Al Bell Wins Court Battle For Rights To '90s Hits

Al Bell

After TEXAS federal judge awarded soul legend AL BELL the rights to hit 1990s songs including "Whoomp! (There It Is)" and "Dazzey Duks," a jury awarded him more than $2.5 million in damages from DM RECORDS, reports THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

BELL, a pioneer of American soul music who headed up the legendary STAX RECORDS in the '60s, enjoyed hits with TAG TEAM's "Whoomp! (There It Is)," "Dazzey Duks," and PRINCE's "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World."

DM RECORDS, which acquire the assets of BELL's label, BELLMARK RECORDS, during the bankruptcy process, had a license on both "Whoomp! (There It Is)" and "Dazzey Duks" and acted as though it owned the compositions and began licensing them to others. BELL asserted that the songs were really owned by his publishing company, ALVERT MUSIC, which never declared bankruptcy, so he filed a lawsuit against DM RECORDS, asserting copyright violations, in 2002

The case bounced back and forth from bankruptcy court to federal court in the ensuing years, leading up to a trial two weeks ago. After the judge's verdict, the jury found willful infringement and ordered DM RECORDS to pay $2,131,432 in actual damages and profits for infringement of "Whoomp (There It Is)" and $132,500 in statutory damages for infringement of "Dazzey Duks."

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