Features
The Clovers Name Dispute
A member of 1950s R&B group The Clovers, whose biggest hit was “Love Potion No. 9,” is in a legal battle with a different version of the group over the use of The Clovers’ name.
Photo: AP Photo/J Pat Carter
Harold Winley, 80, filed a lawsuit earlier this year in Washington federal court claiming members of an off-shoot of the group started by the late Harold Lucas are trying to prevent him from using The Clovers’ name for his shows.
Winley claims that venues that have booked him when he’s used the name have been threatened by the other group, so organizers canceled Winley’s shows.
Winley’s application to trademark “The Original Clovers featuring Harold Winley” reportedly was turned down.
However, Charles Stevens, a members of Lucas’ version of The Clovers, says the lawsuit is frivolous and he and his group members haven’t interfered with Winley’s shows.
Stevens said he doesn’t mind if Winley uses the group’s name as long as Winley leaves out “original” in the title. He claims Winley wasn’t a member of the first incarnation that performed as the Four Clovers, so he doesn’t qualify as an original member. Both parties have agreed to mediation to work out their differences.