Stubbs beat up by bully Kenny Cousins.

Mrs. Mason, 5^th grade teacher yelling @ Rob for being unique

Mrs. Shields, teacher for conformity

Young rebels in the 6^th grade

At church, Mr. Blair, married skirt chaser, Yvomme Parker, housewife lush, Steve Stones’ big brother murdered.

Mrs. Watkins flower shop

Music of Fred Neil

 

Chapter 11

‘Loving memory of Confederate dead’ at St. John’s Church

A ’59 Chevy truck will have to wit

 

Chapter 12

The green Sinclair dino w/ a white rose

 

7/2/71

 

Chapter 12 (1)

Chapter change with date?

Hair dryer

Albert King “Born Under a Bad Sign”

3 years going steady – trifling

Gallivantings

Buddy Ro

Summer’s black Camaro ‘Fury’

 

Chapter 13 (2)

Three stumps Road

Jasmine Winter, planted flowers

Randy Winter, fighter w/ a few beers

Fight @ the Feedlot of the Blvd.

Driving a Dodge – Monaco

Iris Salmon’s idea – secretary

Ben Castle, general in Korea

“Buddy” Hicks?

Lonnie Hicks (sheriff’s son) had grown out his hair and was living in Canada

“Soulfire”

 

Chapter 14 (3)

Carter’s Caverns

What year did George Washington build the natural bridge?

Blanche Mitchell

“Patriot” motel

Stonewall Jackson Jr. High ‘65

Cheerleader

Checking up on Summer

Daryl Knicke teasing

Rob not making it

“Michel”?

 

Chapter 15 (4)

No records on the biker

“Horseshit”

Reach for a bottle of Scotch (that Summer would not share)

Stole Virgil Ackers shot glass after he shot his common law wife

Hick’s ‘pain’ pill?

“Head Ball Buster and Ass Kicker”

 

Chapter 16 (5)

Did you really need a motivation?

Biker’s older brother – Ben Castle

Bourbon

Message-

Michel D’ Aronot, 28 in 1918

Born in Montanarteo 1890

Korea Major Spencer Bradford

Charles Montaigne WWII

Michel D’ Argot born 1864

Dead bodies – drained ‘entirely’ of blood

(How much blood is in the body?) = 1.5 gallons

Hawkbournes clan

War is where the blood is

Make me like you

 

Chapter 16 (6)

Deputy Duke ‘Crawford’

Silas Leggett – disturbance

“Hooligans”

Pall Mall – surveillance of the Castle house

 

Chapter 17 (7)

Don Brewer drum beat

“Inside Looking Out”

(Where do you buy books and records and 8-tracks in Stonebridge?)

Summer – looking good

Johnnie Winter – Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo

How did Louise hear about the ‘motorcycle gang’?

Flat open TAB

“Born Ready”

Peck’s Pond Boy

‘Matresues Rose’ – Summer’s favorite

Wythe Blvd. the main business route

Atomic Drive-In

Bridget, the carhop (on skates?)

$2.71 for dinner – burger, BBQ, onion rings

Chicago – Sugarloaf – Wilson Pickett – Four Tops

Shenandoah Drive-In Theatre

Bungie Mallory, proprietor

Margie Mallory, ticket taker $1.00

Hammer movies – Bats, blood, babes, and breast

Salem menthol cigarettes - Tina

Boones Farm

Rob’s Schlitz Beer

Denny, Tina’s boyfriend

Start smoking

 

Chapter 18 (8)

Horror of Frankenstein

Biker arrives

 

Chapter 19 (9)

Ben has cancer in his dick

Second chance

‘Gift”

Reeling her in

 

Chapter 20 (10)

Switched to beer

Looking for the biker

Ronnie Sheffield

Drinking rum in RC Cola

Richie Rich and Jill in GTX

Dealing grass

Ronnie flirting

 

Chapter 12

Summer is not good enough

‘shit’

 

Chapter 13

It stopped

 

Chapter 14

She knows!

Delbert, the dinosaur toy

 

Chapter 15

Turned away

Where was Hicks?

 

Chapter 16

Ronnie, drunk and after her encounter with ‘the biker’ stumbled around looking for Kenny

Stoned encounter but ready to go

Ronnie’s wet seat from Summer

Biker to get his ass-kicked

 

Chapter 17

Rob is drunk and stinky and Summer is pissed over Ronnie

Shit on a stick

Crash

Tomorrow’s Party?

 

Chapter 18

The chase

The wolf was leading the sheep

Ronnie wants blood – lush

Squirrels don’t go out at night

The ‘boy’ knew the roads – it is his town

Baseball bat

Wayne Cousins (Kenny’s father)

Pearlie’s Roadhouse – Pabsts

The fight

Ronnie drinks blood

Kenny gets ass-kicked

“Little Red Riding Hood”

She felt his ‘love’ filling her

“Feed” Kenny

 

Chapter 19

James Carr album

Bourbon in cabinet

Summers room from her date with Rob

 

Chapter 20

“Only the Black Rose”

Underwear

“In Old Virginia – Gateway to Dixie”

Follow the scent of rose

Flirting in the garden @ 3:36AM

Blood can tell you a lot

“Summer do you have any idea who you are?”

Angeline

“Get me out of here”

Ride the night

 

Chapter 21

Free- ride

You want to do something wicked?

Stonybook Hollow

Amusement Park – Disney reflection?

Mr. Waddell – crazy

“The Invaders of Storybook Hollow”

“The Princess & the Midnight Ride”

Brat

Flirting adventure

Dark Forest

 Peaceful – Dull

Mixed drinks in VA restaurants? 71?

Rio – did she remember?

Wanderlust

Chichen Itza – Mayans

Dreamlines – Australian aborigines led me straight to ‘you’!

 

Chapter 22

“Is it you?”

You better hurry up if you’re coming with me

Gold sprayed crest = emoji “D”

Mildred Hathoway, teacher voice

“The Dungeon of Doom”

Peter Pan Pirate ship

Sent you away?

Steal the village priest hog and locked inside the church before Easter

Michel D’ Aronot

Sent away from being rebellious

That is why I roam – dangerous

Darkies?

Fakes names – hiding

Tunnel rat (midnight rider)

The tunnels had been a feast.

“I need peace. I need life”

Ben – bond of brothers, forged by death and fire and courage

Destiny and Dreamlines

Merry – Go – Round horses – ‘Flower’

Sally Baily tried to ride ‘Flower’

“I want to go with you”

Angeline in County Cork, Ireland

Staked – in Rio de Janeiro

Poetry of the soul

“I need to be with you”

 

Chapter 23 –

Room 34 key

See Ben first

“It is I who belongs to you”

Woke Mrs. Crarey?

 

Chapter 1 – 7/3

Angeline men Colin, Vicenti

Phone from diner @ 8:36

(4 hours of sleep) – timeline

Sarah can’t come in tonight

Who is Sarah?

 

Chapter 2 – 7/3

Iris Salmon, get those cups

(blue hair) brings the coffee

What has Hicks being doing all this time?

Trager received a promotion to Lt. Colonel in Org Thank ‘67

Scotch in his coffee

“White” pill as a back pain reliever from a HS football fight

Hot damn. A druggie (Thailand)

“The hammer Is coming down”

 

Chapter 2 – 7/3

Pop 3 aspirins with a ice cold 7-11.

“Hey Hollywood” – sunglasses

Then Rob walked into the dinner

Joanie Windsor, report order

Rob = Crash

Hangover

Party @ nine – bring a cooler

Rev Hayes from St. John’s

Ruthette knew wit was wrong

 

Chapter 4 – 7/3

Wayne Cousin Texaco Station towing service from sheriff

Sheriff Hicks was headed out to ‘The Patriot Motel” for the biker.

Jack Holly’s field of corn

Duke parked behind him

Get out of here Deputy Duke

Dicks don’t nee any assistance

“He is a Goddame Pussie”

“We need a warrant?”

Millie Watson desk

Cousin Aber sez it’s the best County buffet on Stonebridge

Tucker, night manager

Sheriff nee a ‘lookie – loo’ in the room

He could be amend?

But Sheriff, we got to do it right

“I get it Sheriff. I get it but…”

“Mr. Trager? It’s the management. May I have a word with you?”

“No one damn thing”

Cherry coke and a gal for a ride

 

Chapter 5 – 7/3

“No sir-re Jim Bob Dandy’

Don Reese – WW1 friend

Col. James Trager is grandson of Don Reese

Cecil Hicks, sheriff’s brother, was died in an ambush in Korea

What Army records had ‘heroin’ connected to Col. Trager?

 

Chapter 6 – 7/3

Hicks is so mad!

Radio – Ronnie Sheffield is missing

 

Chapter 7 – 7/3

Summers mom’s 1959 Cadillac

What year is Summer’s black Camero

’69 from Aunt Bessie for $300.

