Frankie Lymon's widow files suit against record company over song royalties

Jet, Sept 28, 1998

Emira Lymon, widow of the 1950s singer Frankie Lymon, whose life is featured in the hit movie Why Do Fools Fall In Love, has filed a lawsuit against Rhino Records alleging the company owes her more money for the use of the singer's songs.

Why Do Fools Fall in Love tells the story of Frankie Lymon's three widows who tight over his estate. The film stars Larenz Tate as Lymon, Vivica A. Fox, Halle Berry and Lela Rochon.

Mrs. Lymon, a retired schoolteacher who is portrayed in the movie by Lela Rochon, alleged in the recent lawsuit that Rhino reduced her share of royalties when it entered a licensing deal with Warner Brothers Studios.

Rhino owns the master tapes of Lymon's hits, including the smash Why Do Fools Fall In Love. Rhino allowed Warner Brothers films to use the music in the motion picture. But Mrs. Lymon maintains that the license fees paid by Warner Brothers "were unusually low relative to the value of the master recordings, particularly in a fictionalized biography of this kind."

The lawsuit also maintains that Rhino received "additional consideration on which it would not have to pay royalties because it has a financial interest in the motion picture."

Lymon is demanding a full account of Rhino's licensing fees with Warner Brothers.

As a result of the current licensing deal, Rhino is receiving a "six figure" payment deal in royalties and about half of that will go to Mrs. Lymon under a 1992 settlement she made with the record company, according to her attorney, Ira Greenberg. Mrs. Lymon also must pay a portion of her royalties to the surviving members of the group Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.

Rhino's lawyer, Jill Epstein, told the New York Daily News, "Our only comment is that the allegations are baseless, and the action is frivolous."