Following is the complete, unedited statement from California songwriter Jim Wagner, who is in battle with Tom Petty over the song 'The Last DJ'. Wagner claims Petty used his song 'The Last Great Radio DJ' as the basis for his hit song, without permission or credit.
Wagner contacted Undercover to publish his statement. Tom Petty or his management is offered the chance to respond if they choose.Wagner's unedited statement follows...
There was no response from Tom Petty or Jim Ladd regarding my statement to Undercover dated January 30, 2007. My song, "The Last Great Radio DJ," was copied by Petty in "The Last DJ." Petty and Ladd won't respond because they cannot deny identical blatant lies proving a conspiracy to take my copyrighted work for their benefit. THIS IS ALL OUT WAR.
Those who came before me such as Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and John Lennon would stand with me to deplore the actions of Petty and Ladd.
Petty considered a copyright infringement lawsuit against The Red Hot Chili Peppers regarding "Dani California" being similar to his song, "Mary Jane's Last Dance." Petty decided against the lawsuit stating in Rolling Stone magazine,
"If someone took my song note for note and stole it maliciously, then maybe."
Petty's standard as to copying should apply to himself as well. He copied my song without question and was malicious in his press release responding to my lawsuit. In painting himself as innocent of any wrongdoing, he intentionally damaged my good name as a true American singer/songwriter.
Petty has a track record of copying other artists. The public vehemently stated on internet sites that Petty should not sue The Red Hot Chile Peppers since his song, "Mary Jane's Last Dance," was already a rip-off of "Waiting For The Sun" by the Jayhawks. On rollingstone.com in Rock and Roll Daily, people stated: "Didn't anyone ever stop to realize that 'Mary Jane's Last Dance' was already a rip of the opening of the Jayhawks 'Waiting For The Sun?'" And, "The Jayhawks played 'Waiting For The Sun' every night while on tour with Tom Petty a year before he wrote 'Mary Jane.'" Many people condemned Petty for considering a lawsuit saying that his song was already a rip-off of the Jayhawks.
Petty launched his career with "Breakdown." Rock star Eric Burdon wrote "Cheating" before Petty wrote "Breakdown." The following interaction between Eric Burdon and Lee Flier was posted on the internet by Flier: "And speaking of Tom Petty ripping people off, one of the more blatant rip-offs was 'Breakdown' which is a total rip of a pretty obscure Animals song called 'Cheating.' And it was obvious that Petty had heard the song because it was on the same Animals album that featured 'Don't Bring Me Down' which Petty and the Heartbreakers covered. I used to see Eric Burdon a lot when I lived in L.A. I said, 'So I guess you're OK with the fact that Petty
totally ripped off your song.' Eric said, 'Yeah, no big deal.'"
Rock star Paul Westerberg of The Replacements was interviewed by Keith Phillips on theonionavclub.com. The following interaction was posted on the internet: "Did you mind Petty swiping your 'rebel without a clue' line? Westerberg stated, 'It miffed me a bit. I'd steal something back from him if I could find something I liked.'"
No complaint about Petty is in the realm of my complaint. My song was copied becoming a hit song, hit album, national tour, live satellite broadcast to radio stations and theaters, pay per view, public television broadcasts, broadcasts on
"The Music Choice" concert series to more than 24 million cable homes nationally, CD's in multiple formats, "Live at the Olympic" DVD, "The Last DJ Sessions"
DVD, memorabilia and performances of "The Last DJ" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with David Letterman, The Conan O'Brien show and The Today Show. After copying my song, Petty then blatantly lied about it to the world.
Petty's renowned musicologist, Dr. Gerald Eskelin, states on his website, "He {Eskelin} has provided musicological services to Tom Petty, Madonna, Elton John, Lionel Ritchie, Janet Jackson and ZZ Top." Dr. Eskelin FIRMLY contradicted Petty in his written opinion. Petty responded to my lawsuit (L.A.S.C. # BC 322570) by making FALSE statements in a press release carefully crafted to keep his fan base intact. Petty stated, "I never heard the recording the lawsuit claims influenced my song. Claiming that Jim Ladd ever gave me another piece of music or discussed the plaintiff or his song with me in any way whatsoever is a total falsehood." Dr. Eskelin wrote to me, "Your song was replaced by Petty's. I agree with you that it would appear that Petty knew of and likely heard your song before he wrote his. It seems plausible since you note that Ladd and Petty are longtime friends that Ladd asked Petty to write the song." It is very important to note that Petty's own music expert opposes him.
Dr. Eskelin's statement is supported by Dr. Katherine Powers, a Fulbright music scholar and Professor of Musicology with no links to Petty or the Warner Music Group. Dr. Powers wrote, "I certainly can see why you reacted with the notion that Petty had heard your song." Dr. Charles Tumlinson, Director of Jazz Studies wrote, "I do suspect that Petty appropriated some of your material."
Petty's own music expert and two music experts unrelated to Petty and the Warner Music Group contradict what Petty said in his press release.
