Which article was that? The one linked in the op says James Jamerson, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, played on most of Motowns biggest hits in the 1960s. He died in 1983 at age 47.
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Jamerson's widow sues La Bella
- Thread starter JAUQO III-X
- Start date
Which article was that? The one linked in the op says James Jamerson, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, played on most of Motowns biggest hits in the 1960s. He died in 1983 at age 47.
who knows...there are tons of them out there.....perhaps the author confused 1936 with 36 years,perhaps i did......big hairy deal
Thanks to all for your interest in this topic. My name is Jeff Thennisch and I am Mrs. Jamerson's attorney in Michigan that filed the La Bella lawsuit.
The Jamerson material was posted on the La Bella website as recently as Thursday, January 21, 2010, the day that the lawsuit was filed. It was only taken down after the filing of the lawsuit. Prior to that, the same ad material depciting the name, image, and likeness of Mr. Jamerson was used as a promotional insert in the product itself - as well as the La Bella catalog.
It is my privilege to represent Mrs. Jamerson. If any reader had a chance to meet her during Mr. Jamerson's recent induction into the Fender Hall Of Fame in August 2009, I'm sure you would agree that she is a gracious person that has experienced the full range of life's ups and downs.
This lawsuit was only filed after waiting over six (6) months for La Bella to fulfill its prior promise to remove the material. Sadly, in the end, that was only accomplished when the lawsuit was filed and the story hit the Detroit Free Press.
Now that it has been filed, it will be pursued. To the extent that any reader on this board would like to provide any samples of La Bella ads or other materials that would be of interest, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. Lastly, I will also gladly share with the world that my total compensation from Mrs. Jamerson to date is $0.00. She is an elderly widow that needs help. Detroit is full of similarly situated musical widows with few options. They are easy prey for La Bella and their ilk.
The Jamerson material was posted on the La Bella website as recently as Thursday, January 21, 2010, the day that the lawsuit was filed. It was only taken down after the filing of the lawsuit. Prior to that, the same ad material depciting the name, image, and likeness of Mr. Jamerson was used as a promotional insert in the product itself - as well as the La Bella catalog.
It is my privilege to represent Mrs. Jamerson. If any reader had a chance to meet her during Mr. Jamerson's recent induction into the Fender Hall Of Fame in August 2009, I'm sure you would agree that she is a gracious person that has experienced the full range of life's ups and downs.
This lawsuit was only filed after waiting over six (6) months for La Bella to fulfill its prior promise to remove the material. Sadly, in the end, that was only accomplished when the lawsuit was filed and the story hit the Detroit Free Press.
Now that it has been filed, it will be pursued. To the extent that any reader on this board would like to provide any samples of La Bella ads or other materials that would be of interest, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. Lastly, I will also gladly share with the world that my total compensation from Mrs. Jamerson to date is $0.00. She is an elderly widow that needs help. Detroit is full of similarly situated musical widows with few options. They are easy prey for La Bella and their ilk.
Thanks to all for your interest in this topic. My name is Jeff Thennisch and I am Mrs. Jamerson's attorney in Michigan that filed the La Bella lawsuit.
The Jamerson material was posted on the La Bella website as recently as Thursday, January 21, 2010, the day that the lawsuit was filed. It was only taken down after the filing of the lawsuit. Prior to that, the same ad material depciting the name, image, and likeness of Mr. Jamerson was used as a promotional insert in the product itself - as well as the La Bella catalog.
It is my privilege to represent Mrs. Jamerson. If any reader had a chance to meet her during Mr. Jamerson's recent induction into the Fender Hall Of Fame in August 2009, I'm sure you would agree that she is a gracious person that has experienced the full range of life's ups and downs.
This lawsuit was only filed after waiting over six (6) months for La Bella to fulfill its prior promise to remove the material. Sadly, in the end, that was only accomplished when the lawsuit was filed and the story hit the Detroit Free Press.
Now that it has been filed, it will be pursued. To the extent that any reader on this board would like to provide any samples of La Bella ads or other materials that would be of interest, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. Lastly, I will also gladly share with the world that my total compensation from Mrs. Jamerson to date is $0.00. She is an elderly widow that needs help. Detroit is full of similarly situated musical widows with few options. They are easy prey for La Bella and their ilk.
The Jamerson material was posted on the La Bella website as recently as Thursday, January 21, 2010, the day that the lawsuit was filed. It was only taken down after the filing of the lawsuit. Prior to that, the same ad material depciting the name, image, and likeness of Mr. Jamerson was used as a promotional insert in the product itself - as well as the La Bella catalog.
It is my privilege to represent Mrs. Jamerson. If any reader had a chance to meet her during Mr. Jamerson's recent induction into the Fender Hall Of Fame in August 2009, I'm sure you would agree that she is a gracious person that has experienced the full range of life's ups and downs.
This lawsuit was only filed after waiting over six (6) months for La Bella to fulfill its prior promise to remove the material. Sadly, in the end, that was only accomplished when the lawsuit was filed and the story hit the Detroit Free Press.
Now that it has been filed, it will be pursued. To the extent that any reader on this board would like to provide any samples of La Bella ads or other materials that would be of interest, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. Lastly, I will also gladly share with the world that my total compensation from Mrs. Jamerson to date is $0.00. She is an elderly widow that needs help. Detroit is full of similarly situated musical widows with few options. They are easy prey for La Bella and their ilk.
