The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #146180   Message #3546823
Posted By: Jim Carroll
08-Aug-13 - 03:27 AM
Thread Name: Bill Leader/Dave Bulmer
Subject: RE: Bill Leader/Dave Bulmer
"Kennedy in some way in Reillys death by suggessting he witheld or did not pay royalites"
Please do not continue to disgrace yourself with this and embarrass the rest of us on your behalf.
I never suggested any such thing, and if you honestly believe I did, please show us where I have done so.
At no time was John Reilly paid "royalties", as far as I know, no contributor to archives receives such payment unless their songs are used commercially - John Reilly died in 1969, his album was not released until 1973 - four years after his tragic death.
At the wishes of the collector Tom Munnelly, the proceeds of the album was donated to a school set up to teach young Travellers the traditional skills.
As a gesture of gratitude for some advice Kennedy had given to Tom when first starting out as a collector, he sent him a recording of John, collector - to - fellow - collector.
Kennedy betrayed that generosity by placing those recordings in his catalogue and for the rest of his life he ignored all requests to remove them - I was present at an encounter between Tom and Kennedy on one occasion at a conference in Sheffield - you could have skated on the atmosphere.
Dick Greenhaus on taking over part of Kennedy's catalogue, kindly, ethically and totally out of his own generosity, offered to recompense Tom for Kennedy's appalling behaviour (sorry for the mis-spelling of your name last night Dick - the results of an over-convivial local session)
I think I am right in saying that, as the Travellers' school had taken a nose-dive due to lack of funding Tom refused Dick's generous offer.
Kennedy in no way "contributed to John Reilly's death, he ripped off Tom by taking advantage of a generous gesture and in doing so, ripped of a Travellers' charity - as he had been made fully aware of the situation, he did this knowingly.
Cap'n, you appear to be defending Kennedy's apallingly dishonest behaviour by setting up a smoke-screen around it - please stop it now before you drop yourself even deeper in the klarts.
By the way, all this has nothing to do with Dave Bulmer, on the contary; my raising of the matter was to point out the somewhat hypocritical concentration on Bulmer's behaviour while ignoring that of others towards those who gave us our beautiful music.
Jim Carroll