Richard Reinhardt, also known as Richie Ramone, played drums for the Ramones between 1983 and 1987. And now he's thrown the lawsuit net wide, in an attempt to snag nearly $1 million in royalties he believes he is owed. Amongst the people he's suing? Wal-Mart, Apple, Real Networks, the band's management, two production companies, and the estate of Johnny Ramone. No word if he's sued anyone's mother yet, but I wouldn't be surprised....
The lawsuit says he never signed over rights to six songs he wrote for the group, and says he "never signed any written deal authorizing the sale of those songs digitally." He has asked for nearly $1 million in damages, as well as a court injunction that prevents further digital sales of said songs without his permission.
The songs in question?
"Smash You"
"Somebody Put Something In My Drink"
"Human Kind"
"I'm Not Jesus"
"I Know Better Now"
"(You) Can't Say Anything Nice"
No offense intended to Mr. Reinhardt, but let's be real: how the hell did he arrive at those songs being worth nearly $1 million? You probably went into it thinking, "I guess this guy wrote "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" or "I Wanna Be Sedated" or something, right? Well, no. He wrote the six songs above.
None of the parties mentioned in the suit have commented as of yet. The suit was filed today, and they're probably still having a good laugh over the money he's asking for, as well as noting how much deeper their pockets are than his, in terms of legal defense.
Good luck to Richie on his goal of making $1 million. It's an admirable goal, but I suspect he'd have better luck if he started investing in scratch-off tickets than going about it this way.
