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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Sen. Bobby Denton, who hit the record charts 50 years ago, and Denton, D-Muscle Shoals, is sponsoring and Bauman is promoting a bill in the Alabama Legislature that would silence impostor performing groups. To Denton and Bauman, the fake singing groups are committing a musical form of identity theft. Most often, they use the names of vocal groups from the 1950s and 60s, but these impostors have no original members in the group and no legal title to the name. To get bookings, they charge a cheaper fee than the original performers.
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"Audiences are being taken while the real artists sit home wanting to work as a result of this sophisticated
form of identity theft," Bauman said. Bauman was the lanky vocalist in Sha Na Na who cracked up audiences by wearing black sleeveless He still tours today with "Bowzer's Rock N' Roll Party" and is still honoring the 50s and 60s performers who So far, 18 states have passed laws, including Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina. Bauman has not visited the Alabama Legislature yet, but he's told Denton that he's ready to flex his muscles if needed. So far, Denton is doing fine solo. He got the bill approved unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, and it is now awaiting a vote by the Senate. Like impostor laws already on the books, Denton's legislation prohibits the use of a group's name unless the performers have the registered trademark on the name or there is at least one original member in the group who has legal rights to the name. The legislation authorizes the attorney general and county district attorneys to enforce the restriction and it provides for penalties ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. Bob Crosby, president of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, said Pennsylvania and New Jersey have used the law to crack down on shows. In Atlantic City, a casino had been advertising the Cornell Gunter Coasters, the Elsbeary Hobbs Drifters and the Platters, but changed the ads to say the performance was a "tribute" to the three groups. The legislation has no impact on singers performing other artists' songs provided they don't assume the artists' name. "There is no law against singing someone else's song. I do that all the time, but I don't do them as Frank Sinatra or Elvis," Denton said. Denton, 69, first hit the charts in 1958 with "A Fallen Star." He followed up with "Back to School" and "Sweet and Bauman, who has traveled the nation promoting the legislation, contacted Denton for help in Alabama. "Sen. Denton's history in the music industry helps him to understand this issue from the point of view of the Colorado truth in music
 MSNBC.comTruth and Doo-Wop June 4, 2007 issue - Let us consider two great experiences of Western culture.
One is viewing "Girl With a Pearl Earring," by the 17th-century Dutch master
Johannes Vermeer,
which hangs in a museum in The Hague. The other is a
performance of "Up on the Roof" by the
20th-century R&B group the Drifters.
For that, you have many choices, including Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters and
Charlie Thomas's Drifters, various "cover" bands (which do their own versions
of classic hits), "tribute" bands
(which mimic the original performances
down to the white shoes) and a shadowy category of groups that perform under the original
names and may
benefit from the audience's assumption that at least one of the
elderly gentlemen on stage once
crooned the
selfsame lyrics on "The Ed Sullivan
Show." Fate decreed there would be only one Vermeer, but many
Drifters—and Coasters and Platters and other
rock groups from the era before MTV. "How many?" asks
Jon Bauman rhetorically."As many as you can pay for.
On New Year's Eve, one in every city."
Bauman is better known as "Bowzer,"
the T-shirted lunk from Sha Na Na
(the band in "Grease").
Now 59, he runs his own oldies shows and heads the
Truth in Music committee of
the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, crisscrossing the country at his own expense promoting
laws to penalize bands
who falsely advertise
a connection
to an earlier group.
Nine states now have such laws—New Jersey was the most recent—and bills are awaiting
signatures in seven more.
Impostors are "a form of identity theft," he says, "against artists whose music changed the world.
I look on this as an extension of the civil-rights movement."
