Does Clare Torry deserve a writing credit for GGITS?

[Annoying Twit]

As in the poll.

[Keith Jordan]

She composed the melody in its entirety so should be given credit for half of it. Did Rick write the chord progression??

[Annoying Twit]

She composed the melody in its entirety so should be given credit for half of it. Did Rick write the chord progression??

Reports I've read said that Rick already had the piano piece worked out and Clare added the vocals. I'd rate each as equally important. And even if it's a "solo" equivalent to a guitar solo, because it lasts for most of the piece and is a large part of what people find memorable about the piece, she deserves the credit.

[mosespa]

She composed the melody in its entirety so should be given credit for half of it. Did Rick write the chord progression??

Clare didn't compose SHIT, by all eyewitness accounts.

She just improvised until the band felt that they had enough to work with.

She even had to be guided by the band as to avoid things like "baby" and "oh yeah."

She had to be TOLD BY THE BAND not to use words.

So...she just improvised until they told her "thanks...we got what we need."

She didn't compose anything, she didn't write anything...she just spewed stuff out.

[snifferdog]

Well...it depends on what you mean by "she improvised stuff". What she's wailing has a melody. Who made up this melody? Did she come up with it by accident as she was going along or were there guide vocals that sounded like the finished tune?

[Keith Jordan]

Clare didn't compose SHIT, by all eyewitness accounts.

She composed the melody so deserves credit for that. End of.

[mosespa]

Sorry, boss. Not end of.

She didn't walk into the room knowing what she was going to do. She made it up as she went along.

That's "improvisation" and not "composition."

Although a piece can be composed through improvisation, Clare Torry didn't WRITE her part.

She made it up as she went along...and by all counts, wasn't terribly impressed by what she'd done.

This leads me to believe that her vocal part may have been "comped" later...which strongly suggests that someone other than her actually composed the part using her raw material.

Clare Torry didn't compose or write anything.

Whoever came up with the idea of adding female gospel vocals may have somewhat of an argument for getting co-credit...

It was Alan Parsons who suggested Clare Torry.

Should he be entitled to a cut of her cut?

I've bought four copies of the album...does this entitle me to a share of the profits? After all, I've done my part to the contribution of the legend of the album by helping keep it the "album that won't go away..." where's MY money?

[snifferdog]

Now we're into the grey area between improvisation and composition. I'm thinking out loud here...Interstellar Overdrive is pretty much improvised, isn't it? The guys had a hook that Syd wrote, then they'd go off and make stuff up as they went along. All four Pink Floyd members have a writing credit for it.

[Damn!t]

No. She doesent deserve a thing.
They were not so popular back then when she got into the studio to improvise.
She got her 30 pounds for her services. Why didnt she said something before she got in that box to sing.
It's only later, when the album got big, she wanted to be credited. Otherwise, her input would not be questioned.
Anyway, she doesent deserve a writing credit, becouse she only improvised over the previously written piece, like she's been told to...and paid...like any other session musician should be paid after the job done. She didnt write a thing.

[Keith Jordan]

Things have to be composed at some point in time. What is the difference between composing a melody at home in your studio with your guitar in hand, or live in a recording studio on recording day with no guitar in hand? The only difference I can see is location, and the presence of a guitar! What difference does it make to anything to the context of her composing the piece? She did compose it. She did she did she did!!!! And she deserved more than the £100 she got or whatever it was for her Sunday afternoon in the studio.

Pink Floyd weren't even present at the studio were they?

[Damn!t]

Pink Floyd weren't even present at the studio were they?

They were.

[mosespa]

AND they told her what NOT to sing...which is surely just as important as if they'd told her what TO sing.

[Annoying Twit]

Well...it depends on what you mean by "she improvised stuff". What she's wailing has a melody. Who made up this melody? Did she come up with it by accident as she was going along or were there guide vocals that sounded like the finished tune?

From Mosespa's description, it looks like the vocal melody was a collaboration between her and the band. I presume they chose the appropriate bits from the recordings they made from her. But IMHO that still deserves a credit. If it were me assigning the percentages, I wouldn't give her 50% though.

[Annoying Twit]

She didn't walk into the room knowing what she was going to do. She made it up as she went along.

That's "improvisation" and not "composition."

Improvisation is composition in real time. Particularly for people who are good at it.

This leads me to believe that her vocal part may have been "comped" later...which strongly suggests that someone other than her actually composed the part using her raw material.

How much the vocal was "comped" would affect the level of her contribution, and whether or not she deserves a credit. If they built it up from individual notes, unlikely given the technology of the time, then she would have composed nothing. If they were comping whole lines, then there would be significant melodies that she created, and then she'd deserve a credit. Since she had to sue PF to get credit and royalties I'd presume that this sort of thing would have come out during the court case.

[Damn!t]

She got her name written down on dark side of the moon. That should be enaugh.

In the same way, Roy Harper should charge something then by singing Have a cigar...