Hey Jeff,
If he died in 1983 why wait until now for legal action, or, was their an agreement by Labella to use his name, likeness, etc for some period of time?
Sounds like a nice gesture on your part but it would not be out of line for an attorney to work a spec deal when challenging a big corporation who would clearly settle out.
Kind of hard to believe that any one would sue for only $25K if there was truly damage or misrepresntation. Makes it hard for me to get with her if that's what you both think the max settlement should be.
Would be interested to hear LaBella's side.
If he died in 1983 why wait until now for legal action, or, was their an agreement by Labella to use his name, likeness, etc for some period of time?
Sounds like a nice gesture on your part but it would not be out of line for an attorney to work a spec deal when challenging a big corporation who would clearly settle out.
Kind of hard to believe that any one would sue for only $25K if there was truly damage or misrepresntation. Makes it hard for me to get with her if that's what you both think the max settlement should be.
Would be interested to hear LaBella's side.
bongomania
Commercial User
Jeff, has Labella ever offered to pay her any amount for the rights to use Jamerson's name and likeness? Did Mrs. Jamerson ever pursue that avenue, seeking regular payment for the rights, prior to telling them to desist from that usage?
Jim,
I certainly acknowledge that there are always (at least) two sides to every story. Note that the 25K figure is really "in excess of $25,000" which is the jursidictional threshold for the Michigan Court.
The real desire and point is to receive a permanent injunction to stop this unauthorized use. Free speech is one thing, being "conscripted" into somebody else's marketing plan to sell a fully commercial product is arguably something else.
I certainly acknowledge that there are always (at least) two sides to every story. Note that the 25K figure is really "in excess of $25,000" which is the jursidictional threshold for the Michigan Court.
The real desire and point is to receive a permanent injunction to stop this unauthorized use. Free speech is one thing, being "conscripted" into somebody else's marketing plan to sell a fully commercial product is arguably something else.
Bongomania,
The short answer to your question is: No, La Bella never offered any form of compensation - even a nominal amount - to Mrs. Jamerson.
In response to an earlier post, in about July 2009, I myself asked La Bella if they had any interest in selling an authorized Jamerson product and, if so, I would take it to Mrs. Jamerson as an idea of the proverbial "win-win". La Bella never responded, so the idea was never pursued.
The short answer to your question is: No, La Bella never offered any form of compensation - even a nominal amount - to Mrs. Jamerson.
In response to an earlier post, in about July 2009, I myself asked La Bella if they had any interest in selling an authorized Jamerson product and, if so, I would take it to Mrs. Jamerson as an idea of the proverbial "win-win". La Bella never responded, so the idea was never pursued.
I was in Detroit a couple of months ago and I searched for Mr. Jameson's gravesite. Like the rest of you, I owe a great deal of debt to the (as far as I am concerned) greatest of them all. I wanted to pay my respects, but the site is hard to find. When I finally found it, I noticed that the marker was covered with weeds. I cleaned up the site and took a picture.
I'd like to know La Bella side of the story. It's hard to believe that La Bella had used JJ's name & likeness without any prior arrangement for so long. Other string manufacturers would have sued them.
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This looks like the cover artwork to "Standing in the Shadows of Motown", if Labella got the rights to use this from the publsher of this book, the question is what kind of rights did the publsher have for the book?
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Are you doing this work pro-bono? If not, then you are looking to turn a profit and not really help Mrs. Jamerson.
Additonally, if this work is not pro-bono and someone from this site helps you with "exhibits" and such, they should be compensated.
Rickett Customs
Commercial User
I agree, If LaBella has been profiting on his name for only their gain, seems legit to me why she would do so.
Since you volunteered information regarding your compensation for handling this matter, let me ask you this: are you handling the case purely on a pro bono basis or do you have a contingency fee agreement with Mrs. Jamerson?
I agree, that can't be right. I also find it hard to believe that no one ever visits it and it was grown over with weeds. There could have been more than one James Jamerson in the Detroit area.
The cover of the "Standing in the Shadows..." book looks like a line drawing or scan taken from a photo of James that is widely available on the Internet. Of course the Internet didn't exist when this book came out, so I'm not suggesting that someone got the picture there. I don't have the book, but portions of it -- including the photo credits page -- are available if you go to books.google.com and search for the title. The credits list where photos came from, but none is listed for the cover, and it's impossible to tell from this site if the cover photo is included (and credited) elsewhere in the book Although the copyright notice on the book has the usual "no part of this book may be reproduced...without permission," one additional question is, who took the original picture? On at least one other Internet site about James, it says the photo came from bassist Phil Chen.
As for the headstone having an incorrect date, I used to take obituaries for a newspaper, and it is routine for undertakers and even family members to have incorrect dates. As you can see if you go to this website: http://www.bassland.net/jamerson.html, the program for James' memorial says he was born in 1938. Rock Hall of fame induction notes also say 1938. Families forget or have conflicting information. It's possible that the person who bought the headstone thought they had the correct date. All Music Review says 1936, a resolution passed by the South Carolina House to honor James states 1936, and the bronze plaque honoring James' induction into the Fender Hall of Fame says 1936.