Bought for son Dale who got blown up in Vietnam

Aunt Bessie smoked Chesterfield

Wanted $450 but settled for $300 cash

Louise loses her power over Summer

A sleep in her garden

Rob’s dog Dusty crapped in the kitchen and Rob stepped in it

Summer cancel tonight

Edumacate you on sci-fi?

Donna Cross from HS had a thing for Rob

Ray Ray would sell her a bottle

’66 Cameros excuses??

Took the phone back to the hall and pulled off her shoes (again?)

 

Chapter 8 – 7/3

Just after 7 (2 hour nap)

The authors is fascinated with girls underwear

“Come to dinner”

“What’s the occasion?” Summer

“Dress like a lady” Louise

Married. Having children.

Living like a ‘proper’ woman

Not like your father

She keeps returning to her bedroom instead of the Black Camero?

She lit a cigarette from her purse – what brand? Salem (menthol?)

Tramp?

Nipples poked out like bullets

Dressed like Playboy girls

Steals her fathers Zippo lighter w/Marine emblem – and it works

Sneaked out pass her mom.

Was she in her 20’s or in her teens?

 

Chapter 9 – 7/3

The biker goes back to Ben

Smells of French Cabernet

Sunset

’62 bottle of red wine – Latour

Leroy Nelman

“You’ve met her I hear”

Arches, openings, Mayans believed they were doorways to the beyond.

Afterlife

Why did you go ‘dirty’?

He was doing ‘bad’ to help the GI’s

Not all men are wolves like you and me

“Give me another shot”

“Drink my friend and be damned”

 

Chapter 10 – 7/3

Summer arrives at the Patriot

Shaking up at the no-tell motel

Bottle of Jack Daniels from Ray Ray Pollard at the ABC

A cry in the night

‘Shit on a stick’

 

Chapter 11 – 7/3

Why would Louise try Summer’s door if she always locked it? Why didn’t she hear the Camero start?

‘Pathway to the Light’ by Brother Enos Purvis from VA. Beach

Rock & Roll music – 28 hours a day

“Well I wonder what that ‘tramp daughter of mine’ is up to tonight?

 

Chapter 12 – 7/3

Michel crashes back into his motel room, smelling the sheriff and lackey

Why doesn’t Summer’s scratch excite him?

“Are you making the boo-boo go away?”

He did not want to ‘turn’ her

It is after 10:00 PM

The office smelled of stale cigarettes and boiled cabbage

Tell Tucker Coe a need for a new mirror and a doorknob

Easy peasy

“The sheriff did the damage” when he snuck in my room

Band-aids?

Search the room for planted evidence – a set-up

Not be allowed to love him

She knows

 

Chapter 13 – 7/3

You want to go to the party?

The Sugden Place

WGH “It’s too late baby, it’s too late”

Christy Conner making out with someone other than Hoss Calvert

Joey “Moon” Mullins

Tank Purcell

Gloria Jewett, soph. from W&M

Windy Travers

Hip guy in pickup playing a guitar

Tina gives a hug

Who is working the dinner if all of the waitress’s are out partying?

On a Saturday night?

Strawberry mountain moonshine

“Cousin Irvan”

Tina this is ‘James’ (she doesn’t know about Michel yet?) Why not Jim?

“Have you done ‘it’ with him?”

“Tina! Jeez!”

“Looking for trouble”

Sonny Blarret & Eddie Pugh wanted to drop acid

Stake your claim on that one

Network news to the hillbillies

Rose Wilkins will never get Dunk Midle to dance in front of people

I know more than you think

Tired of living in a space where time stands still

Summer shows off

I think we started something

How long were we dancing out there – forever

Joe Burwell, Frisbee

Horsey Cole

Dave Raymor, Jr. @ Tech and Kappa Sigma was pumping a keg

A pretentious know-it-all

Rob is here!

Jesse Moyer

Lindsay Hayes, the reverend’s 17-year-old daughter, making out with two guys

Moon Mullins is passed out on his ’65 Skylark

Rob and Summer were the party’s entertainment for everyone to watch

Eddie Pugh on his ’62 Catalina was looking for a baseball bat

“The monkeys are laughing at us”

Sonny Barrett

Rob and Summer break up

“Lets ride the fuck out of here”

 

Chapter 14 – 7/3

Cindy Shuford and Rickey Hawley making out in the Nicewarder barn

Find Kenny’s Mustang

“That’s blood”

 

Chapter 15 – 7/3

Storybook Hollow

The Haunted Castle dungeon room

Something no human has seen before

Fantasy Park envy again?

Hall of the Mountain King

He stole the ladder & lanterns

He left $200 on the counter to cover

Queen of a forgotten temple devoted to her

The Devils Altar

Born 1846 outside of Paris

Play with gems from an explorer

Black Sheep in my teens

Remittance men – wanderers

Explorer and rouge

Then there was ‘Angeline’

After winning a few hundred in steerage enjoying a Havana, he saw her at the bow (Titantic?)

‘Is it you?’

‘Shadow Woman’ in a dream

October sixteenth, 1872 – the night I was turned

(If Summer is Angeline, why does she nee to be turned (again?)

Hookiest language of “I must be alone”

I can ‘bequeath’ you

Helena Hawkbourne and her family

‘Angeline’ Hawkbourne

“So teach me”

Summer get naked

“Teach me”

This is where it becomes XXX

The want. The need

 

Chapter 1 – 7/4

Love & blood

More

 

Chapter 2 – 7/4

Kenny’s Mustang – blood-splattered windown

Deputy Curly Jackson, Collie Nettles, Billy Tate

Almost 12:30 AM

“Well shit”

Julie and Ford Sheffield

Hadn’t run off to elope

Enfield on the gate to the Nicewander Farm

Cindy Shuford & Ricky Hawley call it in from the payphone at the fire station.

Canvas the party

That’s a lot of blood

Call Elmore at the paper for photos

Doc Bragg, get up here pronto

Found in the backseat

Kenny’s alive

London

Singing “She’s Come Undone”

 

Chapter 3 – 7/4

2AM Fireworks over on Dog Mountain

Could take up to 3 days

Tea & warm milk – old man

What have I done?

Climb in a trucks and find a graveyard and while retching

 

Chapter 4 – 7/4

Elmore Eubank camera

Gordon Bragg, country’s informal coroner

Kenny is bound for Richmond

Hopped up fucking kids

Carla Adkins, the Record – Progress

Ward 8 at MCV

Danny Everlett

Kenny and Ray Ray got into a fight

“If I want my money, I’m gonna have to beat it out of him”

(If Ray Ray was dealing, why would Kenny be so angry owing?)

Kenny loaned Ray Ray $200

(The chopper was loud. Why didn’t any one hear it through the valley?)

“Why would Kenny go after the biker?”

“Call in the bears”

“Pronto Tonto”

 

Chapter 5 – 7/4

She wore one of his shirts and jeans so her :white’ outfit would be free of the blood that had dried on her skin

Shower love

Stay in the caverns so we can ‘turn’ in safety

Summer you no longer have a choice

House outside of Boston

Hicks & the sun were coming up

 

Chapter 6 – 7/4

Why would Summer go back home to sleep?

Bible

Play the whore

 

Chapter 7 – 7/4

Rt. 81

Kenny had done it, high, pissed off and drunk

Chaz Barley, Commonwealth Attorney

Sane trail from light

“I guess I’m in a heap of trouble?”

Hicks shots Michel

Sun comes up and Michel runs

Needing to kill

 

Chapter 8 – 7/4

We’re going to church – 7:28AM

Tweety bird dress

Jumpin’ Jesus show

“The truth will make you free”

‘A tragedy has fallen a young couple in town, one of whom is – was – a party of our St. John’s family’

Making a scene in my church

 

Chapter 9 – 7/4

Louis Crowder’s cornfield

Hawks is in pain

Good enough for God’s work

Went back to Ben Castles?

7:15. Searching Ben’s backyard

Hick’s breaks into house

Drank Markers Mark

Meperidine

Pop 3-

Sliosh the paintings

 

Chapter 10 – 7/4

Louise goes crazy

She had to choice

Dial “0”

 

Chapter 11 – 7/4

Back to the Dinette

Bailey Evans said Kenny chewed through her neck

Danny Everett said her through had been torn out

Tina – help Sarah

Summer didn’t belong her anymore

Sheriff Hicks – “Let’s go for a little ride girley girl – we gotta talk abut last night”

 

Chapter 12 – 7/4

Summer interrogation

“Get comfy Goldilocks”

2 hours & 3 Salems

“Sweatin’ the bitch down”

Knowing someone isn’t a crime

Rob West

The 4^th of July party @ Nicewander Farm

“Not exactly”

“That goddamn illegal hullaballoo”

“Kenny chased him?”

I don’t see how that is any of your business?

Guilty as shit

Your mother called me

 

Chapter 13 – 7/4

Another 3 hours then let her sit for another hour

Back to the dinner

“Hicks wants to pin Ronnie on Trager

Driver back home (again)

Tummy problems – turning?

