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Morris Levy (August 27, 1927 – May 21, 1990), born Moishe Levy, was an American music industry executive, widely known as the founder and owner of Roulette Records, owner of the Birdland jazz club and Roulette Room. At the peak of his businesses, Levy owned more than 90 companies employing 900 people,〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = Philadelphia Inquirer, By George Anastasia, June 25, 1987 )〕 including record pressing plants, tape-duplicating plants, a distribution company, a prominent New England chain of 81 record stores (Strawberries), and numerous record labels. He was convicted in 1990 on extortion charges from an FBI investigation into the alleged infiltration of organized crime into the record business〔 — and died after losing his appeal and two months before he was scheduled to report to prison.〔 Levy, who went by ''Moishe'' or ''Mo'' within the record industry, was described by ''Billboard'' magazine as "one of the record industry's most controversial and flamboyant players"〔(Fred Goodman, ''Morris Levy severing music industry ties'', Billboard, 20 December 1986, p.1,71 )〕 and by Variety as "The Octopus" for having a far-reaching control in every area of the record business disproportionate to the sizes of his companies.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = AllMusic.com, Steve Kurutz, )〕 Allmusic described him as "a notorious crook who swindled artists out of their owed royalties." Levy was widely known for falsely taking writing credit in order to receive royalties — enriching himself at the expense of many of his signed artists, especially his black R&B artists.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = Rolling Stone, June 6, 2001 )〕 ==Early life and career== Levy was born a Sephardic Jew〔 in Harlem and grew up as a Runyonesque figure〔 in New York City — after his father and older brother died of pneumonia when Levy was four months old. He quit school at the age of 13 and ran away to Florida, where he worked as a photographer in and around nightclubs, later joining the US Navy. Levy later persuaded the owners of the nightclub where he worked to buy a club in New York, subsequently managing the club as the Cock Lounge. It became successful, attracting musicians such as Charlie Parker and Dexter Gordon, and allowed Levy to set up another club, Birdland, in 1949.〔 When at Birdland, he was approached by a representative of ASCAP, seeking payment on behalf of songwriters for booking live music. Levy quickly appreciated the great potential profits that could accrue from owning music copyrights. He then formed a publishing company, Patricia Music (named after his first wife), for which he acquired the rights to songs performed in his clubs. In 1956, he founded Roulette Records with George Goldner, initially to release rock and roll music but also diversifying into jazz.〔 At one point he claimed the rights to the phrase "rock and roll" itself, which became widely employed after its use by Levy's friend, Alan Freed, and was known to add his name as songwriter to the credits of many artists who recorded on his label. In June, 1975, Levy and Nathan McCalla (a vice president of Roulette Records) were indicted for assaulting off-duty police officer Charles Heinz, causing Heinz to lose an eye. The case was later dismissed and all records were sealed. McCalla was subsequently murdered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = LA Times, September 24, 1986, William K. Knoedelseder, Jr. )〕 In the mid-1970s Levy filed a much-publicized lawsuit against John Lennon for appropriating a line from the Chuck Berry song, "You Can't Catch Me" (for which Levy owned the publishing rights) in The Beatles' song "Come Together." Lennon ultimately settled with Levy by agreeing to record three songs from Levy's publishing catalog during the sessions for his 1975 LP ''Rock 'n' Roll'', co-produced with Phil Spector. After complications, due to Spector's erratic behavior, and attempts at a second agreement failed, Levy used demo recordings by Lennon to produce and release a mail-order album titled "Roots". Levy successfully sued Lennon and was awarded $6,795, but was countersued by Lennon, Capitol, EMI, and Apple for an award of $145,300.〔(Lennon vs. Levy )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Morris Levy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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