Topic: Licensing question

[ozrkreb]

Fellow Weenies:
I'm doing some searching for licensing information for some old tunes, but I've run into some dead ends on a few tunes. I figured you all might be able to help. I've searched the Harry Fox Agency for each of these but turned up nothing. Any information you can provide is greatly appreciated.

Here are the tunes:
What's That Tastes Like Gravy - several people have done it (Tampa Red, King David's Jug Band, etc), but I can't figure out who holds the license

Tip Out Tonight - Pink Anderson - can't find any licensing info

It Won't Be Long - Frank Stokes - can't find any licensing info

Satisfied - There are several versions of this, but I'm looking for the version that Woody Pines put on his album Counting Alligators. He lists it as "Traditional."

I greatly appreciate any help you can provide on these tunes.
Chris
Knobtown Skiffle Band

[banjochris]

It Won't Be Long was recorded for Victor so it almost certainly would be Ralph Peer's company Southern Music (BMI) now at http://www.peermusic.com/.

Not sure of the others but with Pink I'd look at his newer stuff and see who that is, start from there.

I would be surprised if "I'm Satisfied" weren't traditional -- it was recorded I think by Gid Tanner and Earl Johnson, etc.

[ozrkreb]

Thanks for the info banjochris.

Here's a follow up question. It turns out that What's That Tastes Like Gravy does show up in a license search as being written by Kevin Paul Hayes, Critter Fuqua, Traditional, Willie Watson, Morgan Jahnig, and Ketch Secor. These guys are in Old Crow Medicine show, but does this simply mean they have licensed their version? Why is "Traditional" included in there?

[Cleoma]

The Old Crow guys probably have copyrighted their arrangement.  But obviously they didn't write What's That Taste Like Gravy.  This kind of thing happens frequently with all kinds of songs especially old ones.  Even sometimes with songs that actually do have a composer -- check out "Freight Train" on Harry Fox and you'll find not only Elizabeth Cotten but about 50 other people also copyrighted it.
I think that you are pretty safe listing the songs in question as "traditional."  If your track gets chosen to be on the soundtrack of a major motion picture, you may want to rethink (actually the thing to do would be to copyright your version, or arrangement) but if you're doing this for your own self-issued CD, I think you can just list as P.D. or traditional and be done with it!
I mean, all the MJB stuff is copyrighted but you can bet that not one penny of that $$ has ever gone to any member of the MJB or their descendants...