Summer vomits

Black bile and blood

 

Chapter 14 – 7/4

Washington – Jefferson Heritage Park

Cockey Seward, of Cockey’s Maytag

Roberta Ledbetter, Henrick J. Cordell Memorial Library

Lion Club Jug Band

Humph, good riddance

“My cousin, the cannibal”

Old people drank Schaefers

8:44PM in the bathroom

Why did she clean up the bathroom?

Until the beast can be lossed

“Rob” in the garden

“I’m not he one for you”

Summer fed on Rob

Michel had been shot

 

Chapter 15 – 7/4

Sheriff stays in his office

Willie Weeks, caretaker at St. John’ found a motorcycle

The mausoleum has been broken into

Code Two Iris!

20 minutes later Hicks has 8 deputies

Tear gas? Overkill

The grey beast is shot

Collie Nettles loses an arm

Cease fire

And he would fleed for it

 

Chapter 16 – 7/4

Storybook Hollow, sanctuary

Grounded?

Crumbled at Summer’s feet

 

Chapter 17 – 7/4

8:54 – emergency at St. John’s cemetery

8:58 – emergency at 56 Croatoan Avenue

Mrs. Louise Moore, age sixty-two

Porky sneaks looks, “She’s a looker”

9:45 – Collins Nettles was on the operating table

Dr. Wilson Stoney

Pain pills

Stay awake

Sheriff steals pills

Okey Dokey

 

Chapter 18 – 7/4

Never hugged her mom

Nurse Baker and Doc Rolly Hoyt

3 weeks in the hospital

Take some more tests

“So she’s going to live?”

Untamed reflection

Hicks encounter

He was high

Collie didn’t make it

Important police business

Hicks had lost it

Needle in Louise’s skin

Morphine from the doctor’s treasure chest

“I’ll take you to him”

 

Chapter 19 – 7/4

Storybook Hollow

“Onward Christian Soldiers”

“Where?”

“The Dark Forrest”

Duke gets shot

The great beast lumbered from the darkness

Ben Castle

“Run him – lead him back to town”

3AM meeting

 

Chapter 20 – 7/4

Dr. Rolly Hoyt & Nurse Gaynelle Baker

He shot me

 

Chapter 21 – 7/4

Bats chased Hicks

Ichor?

3 miles from town Stonebridge Motor Lodge fire of ‘67

Phone booth

Linwood Holbert’s cornfield

Larkin brothers collards field

Northumberland

Meriam Teagues house

Henry Williford dog, Dawg barks

Ne-er do wells

Barton Owens place

Dotty ? Mrs. Hicks?

3 Pabst and a belch

Racehorse pee

‘That rotgut gonna turn your liver into a sponge’

Time to confess

As for forgiveness

Sheriff Amberson “Buddy” Hicks

Alicia Ryan

 

Chapter 22 – 7/4 (after midnight?)

Summer & Merit leave the hospital in her Camero

“You commanded the bats”

Reflection

“Would you really want it to be?”

That was the last time they would see each other for many years

Let go of everything

2:48 “Shit”

They were ghostflowers

Deputy Ashton Ivor, J. B. Keever, Red Haverly

Trashed her bloodied clothing

Deputy Curley Jackson

Evie Garland crying, Dukes girlfriend

TV Guide crossword puzzle

When will all this shit ends?

GET OUT!

Disowned – outcast

3:23 – DRIVE

 

Chapter 23 – 7/5?

He’s still not answering

Deputy Joynes ‘Clinton’

Iris snored

Stole “Trager” file

Telex – INTERPOL

The Hawkbournes could already be here

Secret compartment was intact

One last thing to do

 

Chapter 24 –

Back door?

Holy shit is right

 

Chapter 25 –

Back to the Dixie Dinette

Brought back my key

There was no way back

The note

It breaks my heart to leave you

Unwittingly exposed me to my enemies

Stay in the shadows

Go to Washington DC

Solomon Bronze, attorney

Sent by John Raven

“If then true lovers have been ever crossed, it stands as an edict in destiny”

You will get a package

This was not the way it was supposed to be

$20,000

Cheap thrill

Bring it on-

 

The End

 

In conclusion:

“ghostflowers” was a slow, disjointed read to me. The early chapters dragged with innuendoes and hints that take forever to realize. The last chapters tried to cram in all the answers but it is too busy.

Why the long cast of characters:

Biker Colonel James Philip Trager (Michel D’ Aronot)

Summer Moore, waitress (Angeline)

Rob West

Tina Tyler, waitress

Deputy Duke Crawford

Sheriff Amberson “Buddy” Hicks

Ruthettes Hawkins, Cook

Ralph Jenkins, proprietor of Dixie Dinette

Doc Bragg

Pearl Scabury, clerk at the courthouse

Kate & John Juniper

Ronnie Sheffield

Kenny Cousins

Ray Ray Pollard, ABC store

Hank Bourneo

Steve, the gas station attendant

Tucker Coe, motel attendant

Louise Moore, mother

Wallis ?

Mickey Stubbs, bully

Mrs. Mason, 5^th grade teacher

Mrs. Shield, teacher

Mr. Blair, married skirt chaser

Yvomme Parker, housewife lush

Steve Stones, big brother murdered

Mrs. Watkins flower shop

Buddy Ro

Jasmine Winter, planted flowers

Randy Winter, fighter w/ a few beer

Ben Castle, general in Korea

Lonnie Hicks (sheriff’s son) had grown out his hair and was living in Canada

Blanche Mitchell

Daryl Knicke teasing

Stole Virgil Ackers shot glass after he shot his common law wife

Korea Major Spencer Bradford

Charles Montaigne WWII

Bridget, the carhop (on skates?)

Bungie Mallory, proprietor Shenandoah Drive-In Theatre

Margie Mallory, ticket taker $1.00

Denny, Tina’s boyfriend

Richie Rich and Jill in GTX

Delbert, the dinosaur toy

Wayne Cousins (Kenny’s father)

Mr. Waddell – crazy

Mildred Hathoway, teacher voice

Sally Baily tried to ride ‘Flower’

Woke Mrs. Crarey?

Sarah, waitress

Iris Salmon

Joanie Windsor, report order

Rev Hayes from St. John’s

Jack Holly’s field of corn

Millie Watson desk

Don Reese – WW1 friend

Cecil Hicks, sheriff’s brother, was died in an ambush in Korea

Aunt Bessie

Donna Cross

Leroy Nelman

Christy Conner

Joey “Moon” Mullins

Tank Purcell

Gloria Jewett, soph from W&M

 Windy Travers

Hip guy in pickup playing a guitar

Sonny Blarret

Eddie Pugh

Rose Wilkins

Dunk Midle

Joe Burwell, Frisbee

Horsey Cole

Dave Raymor, Jr. @ Tech and Kappa Sigma was pumping a keg

Jesse Moyer

Lindsay Hayes, the reverend’s 17-year-old daughter, making out with two guys

Moon Mullins

Cindy Shuford

Rickey Hawley

Helena Hawkbourne and her family

‘Angeline’ Hawkbourne

Deputy Curly Jackson

Deputy Collie Nettles

Deputy Billy Tate

Deputy Enfield

Elmore Eubank, camera

Gordon Bragg, country’s informal coroner

Carla Adkins, the Record – Progress

Danny Everlett

Chaz Barley, Commonwealth Attorney

Louis Crowder’s cornfield

Bailey Evans

Danny Everett

Willie Weeks, caretaker at St. John’ found a motorcycle

Dr. Wilson Stoney

Nurse Gaynelle Baker

Doc Rolly Hoyt

Linwood Holbert’s cornfield

Meriam Teagues

Barton Owens

Dotty? Mrs. Hicks?

Alicia Ryan

Barton Owens

Deputy Ashton Ivor

Deputy J. B. Keever

Deputy Red Haverly

Deputy Curley Jackson

Evie Garland crying, Dukes girlfriend

Deputy Clinton Joynes

Solomon Bronze, attorney

Sent by John Raven

If this becomes a movie, you’ll be broke paying all the extras.

The main characters we get some graphic details of what they look like.

Summer is blonde and shapely, but what else. She is a waitress and was a high school cheerleader. She lives with her mother and drives a black Camero. Rob, her boyfriend, is an unknown.

Sheriff Hicks is only assumed to be the overweight county redneck sheriff. Does he wear a brown uniform with cowboy boots? What kind of pistol does he carry? Is it a pearl handle like Gen. Patton?

“The biker”. Has long black hair. Wearing an army jacket. Is described by the sheriff as a ‘hippy’. Is he white or black? This story would take a turn if Col. James Trager were an afro-American.

Branding? I know the author worked in advertising but why the different brands of cigarettes? What about the model of the cars? Why the brands of the beers and not the soft drinks at the drive-in?

