After claiming that they had secured the first-ever Beatles sample, those associated with the Fab Four (including George Harrison's son) have disputed the validity of the claim.
Randall
Wixen, who handles the publishing rights for Harrison's estate told MTV, "In this case, the Beatles' master sample is not being used and has not
been approved by Apple Records. The composition of 'While My Guitar
Gently Weeps' has been interpolated into the Wu-Tang song. The elements
have been replayed by Dhani Harrison. There's nuance to [the Wu-Tang's] claim. They have not [been] cleared [by] the Beatles, they have cleared a song made popular by the Beatles. All I know is that we were authorized to proceed with the Wu-Tang Clan."
Wu will still have to pay a hefty royalty fee and, that sense, it is an official usage of a song.
Dhani Harrison, George's son, spoke about the matter, too: "EMI freaked out about this whole thing, but it's less about a major corporation talking to another major corporation, it's more like two friends — RZA and myself — talking about working together. [The RZA] asked me to see if he could use the song, which is owned by us [the Harrison Estate], and we said yes. It's not the original master — they've never been cleared — but the song is used compositionally."
Woosh -- well, that's quite a bit of jargon, but that's how it goes with The Beatles and their legal issues.
On the bright side of things, you can listen to "Gently Weeps" here tonight (login required).
