YOKO ONO’s lawyers are investigating whether she can legally challenge SIR PAUL McCARTNEY after he reversed the traditional “LENNON-McCARTNEY” song writing credit on his new live album, ‘BACK IN THE US’.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Ono’s lawyer Peter Shukat described the move – which has seen McCartney turn around the credit on 19 songs to read “McCartney-Lennon” – as “ridiculous, absurd and petty”.
He continued: “This was done against her wishes. Paul is hurting his own legacy with this. He and John made an agreement 40 years ago that they would share credit in this way. To change it now, well, John’s not here to argue.”
McCartney’s spokesman Geoff Baker commented: “This is not a divisive thing. It’s not Lennon or McCartney. Even if Paul did 95% or more on these songs, he’s not asking that John’s name be taken off. He just doesn’t think it should be first.”
On a 1976 Wings live album, the credits were switched, but another later release turned them back again.
When The Beatles‘ ‘Anthology’ was released, McCartney asked Ono if the credit on ‘Yesterday’ – one of the songs most closely associated with McCartney – could be transposed, and she refused.
The Los Angeles Times quotes a music industry lawyer in the US who says that, on his own recordings, he can change them.
Ono’s lawyers are reported to be “looking into” whether they can tackle the issue in court. Previously, she has said: “When the suggestion was first made by Paul, I said, ‘This is like opening a Pandora’s box, Paul, don’t do it.’ I still stand by that statement.”
McCartney’s ‘Back In The US’ was released in November.