Dolly sings in song’s defence

Press, 6 December 1985, Page 6

Dolly sings in song’s defence

NZPA-Reuter Los Angeles The country singer, Dolly Parton, sang bars bf her hit “9 to 5” to an audience of six — a jury — today to deny that it sounded like a tune she is accused of copy-

tag. ”• Parton is accused by a songwriter, Neil Goldberg, and his wife, Jan, of stealing part of his song “Money. World” for “9 to 5.” • -

Parton, aged 39, wearing black tights, a black-and-white blouse and with her blonde hair tied with a black ribbon, said , that she had never heard the Gold-, berg song before it was played to her after the lawsuit alleging copyright infringement was filed. “When I first heard it, I couldn’t imagine why I was sued. But when you broke it down, it does have a familiar Sound to it,” Parton told the Federal court jury. Parton, who wrote “9 to 5” as the theme song for the film of the same name in which she starred, said that the song was meant, to fit the spirit and story of the film. She sang a few bars of her song to try to show the jury how the two tunes differed.

Mr Goldberg said that the words to the chorus that completed his song were: “Got the people working nine to five. Got them hustling just to stay alive.” The Parton song goes: “Working nine to five, what a way to make a living.” Mr Goldberg said that he had never sent the album that includes his song to Parton but had sent it to Jane Fonda, who starred with Parton in the film. Mr Goldberg’s lawyer, Terry Steinhart, said that he expected to call Fonda as a witness.