A drummer who spent four years in one of the greatest punk bands of all time, The Ramones, filed a federal lawsuit Friday claiming he is owed nearly US$1 million in royalties on songs sold over the Internet.
Richard "Richie Ramone" Reinhardt, who performed with the Ramones between 1983 and 1987, sued Wal-Mart, Apple, RealNetworks, the band's management and the estate of its lead guitarist, claiming he had never fully signed over the rights to the six songs he wrote for the group.
Specifically, Reinhardt said there was never any written deal authorizing the sale of those songs digitally. He said he is owed at least US$900,000 in royalties, and asked the court to issue an injunction preventing further use of his compositions without permission.
PHOTO: AP
Along with the digital music stores, the lawsuit names a pair of production companies associated with the band and the estate of guitarist John Cummings, who performed under the name Johnny Ramone.
A spokesman for Wal-Mart declined to comment. Officials at Apple and RealNetworks did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the lawsuit. Ira Herzog, a longtime business affairs representative for the Ramones, did not immediately return a phone message.
The Ramones helped define punk after forming their band in New York in 1974. They performed for 22 years, with various members, before their last show in 1996.
PHOTO: AP
Three of the group's founding members, Johnny, Joey and Dee Dee, have died in recent years. The original drummer, Tommy, became a producer for the band and was replaced by Marky Ramone. Reinhardt took over on drums during a Marky hiatus in the 1980s.
His six songs for the Ramones were Smash You, Somebody Put Something in My Drink, Human Kind, I'm Not Jesus, I Know Better Now and (You) Can't Say Something Nice.
In another legal case involving a musician, two dogs found buried at a home belonging to rapper DMX had serious wounds, authorities investigating animal neglect allegations said.
One of the dogs had serious bite wounds and another had trauma to its abdomen, but exact causes of death were not determined, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Saturday. A third dog carcass had been burned so badly an exam was inconclusive.
The remains were dug up on Aug. 24, when sheriff's investigators probing allegations of animal neglect raided the rapper's home in north Phoenix.
Authorities also seized 12 live pit bulls, numerous weapons, and about 7 milligrams of marijuana in a bedroom, Arpaio said. The sheriff initially said a quarter-kilogram of suspected narcotics was found, but tests showed the substance was not illegal drugs.
No charges had been filed against the rapper or anyone else, but Arpaio said that may change.
"Someone's going to have to pay for this," the sheriff said. "We have 12 dogs who were abused and three dogs buried in the yard - someone's going to have to pay."
A lawyer for the 36-year-old rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, has said DMX was not at the home during the raid, had not been there for months and was paying caretakers and veterinarians to care for his animals.
Murray Richman on Saturday questioned how the sheriff could connect his client to any alleged animal abuse.
"How do you attribute activities to a person who has not been there, when they have knowledge that other persons have been," Richman said. "Is it because of the celebrity nature?"
In 2002, DMX pleaded guilty to animal-cruelty charges, after authorities found 14 apparently neglected pit bulls at his New Jersey home. He was fined and ordered to do animal-cruelty ads for community service.
Salma Hayek and her fiance, businessman Francois-Henri Pinault, are parents of a baby girl.
The birth of the couple's daughter, Valentina Paloma Pinault, was announced Friday by the actress' publicist.
"Mother and child are doing well," publicist Cari Ross said in a statement.
The Mexico-born Hayek, 41, has starred in films such as Frida, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and After the Sunset. She is one of the executive producers of the ABC network's Ugly Betty and the chief executive of Ventanazul, a production company she formed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
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