To the dwindling cadre of doo-wop pioneers who can still snap their fingers without wincing, Bauman is a hero."Jon is a dedicated soul," says Herb Reed of the first group to call itself the Platters. MSN Privacy . Legal Associated Press "Music artists work for years to build names for themselves in the entertainment industry," Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Tuesday after signing the amendments to the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law. "We should not allow others to impersonate their work and profit from that deception." Called the "Truth in Music Advertising Law," it prohibits copycat performances that attempt to cash in through false and misleading representations like names, billings and promotions similar to the original artists. nforcement by the state attorney general's office can bring civil penalties ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. The measure was inspired when well-known recording artists like the Platters, the Coasters and the Drifters suffered financial losses when their acts and routines were copied without permission, according to the governor's office. The Drifters, a doo-wop vocal group, first formed in the 1950s at Atlantic Records, had a string of '60s hits The legislation has been dubbed
the "Bowzer Bill" for Jon "Bowzer" Bauman of the band Sha Na Na "There are some groups that have been really very heavily damaged by this, for the most part the groups that had the most hit records from the doo-wop era," Bauman said. "Unscrupulous people have abused those names and they are putting out multiple impostor groups under those names. We don't even know how many there are." The law requires performing groups to have at least one member of the recording group that they claim a connection to and a legal right to use the name. Or else they must label the production a "tribute" or "salute" or else own the recording group's trademark or have its authorization. Sen. John Flanagan, a Long Island Republican who sponsored the bill, said that while some old hits Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maine, South Carolina, North Dakota, Virginia, New Jersey, Florida, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Missouri, Texas and Nevada have enacted similar laws, according to the Truth in Music Committee of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation. California and a few other states are expected to follow shortly, said foundation President Bob Crosby. "A lot of these groups have
spent their life savings chasing
the predators in litigation. The next step is enforcement, Bauman said. There are ongoing actions in New Jersey and Pennsylvania with one coming soon in Nevada, he said. Attorney William Charron, representing Singer Management and Live Gold Operations, obtained a temporary restraining order Friday in a New Jersey federal court to block the attorney general from interfering with a show at the Atlantic City Hilton by their groups the Elsberry Hobbs Drifters, the Cornell Gunter Coasters and the Platters, he said. They're scheduled to return to court Sept. 7, seeking a preliminary injunction. "The arguments were constitutional, that our clients have valid
licenses to these trademarks," Charron said. He said the
law "has the potential for misuse.
That's where our clients find themselves unfortunately caught. They deserve to have
their
names cleared," he said. Mar. 02, 2007
CARSON CITY -- Bowzer broke into song before a Senate panel on Thursday. Jon Bauman, better known as the former leader of the oldies group Sha Na Na, testified in support of a bill that would make it a deceptive trade practice for musical groups with no original members to pass themselves off as the Coasters, Drifters, Platters or others. "Get a job," Bauman intoned, quoting the 1950s Silhouettes hit. "For too many years, these impostor musical groups have been duping consumers out of their hard-earned entertainment dollars and cheating the pioneers of rock music out of their rightful legacy," Bauman told the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee. Bauman was joined by Mary Wilson, an original member of the Supremes, and Sonny Turner, an original member of the Platters, who testified from Las Vegas, in supporting Senate Bill 53, dubbed the "Truth in Music" bill. Wilson told lawmakers that at least five groups are performing as the Supremes. Breaking into song, Wilson said she tells those groups: "Stop! In the name of love, before you break my heart." The bill is intended to protect both consumers, who may not know they are buying tickets to
a fake group's performance, and artists who only have their legacy as performers to rely on Turner continued the musical testimony in the hearing. "Only you, can pass this bill for us," he sang to the melody of the Platters' hit "Only You." The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee passed the bill out with a few minor amendments, including one making it clear that venues that offer such acts, including hotel-casinos, are not responsible for any bogus act. The bill will have to pass both houses and be signed by the governor before it becomes law. Commerce Chairman Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, said the bill would become effective upon Bauman, who is chairman of the Truth in Music Committee of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, said he is pleased with support for the bill that the group has received from Nevada's casino industry. "We're completely on the same page," Bauman said. "We're not interested in acting as if the venues are culpable here. Because we feel that they are not." The bill was introduced by Sens. Joe