WWOne Sued Over 'Spirit In The Sky'

A radio jingle and music licensing company bought by Westwood One Inc. infringed the copyright to the Norman Greenbaum hit “Sprit in the Sky” by distributing copies to radio networks without permission, according to a suit filed Wednesday by the song’s producer and copyright holder, according to Law360.

Greenbaum recorded the song in 1969 with producer and plaintiff Erik Jacobson, who is the exclusive owner of all rights to “Spirit in the Sky,” including rights to the sound recording and the underlying copyrighted composition, the complaint said. 'Spirit peaked at #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in February 1970.

The Norman Greenbaum 1969 classic is owned by Erik Jacobsen and claims he’s the exclusive owner of the rights to the sound recording “and the underlying copyrighted musical composition.”  His lawsuit claims for nine years, Westwood One’s predecessor TM Century infringed on his copyright by “reproducing, manufacturing and distributing copies of the song to [syndicator] Radio America and other radio stations, networks and entities as yet unknown.”

According to Jackobsen's lawsuit 'Spirit' was used on the Radio America-syndicated Dr. Joy Browne talk show and he at least $150,000 in damages for each “willful infringement” plus costs.