CHRIS LUCEY: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED

http://lifeandtimesofbobbyjameson.blogspot.com/2012/05/chris-lucey-what-really-happened.html

(part 275) I'M DEFINITELY YOUR MAN

My personal decision to create a record of what happened to me in the music business, and explain how I happened to end up on the internet writing about it, is something that irritates some and is of interest to others. I did not start this project thinking everyone would approve or agree. In fact, I have been surprised from the beginning that anyone would pay much attention to what I write here. But after nearly five years I now know that many do.

For those who think they know how the music industry works I can only say this. It works differently for as many individuals who have pursued it. There are no absolutes in the music business, other than the capacity of good and bad that each person brings to it by way of their own experience in it. Like any business it seeks to be profitable, but in this business we are talking about art not screwdrivers or paper boxes. The industry did not create art, art created the industry. But overtime the art has been made a servant to the business which sells and profits from the art.

There is not enough really good music and writing, in my opinion, driving the music industry these days, but rather much that seeks only a profit no matter what it is, and as long as it sells. As a business model this makes sense, as an art form it does not. Because this is true, there are smaller independent labels all over the world that reissue older material of quality. This is good for those who want the music, but it is not so good for those who created it in the first place. In too many back room deals these old recordings are bought, sold, and licensed, to people and companies that have no legal right to them.

As an example, amongst many, is the Chris Lucey album Songs Of Protest And Anti Protest. The record was first released in 1965 by Surrey Records in Hollywood, a bargain line subsidiary of Mira Records owned by Randy Wood and Betty Chiapetta, both formally of Vee Jay Records.

At some point prior to 2002, Ace Records UK claimed ownership of the master by way of an agreement with Betty Chipetta involving some old Stax Records masters from Vee Jay Records. The Songs Of Protest master was supposedly acquired by Ace in that deal. In turn Ace Records/Roger Armstrong leased the master to Joe Foster/Rev-Ola Records UK for a five year period.

In 2002 Songs Of Protest And Anti Protest was reissued as a CD by Rev-Ola Records, which brings me back to my telephone conversations with Steve Stanley in 2003. None of this was known to me at the time of the calls. It is information I learned in those conversations with Steve Stanley over a multi-year period. I learned about Joe Foster and Rev-Ola Records, Ace Records and Roger Armstrong, and the Ace Records deal with Betty Chiapetta. Whereas in the beginning I went from wary to agreeable, the facts of the reissue deal returned me to wary as they unfolded overtime.

One might have thought that Joe Foster would have welcomed the fact that I was found to be alive rather than dead, but this proved not to be the case. Unbeknownst to me in my early communications with Steve Stanley it later became clear that both Joe Foster and Roger Armstrong were put in a quandary by the sudden development that I was in fact alive. They both appear to have believed that dead men can't complain, but then were faced with the predicament that a living one could.

For five years, following Steve Stanley's initial call to me in 2003, Joe Foster refused to communicate with me at all. He did not acknowledge my existence in any way and would not even send me a copy of the CD itself. There were no royalties, not one penny, in fact there was nothing from Joe Foster and Rev-Ola that even indicated that I had a right to expect a single thing from the release of the CD. If anything, Joe Foster took the position that he had done me a favor by simply releasing Songs Of Protest. It was his total and complete rejection of me that became the driving force behind my motivation to come to the internet and take up this subject publicly.

For nearly five years I have written about my own experiences in the music business and have banged on many a head, including Joe Foster at Rev-Ola Records and Roger Armstrong at Ace Records. I have waged a flat out assault on the music industry and against what I find to be reprehensible behavior by individuals and companies. I have been hailed and scorned by scores of individuals for doing what I do here. It is the reason I came to the internet. To have a voice and use it for the purpose I have. I did not come to make friends, restart my career, join social networks, or become popular. I came here to yell about the thievery and deception that many have encountered in the business of music and to spotlight my own personal experiences over nearly fifty years. Say what you will, but what I write about here is not only real but a whole lot worse than I have portrayed it. Some, who know absolutely jack-shit about the industry, and how it really works, have a need to come here and attempt to prove me wrong. But the only thing wrong with what I say here is that I have been too kind.

To those who want to degrade me and shut me up I say don't waste your time. I have done enough to degrade and compromise myself for a lifetime. I have portrayed myself on these pages for years as not only a victim, but someone who did much to victimize myself. But when people show up here with no knowledge of the facts, and attempt to pass themselves off as knowing things that they could not possibly know, I draw the line. There are only a handful of people who know anything for sure about what I have written here, and those people are either dead, in prison, or are unwilling to be forthcoming. This blog is my battleground, and only by sheer determination have I been able to make a single dent in the wall of bullshit known as the music industry and the life I lived in it, and/or as a result of it.