If Summer has been out of high school for three years, why does she still act like a teenager? Is living in a small rural town with her mother regressing her maturity?

What was on Ben’s letter to Michel? Written in blood?

Why note the roadways that don’t match the maps? Could be the highway or route rather than a number? Instead of a made up town, it could have been a real location like Dumpass or Greyledge or Harvey? Real places with real locations and real roads and real stores for references. The community tourist center could sponsor the printing cost?

The chapters were a bit jerky. Motel. Dinette. Mother’s house. Drive-in movie. Motel. Ben’s house. Etc. Maybe a writing style from ‘Dark Shadows’?

The title ‘ghostflowers’ I assume references Summer’s garden and white roses (though the cover doesn’t show the link).

The author wraps up the mother, the sheriff, Ronnie & Kenny, Deputy Duke, and turned Ben and Summer. Then he runs off leaving his love for another time. Is she pregnant? Do vampires get pregnant? It would be a good sequel the “Son of Dixie”

I personally was disappointed. I expected more. Fewer characters and more of a psyche in-depth study of each. Was the sheriff jealous of a war veteran? Why was Summer always going back home? Why couldn’t they hear the motorcycle in the valley?

‘ghostflowers’ left me more questions and enjoyable reading. Better luck next time.

Coda

 

In music, a coda (Italian for "tail", plural code) is a passage that brings a piece (or a movement) to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence. It may be as simple as a few measures, or as complex as an entire section.

CODA is also a 2021 coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Sian Heder. An English-language remake of the 2014 French-Belgian film La Famille Bélier, it stars Emilia Jones as the titular child of deaf adults (CODA) and only hearing member of a deaf family, who attempts to help her family's struggling fishing business, while pursuing her own aspirations of being a singer. Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Daniel Durant, and Marlee Matlin are featured in supporting roles. An international co-production between the United States and France with La Famille Bélier producer Philippe Rousselet reprising his role as producer, it was filmed on location in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in the United States.

Highly recommend.

In my continuing effort to understand our species I dwell into those who are not like us. They are not aliens but invisible. They walk among us but we do not pay attention.

Have you ever sat with a deaf person and try to communicate? They lip read and have a sign language that is beautiful to watch but I’m totally illiterate. Like people who live in a foreign land, there is a way to talk but it takes time. When you go to the grocery everyone speaks the same language, until they don’t.

Being a segregated culture just crossing the street can be stepping into a different world. It could be as simple as your clothing or your skin color.

Music is a great internationals method to combine different cultural sounds (unless you are deaf). Trying to teach a blind person the Mona Lisa or someone with down symptom algebra may take time but it is worth the effort.

No matter how we interchange with those who are ‘different’ at the end there is a coda. There will be an end to the cadence.

Let’s Write A Song

 

It is said to get your thoughts straight, write them down. It could be a to-do list or a thoughtful sentence or a paragraph or a page or a book or the next great American novel.

Or it could be a poem.

Take that earworm you’ve been humming in your head and combine the two.

You’ve written a song.

If you play the guitar or piano you can accompany yourself (doesn’t work as well with a tuba). Sing it while you are washing dishes or doing laundry or for good echo, singing in the shower.

Now you should record it so you can share it with all your friends. You can record a cassette tape but no one has a tape player anymore. There are tons of free software on the web that does the same stuff as a professional recording studio with multi-tracks for overdubs.

If you want other people to play along, you can get someone to transpose your song to little dots on paper. If you have some change in your pocket you can hand your sheet music score out to an orchestra to play along.

You can upload your digital song to all sorts of sites to distribute to others and get critical reviews. You may go viral?

If you decide you want to perform the song in front of a live audience you’ll have to get a manager to book gigs, sell tickets, manufacture merchandise and arrange for transportation for you and your band. You’ll need a lawyer to handle any plagiarism issues or contract requirements. You’ll need an accountant to handle all the money that is flowing in trying to keep up with your star lifestyle.

Wait!

What kind of song do you want to write?

Nursery songs are nice to put your baby asleep. A pop song would be fun to dance to. There is rock, soul, hip-hop, rap,…. Wear a pair of combat boots, stomp around and scream your heavy metal best (if your downstairs neighbors don’t mind). You can even write a protest song against all the disturbing news that fills our media everyday.

Don’t come if you are only bringing your Speech

 

We all have opinions. We all have passions. We all have agendas.

Some of these can become a personality.

Teachers give speeches called lesson plans. If their audience is not sleepy or distracted or paying attention, with some notes and additional study and research, they may pass the test.

Preachers give speeches called sermons. If their audience (called congregation) is not too sleepy or distracted or paying attention, with Bible study and hymns, they might get to heaven.

Doctors give speeches called diagnosis. If their audiences are more doctors confirming or denying a medical thesis or patients hearing strange terms for what may be killing them and what is needed to stay alive, they could be written in medical journals and placed on the shelf.

Entrepreneurs give speeches called business plans. If their audiences are speculators or investors promising to make a profit over a pie in the sky idea, they could become millionaire moguls of industry or in deep debt.

Politicians give speeches. These are the words spoken to the voters giving repeated promises without any conclusions, except to get elected for another term.

Potential employees give speeches called applications or resumes. These are the words to persuade an employer to hire you with agreed upon salary and benefits and responsibilities and requirements, to start a career and save for retirement.

Every movement, trend, campaign are presented to the public with speeches. They maybe brief interviews or lengthy lecture, discourse, oration, declamation, deliverance, presentation, valedictory, homily, diatribe, monologue or soliloquy.

Some people are so ingrained in a movement, trend, campaign or just strong opinion that is all they speak about. If you notice social media, comments become speeches, and some are very irrational.

When there are face-to-face gatherings, we want to hear about family and friends, not speeches. We want some personal thoughts and ideas, accomplishes and failures, those tidbits the rest of us can talk about when you are not there.

So when we get together, leave your speeches at home. I don’t want to hear them.

Everything we say to each other are only lies anyway.

Plagiarizing

 

Plagiarism is the representation of another author's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work. In educational contexts, there are differing definitions of plagiarism depending on the institution. Plagiarism is considered a violation of academic integrity and a breach of journalistic ethics. It is subject to sanctions such as penalties, suspension, expulsion from school or work, substantial fines and even imprisonment.

Generally, plagiarism is not in itself a crime, but like counterfeiting fraud can be punished in a court for prejudices caused by copyright infringement, violation of moral rights, or torts. In academia and industry, it is a serious ethical offense. Plagiarism and copyright infringement overlap to a considerable extent, but they are not equivalent concepts, and many types of plagiarism do not constitute copyright infringement, which is defined by copyright law and may be adjudicated by courts.

Plagiarism might not be the same in all countries. Some countries, such as India and Poland, consider plagiarism to be a crime, and there have been cases of people being imprisoned for plagiarizing. In other instances, plagiarism might be the complete opposite of "academic dishonesty"; in fact, in some countries the act of plagiarizing a professional's work is seen as flattering. Students who move to the United States and other Western countries from countries where plagiarism is not frowned upon often find the transition difficult.

 

Plagiarism is not illegal in the United States in most situations. ... However, plagiarism can warrant legal action if it infringes upon the original author's copyright, patent, or trademark. Plagiarism can also result in a lawsuit if it breaches a contract with terms that only original work is acceptable.

 

Signs of plagiarism

1. Sudden changes in diction.

Perhaps the most reliable tip-off of all is an unexpected shift of register. Put simply, if the writing suddenly changes within a few sentences or paragraphs, that may not be their writing. This can be subtler than some of the factors below, but when grading, you should already be reading closely enough to notice this.

3. More than one font.

This one is more of a gimme. Look out for changes in font type, size, color, and style (italics, bold, or underline), as well as suspicious formatting, especially a change from one setting to another (single vs. double space, margins, and so on). There may be other, perfectly legitimate reasons for these errors, so it’s hardly dispositive proof of plagiarism, but it should be a red flag.

3. Uncalled for hyperlinks.

Along the same lines, a signal that a paper (or a portion of it) may be copied and pasted from an online source is the presence of HTML links, which you obviously can’t follow if the submission is a hard copy. These are often underlined and blue, or darker gray in black-and-white printed papers. Again, there may be no foul play here, but it may be a sign of something.

4. Odd intrusions of first-person or shifts in tense.

Logically, first-person interjections would seem to be a sign that someone did write something, wouldn’t they? Always look carefully here. Do they sound like something this student would say? A student was once caught submitting an essay on steroid abuse that included the phrase, “In my many years as a physician …”

5. Outdated information.

If you come across a passage that says something like, “our current president, Bill Clinton,” or “Soviet scientists assert that,” you might be reading a plagiarized paper. Granted, this may also simply be a sign of poor researching skills or plain ignorance, but it’s sure redolent of lazy academic thievery.