Heck, R-Henderson, and Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, on behalf of some Las Vegas performers, including Wilson. Bauman told the panel that the Truth in Music Committee has succeeded in passing similar legislation in nine other states and is seeking approval in 12 more, including Nevada. The bill would prohibit a group from calling itself the Drifters, for example, unless one original member of the group is part of the performance. Exceptions would be made for groups clearly identifying themselves as a "tribute" band. Individuals holding rights to a group name also would be exempted from the provisions of the bill. Civil fines of $5,000 to $10,000, for violating a court order, could be assessed against promoters or groups failing to follow the provisions of the law. The attorney general's office had reviewed the bill and didn't foresee any additional costs associated with enforcing the proposed law because the office already has a deceptive trade practices unit. Bauman said the legislation has reduced or eliminated imposter groups in other states. It has succeeded by placing the burden of proof on the imposter groups to show they can legitimately use a name, he said. It has been effective because it allows an attorney general to stop a performance before it occurs to ensure there is a legitimate right to the group name, Bauman said. He described the phony groups as a form of identity theft. Wilson, a Las Vegas resident, said she has spent millions of dollars trying unsuccessfully to prosecute fake Supremes groups. Wilson, who does not own the Supremes name, tours as Mary Wilson or "Mary Wilson formerly of the Supremes." Bauman said performers are backing the legislation because they have to compete for jobs against fake groups that may charge $5,000 for a performance, while a group including original members might charge $20,000. Wilson said there are more serious issues the Legislature needs to deal with, from homelessness to care for the elderly, but the bill is important for performers. "It is helping Americans who have given music to the world," Wilson said. Also testifying from Las Vegas was 1950s music fan Donald Riggio, who said he knows which groups have a legitimate claim to a group name and which are fakes because of his love of the music. "I take it as a personal insult to my intelligence to have these fakers heaped upon me and the other members of the sometimes unsuspecting audience without calling them what they are -- a tribute band or review," Riggio said. No one spoke in opposition to the measure. Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Las Vegas, said he was embarrassed that Nevada has not been at the forefront in protecting the artists affected by imposter groups. But Bauman said the effort to pass the law in Nevada was intentionally delayed until the organization could see how well the measure worked elsewhere. Nevada is an important state for such a law because of its prominence as an entertainment capital, he said. "Existing law has proven to be completely ineffective in stopping the practice," Bauman said. "This is a grey area. TRUTH IN MUSIC BILL ADVANCES
| Jon 'Bowzer' Bauman (Chairman, Truth in Music Committee)addresses the
audience at the 2004 Vocal Group Hall of Fame Induction Concert about the 'Truth In Music Bill'. The bill was created in order to protect artists from identity theft and consumers from imposter groups that illegally use the name of legendary groups and artists. For more information about Truth In Music watch the video!  Truth In Music Video Truth In Music frank maffei
Truth In Music Legislation State By State Truth in Music has had an incredible legislative session which is not quite over. We are now law in 15 states-- New Jersey, Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia, Maine, Wisconsin, South Carolina, North Dakota and Texas. The bill is on the Governor's desk in Missouri. New York and California have passed one chamber and should finish up shortly. CA- assembly bill 702 passed assembly DE- Senate Bill #45 FL- law HB 4172 Public Act 094-0854 MA- law ME – law MI – MO – law ND – law = Existing Law to be Amended Fifty-ninth Legislative Assembly ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL NO. 1284 ND- PASSED, MUST BE AMENDED http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/59-2005/bill-text/FATH0400.pdf NJ – law [Second Reprint] ASSEMBLY, No. 3102 STATE OF NEW JERSEY 212th LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED MAY 18, 2006 http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/A3500/3102_R2.HTM SENATE, No. 310 STATE OF NEW JERSEY 212th LEGISLATURE PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2006 SESSION http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/S0500/310_I1.HTM NM - HOUSE BILL 857 48TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 2007 INTRODUCED BY Jane E. Powdrell-Culbert http://legis.state.nm.us/lcs/_session.asp?chamber=H&type=++&number=857&Submit=Search&year=07 NV – law SENATE BILL NO. 53 NY – http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A05822&sh=t OH- SET TO BE INTRODUCED PA – law SENATE BILL No. 929 Session of 2005 SC – law H.3636 H.4105 Rep. G.M. Smith May 2, 2007 SC- PASSED, MUST BE AMENDED TN – law HB 228 http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/bills/currentga/BILL/HB0228.pdf TX – law HB 54 http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/80R/billtext/html/HB00054I.htm VA – law http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+HB1969E+pdf WI - law
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Tomorrow, "Bowzer," the deep-voiced leader of the band Sha Na Na -- 
Riesberg wants Colorado to join 
