If you do a little searching, and listening, you'll find that Leon, bless his heart, borrowed quite a bit of Steel Guitar Rag from Sylvester Weaver who wrote and recorded a VERY similar song in 1927.
Erv
There are some ancient threads about this. Sylvester got burned, I think. The similarities are enough that I’ve often wondered how Leon felt about sort of having a career built on that composition.
Leon said that he'd never heard the Guitar Rag until years after he recorded the Steel Guitar Rag with Bob Wills. I think this is very possible as the tune's really not that complicated and almost intuitive to the Steel Guitar. In the 1930's the only way he would have heard it was by listening to a very obscure 78 rpm record. Today, we can access most music by the touch of a computer key, back then the distribution of music was much, much, more difficult.
I personally can attest to this, as the only Argentine Tango DJ in North America who uses original 78 RPM Records, direct off the turntable, I have Tango records I bought in the Flea Markets of Buenos Aires, recorded by known artists, that I have never heard or seen in any kind of media, anywhere else.
Considering the possibility, the difference of demographics, ethnicity, location, money available for record purchase outside of one's immediate genre, the chance of Leon ever hearing the original Guitar Rag record, would have been pretty unlikely.
I personally have no reason to doubt Leon.
Beginning Player, 1946 Fender Dual Pro- Boxcar, Late 1950's Fender Champ, 1954 Fender D8 MK1 Stringmaster Project, MK 2 Stringmaster 22.5 Single Neck Project, MK 2 Stringmaster T8 22.5" Project, Vintage D8 built with Stringmaster Parts. Lottsa parts.
While the tune maybe simple on the steel guitar, I'm going to have to disagree with Jim. There is absolutely no way that wasn't ripped off. It is note for note.
It’s possible that Guitar Rag was a tune that guitarists on the Vaudeville circuit played but no one had ever secured a copyright on it. Leon must have heard a guitarist playing it somewhere and decided to play it on steel and copyright it as Steel Guitar Rag.
To believe that Leon never heard Guitar Rag until years after he recorded Steel Guitar Rag, you would also have to believe that he coincidentally came up with the words Guitar Rag for the title Steel Guitar Rag. What coincidence!
Another possible scenario that occurred to me is that he heard the record (or someone performing it), and knew what it was called, and did his "Steel Guitar Rag" as an innocent take on it. It could have been part of his repertoire early on and he just didn't think in terms of "ripping off" anybody. Later of course, when it became his signature tune it was to his advantage to maintain the story Jim above tells.
Here's how it happened, condensed version for the Internet. Back in the day pianos were sold by furniture stores. Because they sold pianos they also sold sheet music. When the phonograph came out it had a wooden cabinet and usually a wooden stand. Also sold by furniture stores who then sold records to go with the players. A full-line music store as we know them today was found only in a major city. So musicians like Leon would go to the furniture store to check out sheet music (if they could read it) and the newest records. There are multiple books on Western Swing with a number of the early players stating that they did hang out in music stores and checked out BLACK music to get the ideas they used to jazz up their simple fiddle dance music. They were too "white bread" and "square" to have ever come up with that kind of sound on their own. So Leon heard Sylvester's record and copied it. and claimed credit for it. And collected the money. Just like a hundred or more other country, rock, and "blues-based" rock "artists" here and in England have done over the years. Once it's brought to the attention of the "heirs and assigns" interested parties and lawyers volunteer and a case is made against them, mostly settled out of court with a negotiated lump sum and future "supervised and monitored" royalty payments. These out of court proceedings usually include a "silence clause" as a condition, basically a "gag-order" so nobody can talk about it and the "artists" get to keep their reputation and don't get outed as scumbag ripoffs. I'm with Sylvester on this one. He had the tune out on a major label for the time, and it was popular. He was first and Leon ripped him off. If they were both alive today Leon would have been in front of a judge on this, and he would have been begging to settle and not have a trial. He'd have lost and lost big.
MLA
I don't know if this has its exact corollary in the above, but this topic did make me immediately think of Led Zeppelin and their "Lemon Song", which was a bold faced appropriation of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor" along with a liberal sprinkling of Crosscut Saw and other old blues/rag songs which used the phrase squeeze my lemon. (I leave it to the board to figure out the meaning).
Anyway, Wolf's publisher sued and he got $45,000 and a songwriting credit on subsequent pressings of Led Zeppelin II.
As far as I know, you cannot sue for copyright infringement unless you have a registered copyright. I'm guessing that Sylvester Weaver did not copyright Guitar Rag and therefore would have no claim against Leon. Or maybe the earlier recording itself would give him a legitimate claim?
Doug...
If Weaver had family who were interested there is a mechanism commonly called "recovery publishing". It's easy to prove he was the first to record it. Record company recording files, their records of paying him, dated print advertising of the record and so on. Then documentation to prove the heirs are actually that, birth certificates and so on, then an interested lawyer who's a blues fan and loves going after "rock stars" on a Pro Bono basis. Beyond a reasonable doubt proves SW was the originator and it's common knowledge that the blues guys were not informed they had royalty money coming back in the day. Estimate how many units were sold by the artist or artists claiming authorship/publishing, and even use company ledgers where they exist. Then sue the weasel(s) and negotiate down to half of what should have been paid to date as a lump sum plus all costs, and from that date on payment at full rate, with monitoring and reporting to verify it's been done.
MLA
Without a doubt, deliberate songwriting ripoffs take place. However, if anybody here has attempted to write original music, as I have, you know there is also at least one other possibility.
I once wrote a song that I thought came from the depths of my soul, even had it copyrighted. Then one day I was listening to one of my George Strait albums, and the song “Haven’t You Heard†came on. My heart took a nose dive... With a few minor deviations, there was my song, hook, line, and sinker. The only thing missing was Paul Franklin’s incredible steel part.
The lesson is that sometimes you have music in your head that you didn’t know was there nor do you know where it came from, so you think it is an original idea. I gave up songwriting. Not because I sucked or I didn’t like it, but because I couldn’t trust my originality.
I believe this is what happened with George Harrison and “My Sweet Lordâ€. Maybe the same thing happened with Leon. Unlike me, immensely talented people are able to recover and move on...
Last edited by Fred Treece on 22 Aug 2018 7:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
What a great video! What horrible audio! It really is difficult to listen to, but a lot of fun to watch. Leon had probably played the tune a gazillion times by then and could play it blindfolded. He is quite the showboat. And that is one amazing jacket, even in black and white.
Right. Guilty of “subconscious plagiarism†in Harrison's case.
I can imagine that was a little spooky, Fred.
I too enjoy watching him perform. There is a Texas Playboys Austin City Limits reunion show and he plays bandleader. The guy was a pro showman and presenter for sure.
Hmmm... that is blatantly yet another rip off no excuse really. Playing the same single note and chord progressions is one thing but even the name. Ripped and credited to the wrong person.
Sad that it happened but assuming the positive maybe he meant it as paying homage to a musician or song he liked. Hell Western swing introduced an anti-black audience to small doses of jazz. Which is fine with me as music has no colour, religion or ethnic divides.
Credit should be given however to set the record straight. By us as steelers and fellow musicians alike.
