Baby, You're a Rich Man: Suing the Beatles for Fun and Profit

by Stan Soocher

The Beatles, the most popular, influential, and important band of all time, have been the subject of countless books of biography, photography, analysis, history, and conjecture. But this long and winding road has produced nothing like Baby You’re a Rich Man, the first book devoted to the cascade of legal actions engulfing the band, from the earliest days of the loveable mop-heads to their present prickly twilight of cultural sainthood.

Part Beatles history, part legal thriller, Baby You’re a Rich Man begins in the era when manager Brian Epstein opened the Pandora’s box of rock ’n’ roll merchandising, making a hash of the band’s licensing and inviting multiple lawsuits in the United States and the United Kingdom. The band’s long breakup period, from 1969 to 1971, provides a backdrop to the Machiavellian grasping of new manager Allen Klein, who unleashed a blizzard of suits and legal motions to take control of the band, their music, and Apple Records. Unsavory mob associate Morris Levy first sued John Lennon for copyright infringement over “Come Together,” then sued him again for not making a record for him. Phil Spector, hired to record a Lennon solo album, walked off with the master tapes and held them for a king’s ransom. And from 1972 to 1975, Lennon was the target of a deportation campaign personally spearheaded by key aides of President Nixon (caught on tape with a drug-addled Elvis Presley) that wound endlessly through the courts.

In Baby You’re a Rich Man, Stan Soocher ties the Beatles’ ongoing legal troubles to some of their most enduring songs. What emerges is a stirring portrait of immense creative talent thriving under the pressures of ill will, harassment, and greed.

Praise for They Fought the Law: Rock Music Goes to Court

“Stan Soocher not only ably translates the legalese but makes both the plaintiffs and defendants engrossingly human. Mandatory reading for every artist who tends to skip his contract’s fine print.”—Entertainment Weekly

Genres: Nonfiction, Music

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2015

Reviews

[Harriett Milnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting niche book about the Beatles: all of their lawsuits are rehashed and explained. You get a feeling that our boys had some real slimeballs working for them at various times, and stealing their money. I think the My Sweet Lord/He's So Fine lawsuit was the worst, according to this book, George stopped listening to the radio, for fear of contaminating his composition process.

[Aaron Badgley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books about The Beatles I have ever read. I learned tons, and all the lawsuits were explained in a way I could understand. Fact based and brilliantly written.

[The Mad Zymurgist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notice - This book was given to me free of charge via random drawing on the goodreads.com web site.

_Baby You're a Rich Man: Suing the Beatles for Fun and Profit_ is one of those books that I'm suprised I liked. Knowing the little bit about the law that I do, I fully expected one of two scenerious to play out upon these pages. I was guessing that it would either be written by a typical lawyer (most of whom have their sense of humor surgically removed in law school) and would therfore about as interesting as reading a grocery shopping list , or alternatively by a non-lawyer who would be unable to penetrate the labyrinth-like maze of red tape that makes up the U.S. court system.

Instead I was very pleasantly surprised to find that Stan Soocher appears to that most rare breed...a lawyer who managed to remain human and interesting. This book is the obvious product of a massive amount of research into the large number of legal issues that surrounded the Beatles during their combined and individual careers. Stan does an excellent job of combing through the no-doubt mountainous amount of paperwork and distilling down to the parts that make it both interesting and human. During my limited time in the radio industry (3 years as program director of a college radio station), I thought I had learned at least the basics of how much of the music industry worked. This book was quite an eye opener in that aspect as well.

I doubt this book will appear to all readers, but for music aficionados, it's well worth the time.

[Bryan Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book zooms in on aspects of Beatles history that I've only really seen before in single chapters of more comprehensive books, and ably relates the many legal issues surrounding the band and its members. From marketing of early Beatles merchandise, to the creation and dissolution of Apple Corps, to the many devious maneuverings of Allen Klein, to John & Yoko's troubles with the FBI and INS, to song-stealing accusations, this book really has it all. It may sound like it would all be rather dry, and I can't entirely dispute that, but it moved rather quickly for me despite a fair amount of legal-ese and strings of dollar amounts. While I didn't exactly skim any of these sections, I definitely let myself gloss over some of the details in getting through faster than I might normally read, but I certainly paid enough attention to appreciate the stories.

Not a must-read except for the absolute Beatles completists, but well worth the time to see a side of the behind-the-scenes goings on that is greatly condensed by your average Beatles bio or history.

[disclosure: free review copy received from librarything.com]

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

According to the contents of this book, being a member of the “Fab Four” was often less than fabulous. Rephrasing the title of their hit song, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” to “I Want to Take Your Money” gives the reader an idea of the sorry saga told within these pages. Payola, back room deals, dummy corporations, and the eventual splintering of the mop-top quartet famously known as The Beatles is carefully outlined in this well researched and fully documented work. What may surprise the reader is how much political pressure and governmental meddling here in the United States added to the emotional and financial woes of John Lennon, Paul McCarthy, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. The ugly relationships involving artists, record companies, managers, and hangers-on provides a cautionary tale for would-be entertainers. One can forgive the foursome of bitterness as serial lawsuits, tax collectors, and immigration officials stripped away copyrights, civil liberties, and basic common courtesies. Long story short, just as where there’s smoke there’s fire, so to where there’s great wealth, there’s naked greed.

[Elliot Chalom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this book for free as a Goodreads giveaway winner.

I learned a few interesting tidbits about the Beatles highly litigation-filled history, but this book was mainly boring and repetitive. The description of the book begins, "Part Beatles history, part legal thriller …" - that is exactly half true. As an historical account, the book is very strong. The author's research is detailed, deep, and complete in every way. But it is not a legal thriller. This is partly due to the stories themselves - lots of copyright infringement and label disputes over rights. Not exactly a murder mystery. But it's also the author's style; as good as he is as a legal researcher, he is not a great story-teller. It may be possible to make a copyright infringement lawsuit exciting (especially one involving the Beatles) but these aren't presented that way. In the end, all I can say is that I snoozed my way through an OK history lesson. Not terrible, but not great either.

[J Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby You're a Rich Man by Stan Soocher is a very interesting read. This volume ties together the various legal and financial battles which surrounded the Beatles as soon as they began to make money. I would likely have given 4.5 stars if available, my only issue is something that is difficult to completely avoid when writing about these issues, a certain amount of dryness creeps in periodically. That said, Soocher keeps that to a minimum and never loses sight of the artistic aspect of the group.

Definitely recommended for any Beatles fan as well as those interested in the business side of the music business. This would also serve as a nice cautionary tale for any aspiring artists out there.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via LibraryThing.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read several books that mention some of the suits brought by and against The Beatles across the years. This book put it all together. The book is very well written and goes into detail many times. I had read the latest biography of Allen Klein and, in my opinion, this book provided as much information about his law suits regarding The Beatles both as a group and individuals as the book dedicated to his life did. There also instances of law suits early in The Beatles' career involving Brian Epstein and others as well.

I recommend this book to any Beatle fan.

[Seth Arnopole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not recommended for readers who have not already read piles of books about The Beatles. For those who have, the legal issues will be somewhat familiar, but here there is much more detail. Includes early fights over merchandising, the group's entanglements with one-time manager Allen Klein, Lennon's entanglements with Morris Levy ("the octopus of the music business"), Harrison's plagiarism case, and Lennon's battles with the INS.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am lucky enough to have studied music law with Professor Soocher, and used this book in the process. It is a substantial work with incredible detail, and balances history and delightful storytelling effortlessly. An absolute must-read for Beatles fans, music history enthusiasts, and anyone interested in music law.

[Michelle Olms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book