It's a Beautiful Day, the R&B Song, Controversy

It's a Beautiful Day, the rhythm and blues song, is being offered free by web download in an attempt to secure public opinion in general and voluntary professional music and legal opinion and judgment as to whether this song, first published in 1988 and re-made and enhanced and re-published on a small scale in 1997, melodically infringes in its chorus with the chorus of Sly and the Family Stone's song It's a Family Affair. The opinion of the public and the informal judgment of music and copyright professionals are being solicited because the representatives of the past and current copyright owners of It's a Family Affair, who requested a CD copy of the song the songwriter provided them in 2004, have not replied to him or responded to his follow-up attempts to contact them after they each received a CD with the song on it to be evaluated for all parties to come to a consensus judgment on the issue of possible infringement and a royalties accomodation if there was an bona fide argument in support of the presence of an infringement. Two associates of the It's a Beautiful Day songwriter-copyright holder brought to his attention the similiarity of the melodies of the choruses of the two songs and suggested that there could be a copyright infringement on the part of It's a Beautiful Day. However, the songwriter's attorney at the time, who has long departed his law practice in San Francisco, CA, was presented with a recording of the Sly Stone song to compare with the It's a Beautiful Day song and essentially reponded to the songwriter that the songs were so different overall that he didn't think there was an infringement issue. Unassured, the songwriter remains uncomfortable about offering the song for sale because of his modest and vulnerable financial position, which he regards is at risk, and not that of his former attorney, if he is sued for copyright infringement. The song is his favorite of his few completed works and a labor of love for him, as well as a scourge with respect to this copyright infringement issue and a song credits issue. With music broadcast accessibility and sales by download available with the rise of the internet, he wants to get his music heard and dispensed on a mass scale (largely via the internet), as was not possible for alternative and novelty music, however excellent and desireable to the public, under the now breached and diminished paradigm of big-business monopoly control of mainstream radio broadcast and record-store sales of music. The songwriter is in his early 60s and wants to get all of his completed and uncompleted music projects broadcast and dispensed, while possible, as soon as he can. He will use sincere and credible opinion and professional judgments and advice expressed on this blog in making a decision as to whether he will proceed with or abandon his dream to vigorously market the It's a Beautiful Day song directly to the public and by internet.

The songwriter wishes to conclude this narrative by expressing his boundless gratitude to Felton Pilate for his participation in his two songs, It's a Beautiful Day and Heart, Heart -- Heart of Gold (there is both an ensemble and solo version of the latter song), now the 1997 remakes-super mixes, and to pay homage to his outstanding musical talent and such multitudinous skills. Check out these songs. He also wishes to thank Fantasy Records of Berkeley, CA and its attorney Paul Zaentz for negotiating and granting the songwriter-producer license to use Felton Pilate, when he was signed with Fantasy Records, in his two songs.