6. Apparent quotes with quotation marks.

This is not only a sign of plagiarism; it’s one key definition of it. It should be made very clear to students that improper citation by itself constitutes plagiarism, and though it’s typically of the accidental kind, in practice that does not necessarily mitigate the consequences. Again, if they sound like someone else’s words, they very well might be, so investigate.

7. Incorrect or mixed citation systems.

Different disciplines have different methods of citing sources. You should make it clear to your students whether you expect them to use MLA, APA, Turabian, Chicago style, or whatever system fits your subject, and adequately instruct them in how to use it. Most important of all is consistency. If the citation style changes, you may be looking at plagiarized material.

8. Missing references.

These can either be footnotes or endnotes that don’t exist, or random notes with no referent in the text. Just like a mismatched or confused citation style, these loose ends can reveal chunks of text lifted directly from source material. Again, incorrect or absent citations are an academic offense in themselves, but they may also point to something more systematic and deliberate.

9. A paper that doesn’t really fit the assignment.

It’s a good policy to give students as specific a prompt as possible for written assignments. This makes it much harder to simply steal (or buy, there are sites for that!) a paper by another writer. If you do give a fairly particular briefing for an assignment, and then get a submission that’s just slightly askew from what you asked for, like a square peg in a round hole, it may be that the student secured a paper from another source, figured “Hey, close enough,” and turned it in.

10. Getting a hit on a search engine.

Finally, we come to the technological solutions for diagnosing plagiarism. The simplest and most readily available resource is Google: paste a sentence or phrase that seems iffy and see if you get any hits. More precisely tailored tools include Turnitin, Plagium, Plagscan, iThenticate, and many more. It’s amazing how often it fails to occur to students that their teachers could do this. It really adds insult to injury: if they’re going to cheat, they should at least do it well, instead of assuming you’re an idiot who won’t notice. For their own good and your own integrity, don’t let them get away with it.

 

Successful suits and settlements

• Solomon Linda was a South African musician, singer and composer best known as the composer of the song "Mbube", which later became the popular music success "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Despite the popularity and wide use of the song, Linda died impoverished in 1962 of renal failure. In February 2006, Linda's estate attained a legal settlement with Abilene Music Company, which had the worldwide rights and had licensed the song to Disney. The primary outcomes of the settlement of February 2006 were:

·      The Linda estate will receive payment for past uses of The Lion Sleeps Tonight and an entitlement to future royalties from its worldwide use.

·      The Lion Sleeps Tonight is acknowledged as derived from Mbube.

·      Solomon Linda is acknowledged as a co-composer of The Lion Sleeps Tonight and will be designated as such in the future.

• In March 1963, the Beach Boys released "Surfin' U.S.A." When the single was released in 1963, the record listed Brian Wilson as the sole composer although Arc Music, Chuck Berry’s publisher, published the song. Later releases, beginning with Best of The Beach Boys in 1966, listed Chuck Berry as the songwriter. Later releases list both writers although Arc Music has always owned the copyright since 1963. Under pressure from Berry's publisher, Wilson's father and manager, Murry Wilson, had given the copyright, including Brian Wilson's lyrics, to Arc Music.

• George Martin's score for the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" (1967) contained melodies from several songs thought to be public domain, including "In the Mood," written by Joe Garland and Andy Razaf. While the song was in the public domain, the Glenn Miller arrangement used was not and EMI made a royalty payment to KPM Publishing in July 1967.

• John Lennon's use of a line from Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me" ("Here come up flat top / He was movin' up with me/") the 1969 Beatles' song "Come Together" ("Here comes ol' flat-top / He come groovin' up slowly") led to a lawsuit from Berry's publisher, Big Seven Music Corp. In 1973, a settlement was reached whereby Lennon agreed to record three of Big Seven's songs on his next album. Big Seven Music Corp. again sued Lennon for breach of contract, when his 1974 album, Walls and Bridges, failed to contain all three of the songs, with the court awarding the company US$6,795.

• Led Zeppelin's song "Dazed and Confused" was derived from a 1967 Jake Holmes song of the same name, which had been performed by Jimmy Page when he was with The Yardbirds. In June 2010, Holmes filed a lawsuit against the guitarist for copyright infringement in a United States District Court, claiming Page knowingly copied his work. The case was dismissed with prejudice in January 2012 following a stipulation filed by both parties. The 2012 Led Zeppelin release Celebration Day credits the song to "Jimmy Page, inspired by Jake Holmes".

• On Led Zeppelin's album Led Zeppelin II (1969), parts of the song "Bring It On Home" were copied from Sonny Boy Williamson's 1963 recording of "Bring It On Home," written by Willie Dixon. On the same album, "The Lemon Song" included an adaptation of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor." In 1972, Arc Music, the publishing arm of Chess Records, brought a lawsuit against Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement over "Bring It On Home" and "The Lemon Song"; the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Earlier UK pressings of the album listed the song as "Killing Floor" and part credited it to Burnett, Howling Wolf's real name.

• Led Zeppelin's song "Whole Lotta Love" contained lyrics that were derivative of Willie Dixon's 1962 song "You Need Love." In 1985, Dixon filed a copyright infringement suit, resulting in an out-of-court settlement. Later pressings of Led Zeppelin II credit Dixon as co-writer.

• George Harrison was successfully sued in a prolonged suit that began in 1971 for plagiarizing The Chiffons' "He's So Fine" (1963) for the melody of his own "My Sweet Lord" (1970). In the ruling, the judge stated that he believed Harrison had not intentionally copied the song, but more than likely experienced an episode of cryptomnesia. "George Harrison was guilty of nothing but forgetting that if you repeat a three-syllable phrase three times over six measures, the probability someone hasn't done it before is virtually nil," says songwriter Nappy Martin. "That's not plagiarism, that's earnest tribute -- just as he even declared was intended to Edwin Hawkins in his song."

• In 1971, Johnny Cash paid songwriter Gordon Jenkins an out-of-court settlement of US$75,000 for plagiarizing liberally from Jenkins' 1953 song "Crescent City Blues," for Cash's 1955 single "Folsom Prison Blues" (re-released in 1968).

• Rod Stewart was successfully sued by Brazilian songwriter Jorge Ben Jor, over "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" melody and chorus similarities to Ben's 1972 song "Taj Mahal".

• In autumn 1984 and throughout 1985, Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker, Jr., for plagiarism, alleging that Parker stole the melody of the song "Ghostbusters" (the theme from the movie of the same name), from Lewis's 1983 song "I Want A New Drug." Lewis dropped the lawsuit after the two parties settled out-of-court in 1995. Lewis had been approached to compose the main theme song for the Ghostbusters movie, but had declined due to his work on the soundtrack for Back to the Future. It was reported in 2001 that Lewis allegedly breached an agreement not to mention the original suit, doing so on VH1's Behind the Music.

• According to the book Sharp Dressed Men by former ZZ Top stage manager David Blayney, who was with the band for 15 years, sound engineer Linden Hudson co-wrote much of the material on the ZZ Top album Eliminator album as a live-in high-tech music teacher to band members Frank Beard and Billy Gibbons. Despite continued denials by the band, it settled a five-year legal battle with Hudson in 1986, paying him $600,000 after he proved he held the copyright to the song "Thug" which appeared on Eliminator.

• Madonna was successfully sued over her 1986 hit "Papa Don't Preach" by songwriters Donna Weiss and Bruce Robert who received financial compensation after claiming the singer's hit song was stealing from the 1985 track "Sugar Don't Bite" they made for Sam Harris.

• Due to similarities to "The Air That I Breathe", a song recorded by The Hollies in 1973, Radiohead were successfully sued for plagiarism over their 1992 song "Creep". Consequently, songwriters Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood are credited as co-writers.

• Led Zeppelin also paid a settlement to the publisher of Ritchie Valens' song "Ooh! My Head" over "Boogie with Stu" (from their album Physical Graffiti) which borrowed from Valens' song (although they had already listed Valens in the credits).

• Madonna had to pay $2.5 million to Lebanese singer Fairuz who sued for sampling her song without permission and without any financial compensation.

• Oasis's 1994 single "Whatever" was initially credited as being written by the band's lead guitarist Noel Gallagher; a subsequent lawsuit awarded a co-writing credit to musical comedian Neil Innes due to similarities to his song "How Sweet to Be an Idiot." Oasis were also successfully sued for $500,000 by The New Seekers after the 1994 song "Shakermaker" was alleged to have taken its melody from "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing". An Oasis song "Step Out," was originally intended for the (What's the Story) Morning Glory? album but was taken off after Stevie Wonder requested 10% of the royalties, as the chorus bore a similarity to his hit "Uptight (Everything's Alright)." Instead it was placed as a B-side on their 1996 single "Don't Look Back in Anger," and "Uptight" writers Wonder, Henry Cosby and Sylvia Moy received credit for writing the song, along with Noel Gallagher.

