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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Band sues Anheuser-Busch over using song "Dirty Water"
By Andrew Ryan, Associated Press Writer | June 9, 2006
BOSTON --Did Anheuser-Busch mix "Dirty Water" with its crisp, clean and refreshing Budweiser beer?
The Standells filed a federal lawsuit here May 31 that claims Anheuser-Busch used "Dirty Water" without permission in commercials to try to tap into the song's connection to the team.
"An advertiser decided to turn an artist into a pitchman without their consent," said the Standells' attorney, Steven Ames Brown, on Friday. "That's morally wrong."
The Standells are asking for more than $1 million in compensation from the St. Louis-based beer maker.
Anheuser-Busch Inc. said in a written statement Friday that it has yet to receive a copy of the lawsuit and will not comment until its reviews the complaint.
The Los Angeles-based Standells -- Lawrence Tamblyn, Dick Dodd, Gary Lane, Emilio Bellisimo and Tony Valentino -- had their first taste of fame with "Dirty Water," which hit number 11 on Billboard's Top 40 chart. The song is an ode to Boston and its once infamously polluted waterways.
"Down by the banks of the River Charles," sings drummer Dick Dodd in a guttural wail. "I love that dirty water ... Oh, Boston, you're my home".
The Standells learned of the Budweiser commercials when their record company received a "substantial" royalty payment for use of the song, according to Brown.
Royalties are one thing, Brown said, but copyright law requires that advertisers receive permission before using a work in a commercial.
It is unclear where or how often any Budweiser "Dirty Water" commercials appeared. Brown said that the royalty payment proves that Anheuser-Busch used the song. The company has not been forthcoming with those details, which will have to be determined in court, Brown said.
The relationship between the Standells and Red Sox, however, has been amicable. The band, which broke up in the 1970s, has embraced Boston's enthusiasm for "Dirty Water."
The band performed the song live at Fenway Park before Game 2 of the 2004 World Series. The Red Sox won.
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| GotToRollMe |
The Standells' "Dirty Water" - a classic! |
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| ListenToTheLion |
I prefer High Water (for Charley Patton) |
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| pdog |
Standells ROCK!!! |
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| Fabio Hot Stuff |
yeah,Standells rule in the '60. but I have a stupefaction version oh Dirty Water played by THE INMATES that really rock!
WeeeeeellILove thatDirtyWater------------OhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhLondon You'reMy Home! |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
CHARLES RIVER - BOSTON
Charles River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Charles River is a small, relatively short river in Massachusetts (USA) that separates Boston from Cambridge and Charlestown. It is fed by some 80 brooks and streams, and several major aquifers, as it flows snakelike for 80 miles (129 km), starting at Echo Lake in Hopkinton, through 58 cities and towns in eastern Massachusetts, before emptying into Boston Harbor. Its watershed contains 33 lakes and ponds, mostly manmade. Despite the river's length, and relatively large drainage area (308 square miles; 798 kmē), its source is only 26 miles (42 km) from its mouth, and the river drops only 350 feet (107 m) from source to sea. It is the most densely populated river basin in New England.
Harvard University, Boston University, Brandeis University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are all located along the Charles River; at Boston proper it opens out into a broad basin and is lined by parks such as the Charles River Esplanade (in which stands the Hatch Shell where concerts are given in summer evenings). The river is well known for its rowing, sculling, and sailing, both recreational and competitive. The Head of the Charles Regatta is held annually, in October.
Despite its famous water pollution, making the Charles "Swimmable by 2005" became an important EPA goal1. While this promise was not reached in time, swimming and fishing are progressively re-emerging as about 90% of the length of the river is now considered safe for swimming2. Health risks remain however, particularly after rainstorms and when walking in certain riverbeds stirs up toxic sediment.
Early history
The river's name, before the English, was once thought to be Quinobequin (meandering), though that attribution has been discredited by, among others, the Harvard University Librarian in 1850. The river was used by Native Americans for local transportation and fishing, and as part of the way from southeastern Massachusetts to northern New England. Captain John Smith gave the river its current English name in honor of Charles I of England, his reigning monarch. Subsequent European settlers harnessed the river for industrialization, and by 1640 entrepreneurs on the Neponset River had diverted its water to power their mills.
Waltham was the site of the first factory in America, built by Francis Cabot Lowell in 1814, and by the 19th Century, the Charles River was one of the most industrialized areas in the United States. Its hydropower soon fueled many mills and factories. By the century's end, 20 dams had been built across the river, mostly to generate power for industry. An 1875 government report listed 43 mills along the 9.5-mile (15 km) tidal estuary from Watertown Dam to Boston Harbor.
In portions of its length, the Charles drops slowly in elevation and has relatively little current. Despite this, early settlers in Dedham, MA found a way to use the Charles to power mills. In 1639, the town dug a canal from the Charles to a nearby brook that drained to the Neponset River. By this action, a portion of the Charles River flow was diverted, providing enough flow for several mills. The new canal and the brook together are now called Mother Brook. The canal is regarded as the first industrial canal in North America. Today it remains in use for flood control.
[Edited by Ten Thousand Motels] |
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| Mel Belli |
Bruce did that song on the opening night of his "Seeger Sessions" tour. Peter Wolf guested. |
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| lotsajizz |
It is played in Fenway Park at the end of each Red Sox victory.
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