Ladd wrote a letter to me dated December 4, 2002. He stated the same two blatant lies that Petty stated in his press release proving a conspiracy. Ladd wrote, "I never played your song for Tom Petty, nor did I ever mention it to him."
He also wrote, "The Tom Petty tune was actually written well before you sent me your song." That is a blatant lie. I sent my song to Ladd in July of 2000 after attaining a federal copyright on July 24, 2000. There is no record of Petty writing his song until just before release on October 8, 2002. He copyrighted his song in 2002 as verified in album liner notes. My song was written before his.
Petty stated in his press release, "If I collaborate with anyone, I always share the credit." Petty's statement is totally misleading. He skipped any collaboration with me not necessitating a sharing of credit. He just flat-out copied my song.
His press release stated, "Tom Petty, long seen as one of the key standard bearers of integrity in the music business . . ." It is a gross overstatement to commend Petty on his integrity simply because he wanted his recording company to charge less for a CD and because he charges a reasonable amount for concert tickets. The amount charged to his fans is no true measure of his integrity. If Petty had any integrity, he wouldn't have copied my song and blatantly lied about it to the world. A more accurate measure of his integrity is found in his lyric, "statues that atone for my sins" from his recent hit, "Saving Grace." What he did to me is a sin.
Petty's song has 41 important words copied from my song. Petty used a key phrase from my song, "magic in the music," to sell his song and album in a national
television commercial, words not copied in his song but reserved specifically for this purpose. Is that integrity? First my song was copied rendering it "dead" and then Petty used my phrase to sell the infringing work. Is that integrity? What he did is incomprehensible. And who did the voice-over for Petty's commercial? Jim Ladd.
Petty includes himself in describing the greed running rampant in the music industry. He stated in Rolling Stone magazine, "It's the artists themselves that often cause problems. Some just want to make some music, but there is a lot of greed among artists as well. Whether or not we know it, we are all to blame." I assert that Petty copied my song for financial reasons needing a hit song that would drive his album and national tour. He abruptly changed from "The Golden Circle" to "The Last DJ" just before release on October 8, 2002 as confirmed in the media.
The fundamental lie stated by Petty and Ladd was that "The Last DJ" wasn't
written about Ladd. Petty and Ladd tried to distance themselves from wrongdoing knowing that my song was written about Ladd.
On October 30, 2000, Ladd introduced Petty to speak at the Museum of Television and Radio. Petty stated, "I always refer to Jim Ladd as the last DJ." Upon release of "The Last DJ" on October 8, 2002, Petty lied in the San Francisco Chronicle stating, "This is a fictional song. It's not based on anyone." He lied in a Westwood One Radio interview stating, "There's some people lately that seem to think that, you know, I aimed it at them or something, you know, but it's a fictional song." It is blatant lying for Petty to identify Ladd as "the last DJ" and subsequently write "The Last DJ" stating that he didn't base his song on Ladd.
Ladd stated the same lie to me in his letter dated December 4, 2002, "The Tom Petty song is not written about me as a person, but is written about a fictional character." Ladd counters himself on his official website, jimladd.com, "Or as Tom Petty calls him, 'The Last DJ."
There is more proof that Petty wrote "The Last DJ" about Ladd. On the day that Ladd received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, KLOS disc jockey Suzanne Ansilio said on-air, "Jim Ladd was immortalized on a CD when 'The Last DJ' CD came out from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers." Ansilio then recited the following lyrics from "The Last DJ" describing Ladd: "The boys upstairs they just don't understand. The top brass just don't like him talkin' so much. He won't play what they want him to play. There goes the last DJ who plays what he wants to play and says what he wants to say." "Congratulations to Jim Ladd getting his star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame today." In addition, KLOS used audio of "The Last DJ"
in an on-air promo and streaming video to promote Ladd getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Petty wrote his song about Ladd.
Petty was interviewed on KKCR-FM regarding "The Last DJ." He stated, "That
song has really caused some vibrations. It even wound up being read into the Senate record." Petty stated in the Paul Zollo interview, "There were Senate hearings on radio monopolies, and my songs were being read into the record." Petty stated in multiple media outlets that his song is fiction. If fiction, why did the Senate read lyrics from his song into the record regarding radio monopolies? His song isn't fiction. It was written about Ladd and the music industry.
Ladd was interviewed on KPFK-FM by Michael Benner. Benner stated, "When we say that Jim's THE LAST DJ, that's a reference to Tom Petty's last album of course.
The last guy that, how does he say it, 'says what he wants to say and plays what he wants to play.'" Ladd agreed saying, "Yeah."
Tommy Shaw, rock star from Styx, is a close friend of Ladd's. Shaw stated the following on the Styx website regarding Ladd getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: "Johnny Grant read aloud a congratulatory note from Tom Petty whom we all know referred to Jim in the song inspired by him, 'The Last DJ.'"