• In 2000, a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against the Rolling Stones' former record company ABKCO Records, determining that two Robert Johnson songs recorded by the group, "Love in Vain" and "Stop Breaking Down" were not in the public domain.

• Madonna lost a 2005 judgement against a Belgian songwriter named Salvatore Acquaviva who was claiming that the popstar 1998 hit "Frozen" was lifting from his early-1980s song, "Ma Vie Fout le camp." The judge declined to award damages, but did order the withdrawal of all remaining discs for sale and barred the song from airplay on Belgian TV and radio. See Frozen (Madonna song): Plagiarism.

• Madonna paid 600 000 $ to the family of photographer Guy Bourdin after the artists heir sued her for plagiarizing his father work to make her Hollywood music video.

• American musician Les Paul was successfully sued for plagiarizing Romanian composer Richard Stein's "Sanie cu zurg?l?i" (1937) as "Johnny (Is the Boy for Me)" (1953).

• A lawsuit filed by Tommy Dunbar and James Gangwer of the 1970s power pop band the Rubinoos alleged Avril Lavigne stole their song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" and reworked it into her best-selling single "Girlfriend." The case was settled for an undisclosed sum in January 2008.

• The Black Eyed Peas were successfully sued by Ohio disc jockey Lynn Tolliver, claiming that his song "I Need a Freak" was sampled without his permission in the Black Eyed Peas song "My Humps." Lynn Tolliver won $1.2 million.

• In 2009, Norman Lurie, then the head of Larrikin Music, successfully sued the members of the disbanded Australian group Men at Work on the basis that "a pattern of notes in five bars of a 93-bar song" in their hit "Down Under" sounded too much like the song "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree," to which Larrikin owned the rights.

• Will.i.am and Chris Brown were accused of stealing house producers Mat Zo and Arty track "Rebound", upon the release of their 2013 collaborative single "Let's Go". Anjunabeats, the record label behind the producers, in a formal public statement, backed this claim. Will.i.am admitted that he did take the track, following an outcry on social media, and that he was rectifying the issue in an undisclosed licensing deal with the producers.

• Shakira's Spanish-language single "Loca" was ruled a copy from another songwriter's work. On 19 August 2014, Alvin Hellerstein, senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, concluded that the Spanish version of "Loca" had been plagiarised from "Loca con su Tiguere", a mid-1990s song composed by Dominican songwriter Ramon "Arias" Vasquez. Hellerstein ruled in favour of Vasquez and found the two songs to be similar in structure and rhythm. As the Spanish version of "Loca" features Bello singing numerous portions, the judge reasoned that it too was plagiarised from Vasquez's song. After a trial phase, SonyATV Latin and Sony/ATV Discos (the distributors of the Spanish version of "Loca" in the United States) will pay damages to Mayimba Music, the owner of the rights to Vasquez's song and the plaintiff in the lawsuit.

• Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were successfully sued for plagiarising Marvin Gaye's song "Got to Give It Up" for his single "Blurred Lines", and "After the Dance" for "Love After War", following a unanimous jury verdict on 10 March 2015. Marvin Gaye's children, Frankie Gaye and Nona Gaye, launched legal proceedings against EMI Records and Thicke in October 2013. In a separate allegation, Bridgeport Music claims "Blurred Lines" was remarkably similar to Funkadelic's "Sexy Ways". Both Thicke and Pharrell attempted to thwart the Gaye and Bridgeport lawsuits by claiming their copyright claims were invalid. Thicke and Pharrell were ordered to pay US$7.4 million in damages to the Gaye heirs.

• In April 2015, British producer Mark Ronson was forced to add additional credits to "Uptown Funk" (featuring Bruno Mars) after an out-of-court settlement had been reached with The Gap Band's publishing company, Minder Music. Charlie Wilson, Robert Wilson, Ronnie Wilson, Rudolph Taylor and producer Lonnie Simmons were added as co-writers, and that they would receive a 17% songwriting credit each. Minder Music filed a claim into YouTube's content management system, which prevented publishers to receive their payment, after the song was released failing to credit the original songwriters.

• Bruno Bergonzi co-wrote with Michele Vicino the song "Takin’ Me to Paradise", published on 1983. This song appeared on a number of compilations, internationally distributed. Italian Court d'Assise ruled on 2007 that Prince's 1994 hit, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", was a plagiarism from the song by two Italian writers Bergonzi and Vicino. The final sentence, by the Court of Cassation of Rome, arrived in May 2015 and recognized Bergonzi and Vicino as the authors of "The Most Most Beautiful Girl in the World" music.

• The Christian hip hop artist Flame, along with producer Chike Ojukwu and co-songwriter Emanuel Lambert, in 2014 sued the pop artist Katy Perry for plagiarizing their 2008 song "Joyful Noise", which featured Lecrae and John Reilly, in her 2013 single "Dark Horse", featuring Juicy J and produced by Dr. Luke, Cirkut, and Max Martin. The beat and instrumental line of "Dark Horse" was ruled by a federal jury in 2019 to have violated the copyright of Flame's song, with Perry, Juicy J, Dr. Luke, Cirkut, Max Martin, along with the co-songwriter Sarah Hudson and the labels and distributors Capitol Records, Warner Bros. Music Corporation, Kobalt Publishing, and Kasz Money Inc all found liable. On March 17, 2020, Judge Christina Snyder reversed the decision.

• In May 2018, Irish alternative rock band The Script filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against British singer James Arthur, alleging that Arthur's 2016 single "Say You Won't Let Go" sounded similar to their 2008 single "The Man Who Can't Be Moved". The case was ultimately settled in December 2018, with the judge ruling in favor of The Script, and Danny O'Donoghue and Mark Sheehan, the writers of "The Man Who Can't Be Moved", each receiving an official co-writing credit for "Say You Won't Let Go".

• Belgian brothers Edward and Daniel van Passel sued R&B artist R. Kelly for plagiarizing their song "If We Can Start All Over" in Michael Jackson's 1995 single "You Are Not Alone". A Belgian court rejected their claims in 2003, noting that the 43.46% similarity between the two melodies was a mere coincidence but the ruling was reversed in 2007, based on the fact that Kelly's earliest evidence of writing the score was August 1995, 21 months after the brothers registered their score for "If We Can Start All Over" and ordered the withdrawal of all remaining discs for sale and barred the song from airplay on Belgian TV and radio as a result. See You Are Not Alone: Plagiarism.

Unsuccessful suits

• During the mid-1930s, Ira Arnstein became convinced that major pop songwriters had been illegally copying his work. During 1936–46 he brought forth five plagiarism lawsuits though none proved successful.

• A number of people have put forth the opinion that the introduction, and opening guitar arpeggios, of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" bears a close resemblance to the 1968 instrumental "Taurus" by the group Spirit. In May 2014 an attorney hired by Randy California's heirs announced plans to file a copyright infringement suit that will seek a co-writing credit for California on "Stairway to Heaven." A Los Angeles jury ruled in favor of Led Zeppelin in June 2016. On October 5, 2020, the US Supreme Court again ruled in favor of Led Zeppelin.

• In 1994 John Fogerty was sued for self-plagiarism after leaving Fantasy Records and pursuing a solo career with Warner Bros. Records. Fantasy still owned the rights to the Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fogerty's former band) library. Saul Zaentz, the owner of Fantasy, claimed Fogerty's song "The Old Man Down the Road" was a musical copy of the Creedence song "Run Through the Jungle." A jury found that "Old Man" was not derivative. See Fogerty v. Fantasy.

• In 1993 Killing Joke sued Nirvana alleging that the riff for the latter's song "Come as You Are" was copied from the riff for their song "Eighties." The lawsuit was dropped after the sudden death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

• The song "Thunderbird" was originally written and performed by the Nightcaps, a band formed in the 1950s when the members were teenagers. The Nightcaps performed the song and distributed it on their album Wine, Wine, Wine but never applied for copyright. ZZ Top began performing its version of the song in 1975, and has conceded that its version is lyrically and musically identical to the Nightcaps' song. The Nightcaps sued ZZ Top for, among other things, copyright infringement, but their claims were dismissed (in 1995) because, in part, ZZ Top had registered a copyright on the song in 1975.

• In 2003 Michael Cottrill and Lawrence E. Wnukowski claimed that Britney Spears' "Can't Make You Love Me," from her 2000 album Oops!... I Did It Again, misappropriated substantial melodic material from their song "What You See is What You Get". The court was skeptical on the question of defendant's access to the plaintiff's work.

• Ronald H. Selle sued the Bee Gees, alleging their 1977 hit "How Deep Is Your Love" stole the melody of his own never-released 1975 song, "Let It End." The Bee Gees prevailed at trial on motion of judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Selle appealed, but the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the verdict.

