View Document
Housewife Says John Tesh Stole Her Poem
-
Housewife Says John Tesh Stole Her Poem -
Housewife Says John Tesh Stole Her Poem -
Housewife Says John Tesh Stole Her Poem -
Housewife Says John Tesh Stole Her Poem -
Housewife Says John Tesh Stole Her Poem -
Housewife Says John Tesh Stole Her Poem -
Housewife Says John Tesh Stole Her Poem -
Housewife Says John Tesh Stole Her Poem -
Housewife Says John Tesh Stole Her Poem -
Housewife Says John Tesh Stole Her Poem
MAY 8--A Missouri housewife is suing John Tesh, claiming that the singer took a September 11 tribute she had written and included it, without credit, as a cut on a Christmas album he released last year. In a federal copyright infringement complaint filed earlier this month, Stacey Randall, 29, charges that Tesh included her poem "Met in the Stairwell" on his album "Christmas Worship" without her permission. The Tesh version--which he renamed "God in the Stairwell" and slightly shortened--is a 2:52 spoken word cut laid over a creepy haunted house organ bed. So how did Tesh, a Christian music star, come to appropriate the work of Randall, a mother of two--now pregnant with her third child--who writes poetry when she's not home-schooling her kids? Blame the Internet. "A few days after September 11, I was in bed, unable to sleep. I had a vision of the Lord in the stairwell of the World Trade Center, coming forward to comfort people," Randall told TSG. "I wrote it in exactly seven minutes. I put it on my family's web site and the next morning sent e-mails out to a few family members. Within a month or so, the poem had spread around the world." As it ricocheted around the globe, Randall's poem--which she copyrighted in January 2002--was often printed without her name attached, just attributed to "Anonymous." According to a previously published interview with Tesh, he learned of the poem from wife Connie Sellecca, who "suggested that I read it during one of my concerts. So one night, I started reading it from stage while I was playing piano, and it was a very emotional thing. The reaction from the audience was incredible, so I just kept playing it night after night." Tesh later included "God in the Stairwell" (click here for lyrics) on his Christmas 2002 album as well as a live concert DVD. According to David Moser, Randall's lawyer, and the federal complaint--a copy of which is below--when Tesh was first confronted about his unauthorized use of Randall's poem, he offered to pay her some royalties, but flatly turned down a request for a miniscule $5000 licensing fee. Neither Tesh's CD or DVD credits Randall's authorship of the poem, instead the recordings note that the included songs have been copyrighted by Garden City Music, Tesh's music publishing arm. Along with unspecified monetary damages and legal fees, Randall's lawsuit seeks an injunction barring Tesh from further sale and distribution of works containing "God in the Stairwell." (10 pages)
Featured
