The Frank Ocean song you’re not allowed to hear
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The Eagles. Don Henley (second from right) says Frank Ocean doesn’t understand copyright law.
Source: Supplied
ROCK legend Don Henley has slapped down hipster singer Frank Ocean for ‘stealing’ the Eagles’ Hotel Californiaand has told him to get his own ideas.
Ocean sampled of the entire 1977 classic – minus the lyrics – for his song American Wedding.
However Ocean sings his own brand new lyrics over the million-selling rock anthem.
Henley refused to allow Ocean to release the track, which has since leaked online.
“I heard it,” Henley said of American Wedding. “I was not impressed. He needs to come up with his own ideas and stop stealing stuff from already established works.”
Ocean wrote on his Tumblr that Henley was “apparently intimidated by my rendition of Hotel California” and “threatened to sue if I perform it again.”
Henley admitted his lawyers were involved.
“Mr Ocean doesn’t seem to understand US copyright law. Anyone who knows anything should know you cannot take a master track of a recording and write another song over the top of it. You just can’t do that. You can call it a tribute or whatever you want to call it, but it’s against the law. That’s a problem with some of the younger generation, they don’t understand the concept of intellectual property and copyright.”
“(Mr Ocean) was quite arrogant about it,” Henley said. “We tried to approach him calmly to talk reason to him via his managers and his attorneys and he wouldn’t listen. So finally we threatened to bring legal action against him. He was clearly in the wrong. I wouldn’t dream of doing something like that. What kind of ego is that? I don’t understand it.”
THE Eagles: don’t watch our show through your phones.
Frank Ocean is not allowed to perform or release his American Wedding song.
Source: News Limited
Henley also nixed a remake of his solo hit The End of the Innocence by US band Okkervil River, who had planned to release it online for free.
Okkervil River singer Will Sheff told The Music they “sincerely” loved the song and said Henley was an “old-fashioned guy who doesn’t understand…it’s not like I was making money, I figure that’s all he f—ing cares about.
“It’s not like I was making money off it, but he still made me take it down.”
Henley said he was more concerned by the fact they altered his original lyrics.
“They don’t understand the law either,” Henley said. “You can’t re-write the lyrics to somebody else’s songs and record it and put it on the internet. I’m sorry, but it wasn’t an improvement. We were not impressed. So we simply had our legal team tell them to take it down and they got all huffy about it.
“It’s a different mindset. I don’t know how they’d react if I took one of their songs and re-wrote the lyrics and recorded it, I don’t know if they’d like that. Maybe they wouldn’t care but I care. We work really really hard on our material. We spend months writing it and years recording it. You don’t go into a museum and paint a moustache on somebody else’s painting. Nobody would think of doing that.”
Henley said he did not see either remake as a tribute “If I were going to do something like that (as a tribute ) I’d get permission first. If you respect somebody you ask their permission to diddle around with their work. You don’t just go and do it.”
Henley has no problem with Eagles songs being covered by other artists, the most recent high profile cover was Michael Buble’s remake of Heartache Tonight.
“You can record anyone’s song you like,” Henley said. “It’s called a compulsory licence. That’s not what Mr Ocean nor Okkervil River did.
They took the song and they changed it. they put their own stuff on it. Michael Buble did a totally legal cover, that’s standard procedure.”
Frank Ocean has been contacted for comment via his Australian record company, Universal.
The Eagles tour Australia in February/March next year.
Indie band Okkervil River also earned Don Henley’s wrath.
Source: Supplied