Whether you like me, agree with me, or hate my guts is of no importance to what I do here. Whether you think I was any good, sold any records, or am nothing more than a self obsessed narcissist is irrelevant as well. I am who I am, and I did what I did, and nothing in the way of opinion, character assassination, or praise is ever going to change that.

Each day of my current life is a test of my ability to cope. I am responsible for a 95 year old woman, a 70 year old schizophrenic brother, and making sure that this dilapidated mobile home continues to serve our needs. I had a major operation to remove a softball size aneurysm in the last few years and have 24-hour a day headaches which have gone on for fifteen years. I tend to all things needed here which include cooking, cleaning, plumbing, roof repair, yard care, elder care, being a psychiatrist, a taxi service, etc. I get no time off, no vacation, and no pay, and haven't for nearly twenty years. I have remained clean and sober for nearly 40 years and find myself in awe of the facts which make up my own existence. I don't hardly have the time to spit let alone give a shit about people's opinion of me. So until you are willing to take over my myriad of responsibilities here, I would suggest that you consider what it is that I am really doing each day. On the other hand, if you are looking for a fight, then I'm definitely your man.

Go to part 1 of this blog

JUST LIKE ALL THE TIMES BEFORE

ALONE I FIGHT
THIS RUTHLESS WAR
LIKE ALL THE TIMES
I DID BEFORE
AND ALL THOSE TIMES 
ARE STACKED
LIKE STONES
ALONG THE ROAD
I WALKED ALONE

PROMISES LIKE SKULLS
ARE PILED
CONVENIENT LIES
AND PLEASANT SMILES
USELESS WORDS
ZERO SCORE
JUST LIKE ALL
THE TIMES BEFORE

FOOT IN FRONT
OF ONE ANOTHER
FIRST THE ONE
AND THEN THE OTHER
HERE AGAIN
ALONE ONCE MORE
JUST LIKE ALL
THE TIMES BEFORE


Bobby Jameson April 11, 2012

TAKE THIS LOLLIPOP INTERACTIVE VIDEO

This is regarding credit for my song Take This Lollipop which is used in an interactive facebook app, and to date has had over 13,000,000 views. It took a lot of hard work to get the credit for the use of my song. No money, but at least I am credited for my work...You have to be logged into fb for the app to work. Here is the link if you are curious....I had nothing to do with the creation of this thing, nor did I know it would be interactive with fb...

TOM LEATHEREWOOD...PASO ROBLES,CA...INTERNET STALKER

I have an internet stalker following me around online. I have written about him before. His name is Tom Leatherwood and he lives in Paso Robles, CA not too far from me in San Luis Obispo. He is a so called solid citizen in his community and a success in business. He owns an aviation company and properties in Paso Robles, and is second in command at the local Rotary Club. For all intense and purposes he appears to be totally legitimate. He is a christian, according to his own words, but seems to have missed the part about Thou Shalt Not Judge, because judge is what he does, and I am his target. I will post below Tom Leatherwood's own words from September 2011, which he sent to my fb account as evidence. I do not know this man, and have never met him on any occasion. I am not, nor have I ever been friends with him on fb or anywhere else. He decided, some time ago, to learn all he could about me and then email me about what he thought, and to tell me how much research he put into the subject of Bobby Jameson.

Tom Leatherwood to Bobby Jameson on facebook messages...

(Tom) Being on the internet is a waste of time for you. MUch less facebook. Ive seen some sniveling whining morons in my life but you take the cake. Ive listened to your whining, read your internet crap and all i have to say is that you get narcissist of the world award. Youve spent your life whining about all the fame and money your "talent" couldnt provide and im sick of it. Face reality. You didnt have it. You just didnt HAVE it. Get it through your head. THATS WHY IT DIDN'T HAPPEN FOR YOU. NO ONE TOOK YOUR IDEAS AND MADE THEM PAY OFF! Anymore then you could. Facebook isnt a place for whining and boo hooing about all the fame you couldnt create, that you didnt deserve. Get a life. While you can. IF you can. Its doubtful.
Stop the pity party. It sickening to listen to. Ive been watching and listening to your crap the last year and tried to be christian in my thoughts. Ive kept my council and talked to people that profess to know you and have finally hit the wall. Get OVER yourself.
Your NOT Jesus Christ, and your NOT Bob Dylan and nobody gives a shiit. And believe it or not, this advice comes to you in all sincerity.
Your a human being and your Gods child. Start acting like it.
Good luck.

44 minutes later...Bobby Jameson to Tom Leatherwood

Well you punk ass mother fucker....anytime shit head...any fucking time you want......Bobby

30 minutes later...Tom Leatherwood to Bobby Jameson
Spoken like a true phsycopath. And then what? Your going to beat me up? For telling you what your friends won't? And what will that change? It's about GROWING UP "Bobby". "punk ass mo fo"? Shithead? I havent heard those since about 1960? What you got from me was good advice, what you do with it is your business. Adios

29 minutes later...Bobby Jameson to Tom Leatherwood
You are an arrogant fake Christian Tom...and yes I will kick the living shit out of you......I'm right down the hill asshole in SLO....

