Hi, Argenine. Click here for a rather interesting history of Percy French. He was born Cloonyquin, County Roscommon on 1st May, 1854. He died from pneumonia on 24th January 1920, aged 65. He is buried in Formby in Lancashire.

Here in the U.S. almost all songs published in 1923 and earlier are considered to be in the public domain. We were supposed to move forward one year every year, but Sonny Bono and the U.S. Congress passed a copyright extension that went into effect in 1998. As I understand it, that puts songs published after 1923 under copyright protection until most of us are dead.

After the bill was passed, it is rumored that Bono said, "I got you, babe...."


I oughta know. I started the rumor.

-Joe Offer-