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Girls Vs Gurls
Katy Perry’s single, “California Gurls,” may be the hit of the summer, but it’s not sitting too well with the folks handling the The Beach Boys song catalog.
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Volkswagon 2011 Jetta launch, Times Square, New York City
Rondor Music sent a letter to Perry’s label, Capitol Records, demanding that Mike Love and Brian Wilson be added to the songwriting credits for “Gurls,” according to the New York Post. Of course, more songwriters means more slices of the royalties pie, so there’s money at stake as well as credit for the song.
Usually such a letter is the first salvo of legal action. But no lawsuit has been filed as of yet.
It all boils down to a line by Perry’s guest collaborator, Snoop Dogg, delivered at the end of the track – the famous “I wish they all could be California girls.”
As to who originally ordered the change depends on who you want to believe. The Post’s Page Six column says those ol’ familiar anonymous industry sources claimed Wilson and Love asked Rondor to move on the issue. However, the same column reports representatives of both artists as saying Rondor took the initiative.
Which just might be the case because both artists have mentioned publicly that they like Perry’s song. Recently Wilson told the Los Angeles Times that he loved Perry’s vocal and that the “Gurls’” melody “is infectious.”
Plus, Love went on record with “Entertainment Tonight” saying The Beach Boys had no plans to litigate.
“The Beach Boys are definitely not suing Katy Perry,” Love told “Entertainment Tonight.” “In fact, we are flattered that her fantastically successful song is bringing to mind to millions of people our 1965 recording of The Beach Boys’ ‘California Girls.’ We think her song is great and wish her all the success in the world.”
Photo: AP Photo
Nissan Live Studio, Los Angeles.