• On 4 December 2008 guitarist Joe Satriani filed a copyright infringement suit in Los Angeles federal court against Coldplay, claiming the Coldplay song "Viva la Vida" includes "substantial original portions" of the Satriani song "If I Could Fly" from his 2004 album, Is There Love in Space? Coldplay has denied the allegation, which has resulted in further legal action from Satriani. On 14 September 2009, the California Central District Court dismissed the case, with both parties potentially agreeing to an out-of-court settlement.

• Baltimore songwriter Ray Repp sued composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, alleging the theme song from the musical The Phantom of the Opera was taken from his song "Till You." In 1998, a jury found Webber not liable for plagiarism.

• South African photographer and songwriter Guy Hobbs have accused Elton John, Bernie Taupin, and Big Pig Music, of plagiarism. Hobbs wrote a song in 1982 entitled "Natasha," about a Russian waitress on a cruise ship, who was never allowed to leave it. The song was copyrighted in 1983, and sent to Big Pig Music (John's publisher) for a possible publishing deal, but Guy never heard back from the publisher. In 2001, Guy came across the lyric book to "Nikita" and noticed similarities with his song. Despite repeated attempts by Guy to contact John over the issue, he never heard from him, and commenced legal action in 2012. On 31 October 2012, a federal judge granted John and Taupin's motion to dismiss, finding that the song did not infringe Hobbs's copyright because the only similar elements were generic images and themes that are not protected under copyright law.

• Braham v Sony Music Publishing; R&B singer Jesse Braham sued Taylor Swift for $42 million. He alleged that Swift had plagiarized his song 'Haters gone hate' in her 2014 hit "Shake It Off". Court dismissed the action, holding that the plaintiff had failed to establish a sufficient claim.

Unsettled, alleged, and forgiven incidents

The following are accusations of plagiarism appearing in notable media:

• Ritchie Valens' 1959 song "Ooh! My Head" is a thinly veiled cover of Little Richard's 1958 single "Ooh! My Soul." Richard was never credited in the Valens song.

• The opening of the Beatles' 1963 song "All My Loving" sounds almost identical to the first two bars of the solo in the Dave Brubeck Quartet's song "Kathy's Waltz", which was released in 1959.

• Peter Meaden, manager of the High Numbers (before the band changed their name to the Who), has been accused of plagiarising a 1963 recording of "Misery" by the Dynamics, for their debut single B-side "Zoot Suit". The A-side "I'm the Face" guitar and harmonica riffs are also very similar to Slim Harpo's "I've Got Love If You Want It". Both songs are credited only to Peter Meaden on the single.

• The Led Zeppelin song "Black Mountain Side" sounds similar to Bert Jansch's version of the traditional folk song "Down by Blackwaterside". No legal action was ever taken against Led Zeppelin, because it could not be proved that the recording in itself constituted Jansch's own copyright, as the basic melody is traditional.

• Deep Purple's 1970 song "Child in Time" is based on It's a Beautiful Day's "Bombay Calling", who were never credited. Ian Gillan during an interview with author Martin Popoff, admitted the song was "nicked".

• Deep Purple's 1970 song "Black Night" is a liberal uncredited take of Ricky Nelson's 1962 single "Summertime", itself a reworking of the George Gershwin standard, using the same two-bar pentatonic riff. Jon Lord during an interview on Heavy Metal Britannia, admitted the song was "nicked".

• Reviews of the song "Since I've Been Loving You" by Led Zeppelin (from their Led Zeppelin III album) have noted its similarity to the Moby Grape song "Never". No legal action is known to have been taken.

• The riff in Deep Purple's 1972 song "Smoke on the Water" bears a resemblance to Astrud Gilberto's 1965 song "Maria Quiet", arranged by Gil Evans.

• Musicologists have put forward the claim Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon contains uncredited elements taken from American electronic music duo Beaver & Krause's 1971 album Gandharva. In particular the opening sound effects to "Soft/White", the vocal performance in the song "The Great Gig in the Sky" sounds identical to "Walkin'", and the saxophone phrasing of "Us and Them" is similar to "By Your Grace" and "Good Places".

• Eric Clapton claimed sole credit for "Give Me Strength", a song released in 1974, but was originally written in 1939 by Chicago gospel singer-songwriter Louise King Mathews. Mathews was financially disadvantaged and could not afford to take the copyright matter to court when she heard the Clapton version during the 1970s.

• Australian rock band The Angels have been accused of plagiarising Status Quo's 1974 song "Lonely Night" for their 1976 anthem "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again". When producers Vanda & Young first heard the song in the studio, they urged the band to re-record it at a different speed and adding sound effects to avoid a potential lawsuit.

• Music producer Quincy Jones claims Michael Jackson plagiarized the synthesizer bass riff for "Billie Jean" from the earlier 1982 Donna Summer arrangement of "State of Independence".

• Madonna's 1984 song "Material girl" has similar strophes to Melissa Manchester's "You should hear how she talks about you" released in 1982. Despite the fact it has been highlighted by many observers, there never was official credit given for this interpolation.

• Rod Stewart's 1988 single "Forever Young", not only has the same title as the 1973 Bob Dylan song of the same name, but similar musical ideas and lyrics. When this was pointed out to the singer, a deal was struck via Bob Dylan's attorney where royalties were split 50-50, in which Stewart donated his share to charity.

• In 1997, The Rolling Stones voluntarily credited k.d. lang and her writing partner Ben Mink on their song "Anybody Seen My Baby?", after a representative of the group noticed a resemblance to lang's 1992 hit single, "Constant Craving."

• Madonna music video for her 1998 song "Ray of Light" was accused by the music video director Stefano Salvatito be a plagiat of his work for Biagio Antonacci's song "Non è mai stato subito"

• Coldplay were briefly accused of copying portions of "Viva la Vida" from "The Songs I Didn't Write" by American alternative band Creaky Boards. Creaky Boards later retracted the accusations and speculated that both songs may have been inspired by the video game The Legend of Zelda.

• A portion of the Bruce Springsteen single "Radio Nowhere" sounds similar to Tommy Tutone's 1982 hit, "867-5309/Jenny." Tommy Heath's response was "I'm really honored at a similarity, if any, I think there's too much suing in the world now."

• The New York Post reported similarities between the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Dani California" and Tom Petty's "Mary Jane's Last Dance" could turn into a lawsuit. Petty responded in a Rolling Stone interview:

The truth is, I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there. And a lot of rock & roll songs sound alike. Ask Chuck Berry. The Strokes took "American Girl" [for their song "Last Nite"], and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, "OK, good for you." It doesn’t bother me.

• Søren Rasted (formerly of Aqua) has been accused of copying Kate Bush's "Running Up that Hill" for a song composed for the winner of the X Factor Denmark contest.

• Korean pop artist G-Dragon has been accused of plagiarism by Sony Music, as his tracks "Heartbreaker" and "Butterfly" are similar to Flo Rida's "Right Round" and Oasis's "She's Electric", respectively.

• iTunes has found cases of musical plagiarism using software that automatically identifies a CD's track information when it's loaded, most notably the many instances with pianist Joyce Hatto.

• The Black Eyed Peas were charged in January 2010 by Ebony Latrice Batts (known on stage as Phoenix Phenom), claiming that "Boom Boom Pow" is just a copy of her song "Boom Dynamite," which she sent to Interscope Records, the Black Eyed Peas' record label. The suit is ongoing.

• Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, garnered much controversy in 2011 for her single Born this Way, which critics accused of sharing strong similarities with Madonna's 1989 hit single "Express Yourself". When interviewed by ABC News in 2012, Madonna was asked about the similarities between "Born This Way" and "Express Yourself", stating: "When I heard Born this Way on the radio ... I said, 'that sounds very familiar' ... It felt reductive." She also came to report to The Newsweek Daily Beast Company what she had in mind when she heard "Born This Way": "I thought, 'What a wonderful way to redo my song'. I mean, I recognized the chord changes. I thought it was… interesting."

• Australian singer Delta Goodrem has been accused of copying the music of Arcade Fire's 2005 song "Rebellion (Lies)" for her 2012 single "Sitting on Top of the World"; however, no legal action is known to have been taken against her by the band.

• The Beastie Boys were sued in May 2012 by Hip Hop label Tuf America, over misappropriation and infringing copyright for "Hold It, Now Hit It" and "The New Style" from Licensed to Ill, allegedly using portions of Trouble Funk's 1982 song "Drop the Bomb." In addition, the Beastie Boys were also sued for using the "Drop the Bomb" drum sound in Paul's Boutique track "Car Thief" and sampling Trouble Funk's 1982 song "Say What?" for another Paul's Boutique track entitled "Shadrach", without permission.

• Madonna has been accused of plagiarism by record label Vallejo Music Group (VMG). VMG claims Madonna stole samples from the 1977 single "Ooh I Love It (Love Break)" by Salsoul Orchestra, for her 1990 charting song "Vogue". In the lawsuit, VMG allege that horns and strings were taken from the earlier track and used in "Vogue" without permission, and intentionally hidden within the mix. The lawsuit was filed in July 2012 with the company seeking damages in addition to royalties gained from "Vogue".

