- Funk legend Nile Rodgers, a frequent user of Twitter, has spent the past few weeks talking about his ongoing process to locate and catalogue the many demo tapes he’s found over the years. While a firm release plan has yet to be implemented, I’m getting the impression he’s going to release some of them for free. So if you do that whole Twitter thing, follow him so you can get the scoop when it happens. (Of course I’ll be posting when anything is released, too.)
- This isn’t particularly release-related, but it was too odd not to share: ’80s hitmakers Men at Work have been found guilty in an Australian court of borrowing a “substantial part” of the children’s tune “Kookaburra” in their hit “Down Under.” While I can’t deny that the song is more or less there (listen closely to the flute line), the suit was only introduced in 2007. Had nobody in Australia noticed beforehand?
News Roundup: Demos C’est Chic, Paying Up in a Land Down Under
Mike Duquette
Michael Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he discovered there was more than one version of John Williams' soundtrack to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his intended profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small, from vintage soul to stirring film scores. His passion for reissues turned into a profession in 2014 with co-producing credits on two best-selling vinyl singles for Sony's Legacy Recordings: a 30th anniversary "ecto-green" pressing of Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters" and a celebratory pressing of Wham!'s "Last Christmas" on red and green vinyl. Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with an ever-expanding collection of box sets and vinyl.
Back Tracks: Men at Work
Yet another song that you don’t know is copyrighted until you get sued for it… “Happy Birthday” being the best-known example.