The above was the first communication I received from Tom Leatherwood in September of 2011 on my fb profile message account. I posted it on my blog soon after it happened and figured that was that, but not so. Yesterday, Monday March 19, 2012, I found a new set of comments on a photo album of mine on my fb music page from Tom Leatherwood, which means he has been following me for many more months....those comments are posted below.

Tom Leatherwood (comment on Bobby Jameson music page)

The real point is that people promote music and people BUY music that is good and that they like. It behooves the promoters to PROMOTE and therefore PROFIT from that endeavor. When that DOESNT happen its not a conspiracy to keep a talented composer/promoter down and broke. People that DON'T make the big time either get on with their lives and make something of them or wallow in self pity and waste it.
Saturday at 10:43pm · Like · 1 (tom liked his own comment)

Tom Leatherwood (second comment)
Tell yourself your a victim often enough and you end up believing it.,,,

It is clear that Tom Leatherwood doesn't like me and doesn't care for any of my work or written history. He is convinced that he knows best and believes he has the right, if not a christian duty, to tell me what he thinks. All I want is for Tom Leatherwood to back off and leave me alone. I accept that his opinion of me is thoroughly negative, but will continue to make a public issue of his seeming obsession with me as long as he persists in harassing me. I am posting this information publicly so others who may know Tom Leatherwood will gain a fuller understanding of who he really is.

(part 274) EVERYTHING...

Well the answer to "What could go wrong?" was simple, it was "Everything!" But at the time I didn't know that. I was too engrossed, admittedly, in my own belief that things were turning around before my very eyes. The feelings I was experiencing that day were too good to worry about rational thoughts. I was like a starving man who'd been given a meal and was too busy consuming it to be wary of the fact that it might be tainted in some way.

So full-steam ahead was where I chose to place myself in the telephone conversation with Steve Stanley. Almost without reservation, I proceeded to answer any and all questions he asked me, never thinking that there might be a reason not to do so. It is not as though I told him things I didn't want him to know, but more over the fact that I was so willing to do so with a perfect stranger. I chalk it up to my own need to discuss it with someone, anyone, so as to be rid of the burden of being the only one who knew all the facts and history in context. The weight of carrying it around alone for decades was literally a boulder on my back, which I was eager to drop.

One of the most interesting things about the conversation was becoming aware that Steve was confused about many of the facts, such as the Billboard Magazine Ads from the 60's. He, and others I learned, were under the false belief that those ads were somehow linked to the original release of Songs Of Protest in 1965 on Surrey Records, which was completely wrong. I explained to him that the ads came out nearly a year and a half before the Chris Lucey album and were not connected to it in any way. Of course this presented all kinds of problems to those who had taken the position that the ads were specific to Songs Of Protest. I informed him that the ads were for I'm So Lonely, released as a single on Talamo Records in 1964, in conjunction with Tony Alamo, and had occurred before I went to England. Songs Of Protest wasn't even recorded until I returned to the U.S. in 1965.

Unknown to me at the time of this conversation, was the fact that Rev-Ola had printed and included a booklet with the wrong information inside the CD itself as part of the history of Chris Lucey/Bobby Jameson. They'd also run promo ads, I later learned, using the incorrect information, which still exist today on the internet. It wasn't until I saw what was written, and read it for myself, that I learned just how screwed up it was. The entire content of what was included in the CD itself was written by Steve Stanley and was the accepted version at large by nearly everyone who had an opinion on the subject.

Other major problems with information included in the CD, were references made to Diane Linkletter's suicide and my supposed connection to it, which were false. I knew nothing of these things as I talked with Steve Stanley during that first encounter with him. None of this was actually known to me until I received, some two weeks later, my first and only copy of the CD, which Steve Stanley mailed to me. Had I known at the time of my first conversation with Steve what I later became aware of, that conversation would have been markedly different.

There was nothing written for, or contained in, the CD that was done out of malice, but there was, in my opinion, a tendency to glorify facts which proved to be false, for the purpose of publicity. On the other hand, it had been assumed by most that I was dead at the time the CD was being constructed, so those who OK'd what became the final package had that leeway as a buffer in their mind.

Prior to receiving my first copy of the CD, I spoke with Steve on several more occasions. Those conversations as well were without my knowledge of what I was yet to find written in the booklet contained within the Songs Of Protest CD. I do not know, in hind sight, what the difference in our conversations would have been, other than knowing now how our conversations changed once I got the CD. I recall quite clearly that on the day I read, for the first time, what was written in the booklet I felt as though I had been kicked in the stomach when I got to the part about Diane Linkletter. The reference to Kim Fowley being the source of this information had the singular effect of thoroughly pissing me off.