• Def Leppard is considering legal action against One Direction, over claims the boy band's single "Midnight Memories" sounds similar to "Pour Some Sugar on Me." In September 2014, some observers noticed similarities between One Direction's song "Steal My Girl" and the piano melody of Journey's 1983 song "Faithfully."

• In August 2014, American singer Meghan Trainor was accused of lifting the melody from a 2006 song called "Happy Mode" by the Korean pop band Koyote, for her single "All About That Bass". Songwriter Joo Young-hoon initially responded that "it must be a coincidence", but later revealed he was consulting with a specialized lawyer over the allegations. Joo announced in September that he would be filing a lawsuit against Trainor.

• Following the "Blurred Lines" plagiarism verdict, members of Marvin Gaye's family noted similarities between Pharrell Williams' award-winning hit single "Happy" and Gaye's song "Ain't That Peculiar", written by Smokey Robinson and fellow Miracles.

• In 2015, the web page of the Australian music TV channel MAX published an article by music writer Nathan Jolly that noted similarities between Guns N' Roses' song "Sweet Child o' Mine" and the song "Unpublished Critics" by the Australian band Australian Crawl, from 1981. The article posted videos of both songs, inviting readers to compare the two. It also cited a reader's comment on an earlier article that had originally drawn attention to the similarities between the songs. The story went "viral" quickly, encouraging several comments on both the MAX article and the suggestion that the Australian song had influenced "Sweet Child o' Mine".

• In July 2015, a lawsuit was launched against Rod Stewart by the estate of blues singer Armenter "Bo Carter" Chatmon alleging that "Corrina, Corrina", a track on Stewart's 2013 release Time, plagiarizes Chatmon's "Corrine, Corrina", which he wrote in 1928.

• In November 2015, R&B musician Jesse Braham commenced a lawsuit against singer Taylor Swift over the similarities in lyrics between his 2013 single "Hater Gonna Hate" and Swift's 2014 hit "Shake It Off". Braham is seeking a writing credit and $42 million in damages.

• On 9 June 2016, it was revealed that English singer Ed Sheeran was being sued by songwriters Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard, composers of Matt Cardle's 2011 single "Amazing", for $20 million for copyright infringement over Sheeran's 2015 single "Photograph". The lawsuit states: "Given the striking similarity between the chorus of 'Amazing' and 'Photograph', (the) defendants knew when writing, publishing, recording, releasing, and distributing 'Photograph' that they were infringing on a pre-existing musical composition."

• Indian Music composer Gopi Sunder's song "Nam Ooru Bengaluru" used in the Bangalore Days (2014) is very similar to the single of Bryan Adams's Summer of '69. In 2016 he used "Take you down" or song #20, from Daniel Pemberton's score for the Guy Ritchie movie "The man from U.N.C.L.E (2015)" in a movie trailer of Kali (2016).

• The copyright status of "We Shall Overcome" has been disputed. A lawsuit argues that the song is in the public domain, as it stemmed from an earlier tune "We Will Overcome".

• Singer-songwriter Richard Morrill is suing singer Gwen Stefani, her company Harajuku Lovers, Pharrell Williams and Interscope Records, claiming their single "Spark the Fire" infringes on his rights in a 1996 song he wrote called "Who's Got My Lightah."

• Welsh rock band Lostprophets claimed that they originally wrote and performed the song "I Knew You Were Trouble" before it became a hit for Taylor Swift.

• In September 2019, Fiona Apple called out rapper Lil Nas X for an unpaid sample of her song "Every Single Night" on his track "Kim Jung" but has not taken any legal action as of yet.

 

If you ever sit down to a word processor and start writing are you following the styles of Edgar Allen Poe or James Joyce? As you type are you referencing Earnest Hemingway or Virginia Woolf? Is William Shakespeare or A.J. Rowlings influencing you?

If you ever sit down at a piano or pick up and guitar and you find some chords that sound good together but somewhat familiar, are you following an earworm of a tune old or a copy of an old tune to a new song?

Unless you are writing a dissertation for a PhD or a high school English class and you blatantly copy verbatim from another then sign your name to it, you are giving tribute to another original idea and adding your take to it.

 

This was mostly copy and paste so I admit I was emulating others.

Re-write

I’m trying to write a book. It will be called “Then The Band Broke Up”. It has 16 chapters, each a separate band’s story.

It started off with the basics. Who was in the band? What instruments did they play? What was the set list? When did the band form and when did it break up?

Then the band members had to be described. Each member had his or her own personality and talent. Each member had certain idiosyncrasies and styles. Some band members I barely knew and some I’d known for years.

A ‘band’ is like a team or a group or a club. A ‘band’ is a bunch of people who get together for some reason. Ours was the music.

I also have to put my point-of-view into how the events took place. Most of the band members have either disappeared or died so there is no one to reference my remembrance of what happened.

As I write, I remember another incident or moment and have to rewrite the page. Then I have to go back to the other 15 chapters to see if a similar event happened there. Re-reading chapters spark another memory and I have to rewrite all over again.

I imagine this happens to all writers. If a character appears in a certain scene (a book is just like a script) and acts a certain way, do you go back to where he or she was first introduced to insure the character’s consistency? How do they keep up with sequels? Maybe that is what sequels are for because you remembered something that you forgot out of the first version?

Think about bands that have been playing for years and years and have to repeat the ‘hits’ every time. The audience wants it to be as close as the original. The band members have broadened their styles and range and are influenced by other bands and maybe want to play the song slower (or faster) or with reggae beat instead of 4/4 times. How many times have the Rolling Stones play ‘Satisfaction’?

I don’t know if I’ll ever finish “Then The Band Broke Up” but it is a good memoir for garage cover bands that never become famous. The rewrites are amazing discoveries of historic details that might be of interest to those who listened to their own hometown heroes emulating the real rock and roll icons.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if you could go back and rewrite life? Maybe send a different note to that little girl in science lab? Maybe not send that letter to a person you rarely know and having to wait weeks to get a ‘Dear John’ response? Maybe instead of saying ‘I do’ you might just want to think about it a bit longer?

Got to go back to writing or should I say, ‘rewriting’.

Write a Jingle

 

Sure you want to be the next great songwriter in the category of Carol King, James Taylor or Bob Dylan, but they already wrote those memorable songs. Anyone can pick up a guitar or sit down at the piano and find a verse and maybe a hook, but then you have to get musicians to help you out, record it, get it distributed, play before an audience and hope that people like it before it goes out of date.

Then you have to come up with the next great song before you are forgotten.

Like all authors who are writing the next great American novel but settles in on writing YA graphic novels (formerly comic books), you may have to lower the bar. There are thousands of tiny bars or backrooms with a stool and a microphone and thousands of hopeful songwriters trying to be discovered. There are hundreds of websites where you can make a movie with your cell phone and post your tune hoping it will become viral.

Most top 40 songs are 3-4 chords and there are mass varieties of styles that can be played. Don’t worry about finding the perfect verse. Make a chorus everyone can sing along with. Find a hook that will bring them back to the song and cut it off at 3 minutes otherwise the audience will lose interest.

There is another option.

Instead of worrying about staying up with the latest trend, spending nights crammed in the corner of a smoky bar screaming your heart out to a drunken screaming crowd then jamming all your equipment into a trailer and driving down to the next stop and repeating the set in hopes some big time record producer will discover you and make you famous.

Write jingles.

A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans.

I listen to NPR regularly and hear this comment everyday, “Theme by BJ Leiderman”.

Who is BJ Leiderman?

Bernard Jay Leiderman (born February 14, 1956), known as BJ Leiderman, is an American composer and songwriter. His best-known works are his theme music compositions for public radio programs, including National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me!, Science Friday, and American Public Media’s Marketplace.

Leiderman attended Virginia Tech, but dropped out and became a stage actor, then a cameraman at WTAR (now WTKR) in Norfolk, Virginia. He later studied broadcast journalism at American University in Washington, D.C. Leiderman’s Morning Edition theme music was used for 40 years, from the show's first broadcast on November 5, 1979 until May 3, 2019.

As of 2013, Leiderman lived in Swannanoa, North Carolina. He produced his debut album ‘BJ’ (2017), featuring The Randall Bramblett Band and Béla Fleck.

He might not be on the list of the Grammys or Top 40 Billboard chart or have platinum selling records, but his little jingles are paying the bills. He doesn’t have to tour or promote his name (though every time is name is announced he gets royalties and advertising) or answer music critic’s questions.

Think about the ring tone on your phone. That little ditty played to identify every product from diapers to movie titles. The please hold soundtrack is a jingle. The effects on a video game are accompanied by jingles. “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep” are all familiar jingles. Just a few notes not a song in a Rogers and Hammerstein musical but the words are unforgettable.

So don’t sweat writing the next #1 hit. Put a few notes together and write a jingle.