Jim Wagner was over the moon. The struggling singer-songwriter
had just gotten a call from legendary classic rock DJ, Jim Ladd. Ladd really liked
the demo Wagner sent him. Could he use it as the theme song for his nightly
show? Wagner was thrilled - so thrilled he didn’t even ask for compensation when
he said yes. The two agreed that the quality of the demo was inadequate for
air. They arranged to re-record it, this time with Ladd adding the spoken-word
“Lord, have mercy” part. The re-recorded
version of Wagner’s song, “The Last Great Radio DJ”, became the opening for
Ladd’s classic rock show on KLOS-FM, Los Angeles’ preeminent classic rock radio
station. That was July 2000.
The complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in
October 2004 sought damages totaling $6 million: $1.5 million in lost returns
and $4.5 million in punitive compensation.
According to the suit, when Wagner gave Ladd permission to use the song
it was “implied both in-fact and by law a promise” that Wagner would be
compensated if said song were used for anything other than Ladd’s theme song.
[Video after the jump]