Ladd has a wallpaper download on his official website, jimladd.com. It is a
photo of Ladd with the words, "THE LAST DJ," above his head in large letters. Ladd likely asked Petty's permission to use his song title for the wallpaper download. KLOS used audio of "The Last DJ" in an on-air promo and streaming video promoting Ladd getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. KLOS likely asked Petty's permission to use his song for this purpose. Petty's song was substantially altered in the promos to accommodate the voice-over. KLOS likely participated with Petty in altering his song to accommodate the voice-over. Petty's assumed permission for use of his song in all the above indicates that he wrote his song about Ladd. Use of his song without permission would be illegal.
This matter couldn't be any clearer. Petty identified Ladd as "the last DJ" in his presence on October 30, 2000 and subsequently wrote "The Last DJ" about Ladd.
Petty even gave Ladd credit in album liner notes, "Thanks to Jim Ladd for his inspiration and courage." Both Petty and Ladd then denied that Petty wrote his song about Ladd knowing that my song was written about Ladd.
A copyright infringement lawsuit is won by proving "access" to the first song and both songs being "substantially similar." As to access, federal law considers a close relationship to be a "reasonable possibility" of access. It is common knowledge that Petty and Ladd have been close friends for more than 25 years. In addition, Petty and Ladd met at the Museum of Television and Radio three months after Ladd was in possession of my song. Petty identified Ladd as "the last DJ" without having
written his song yet. Their close friendship and their meeting at the Museum of Television and Radio constitute a "high" degree of direct access to my song with Ladd being in possession. Ladd acknowledged possession of my song in a letter to me dated December 4, 2002 stating, "Before you sent me your song." ABC, Inc. stated in a letter dated October 1, 2004, "Mr. Wagner sent a demo to Mr. Ladd."
Ladd benefited by providing Petty with access to my song. He interviewed Petty for more than two hours on KLOS regarding "The Last DJ," introduced Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performing "The Last DJ" album at major concert venues such as the Olympic Auditorium and The Great Western Forum, did the voice-overs for national television commercials promoting "The Last DJ" and received a star on
the Hollywood Walk of Fame as "the last DJ" that Petty wrote about in "The Last DJ." Petty sent a congratulatory note to Ladd at the ceremony read aloud to more than 2,000 people on Hollywood Blvd. Ladd increased his standing with KLOS in getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Ladd placed on his official website, jimladd.com, "Or as Tom Petty calls him, 'The Last DJ.'" Ladd has a wallpaper download on his website with the words "THE LAST DJ" above his head in large
letters. KLOS disk jockey Suzanne Ansilio stated on-air that Petty "immortalized" Ladd in "The Last DJ." Michael Benner interviewed Ladd on KPFK-FM stating multiple times that Petty wrote "The Last DJ" about Ladd. Ladd reaped major benefits from providing Petty with access to my song.
Dr. Katherine Powers compared both songs stating "striking similarities both on the level of overall artistic design as well as the level of specific events." I couldn't agree more. In legal terms, my "artistic expression" was copied rendering my song dead.
Petty's song has 41 important words copied from my song. The lyric, "the last DJ," has three identical melodic pitch notes with four notes moving in the same up and down tonal direction. Both songs syncopate the word "DJ." The first verse and chorus are the same at the start of both parts. The shift in cadence from verse to chorus is the same. Spoken word parts are rare in pop/rock songs. There is a spoken word part in the instrumental section of both songs occurring at the same precise location, Bar 2 Beat 4. Without copying, the probability of this occurring in a song written about the same person is perhaps one in ten million. A second spoken word part occurs in the sixth bar of the instrumental section of both songs. Without copying, the probability of two spoken word parts occurring at the same locations in a song written about the same person is perhaps one in fifty million. The first seven of eight melody notes are the same starting with "well" at the same exact time. The first eleven melody notes are the same rhythm with the cadence continuing to occur in various lengths throughout his song. The words "the last DJ" occur in the first and last lines of the chorus of both songs with the words "the last" occurring in the line preceding the last line. The instrumental introduction is similar going to the identical word "well" at the same precise time. The instrumental sections are similar in having one chord per two bars unlike any other part of either song thus creating the same feel. All of the above are striking similarities in two songs proven to be written about the same person, Jim Ladd.
I've been severely violated. Petty and Ladd took my copyrighted work for their personal and financial benefit. They used my phrase, "magic in the music," to sell
the infringing work in a television commercial with Ladd doing the voice-over.
Petty's manager, Tony Dimitriades, stated in Petty's press release responding to my lawsuit, "This is ludicrous and insulting." In condemning me, Dimitriades didn't tell the world that he was Executive Producer of "The Last DJ" project likely having a major financial interest. There is nothing ludicrous about this matter.
It is a serious mistake to copy my work after spending a lifetime developing it. My
song summarized the importance of rock and roll in lyrics such as "the magic in the music to free our soul." Since my song is rendered dead by what Petty and Ladd have done, I consider it a major loss to our country and the world. My song is lost forever. The messages were poignant and memorable. It was "the magic in the music" that helped us get through the Cuban Missile crisis, the assassination of President Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the Anti-war movement, the Civil Rights Movement and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.
I seek an attorney on contingency or a sponsor. For serious inquiries, please contact me at jimwagner3@aol.com.
Jim Wagner, singer/songwriter
