Bruce. Write a check now.
But I’m way ahead of the story, sorry.
If you hadn’t heard about it, a lawsuit was filed against Bruce Springsteen through the son of a deceased Ocean County man over a car.
His father owned a vintage 1968 Pontiac GTO and was invited to visit Colts Neck to use the vehicle in a photo shoot. According to court documents, Louis A. Billotti didn’t know it was a Bruce Springsteen album cover and was shocked when Bruce himself appeared. They got along, talked about cars, and took lots of pictures with Bruce sitting or leaning against the car.
A photo ended up as a representation of the album “Only The Strong Survive” released in November 2022. The photo shoot itself took place in October 2021.
But in the meantime, a lot of things have.
The lawsuit says the photographer that day gave the senior Billotti a check for $450 with “car prop” written on the memo line, but that there was supposed to be a contract to follow with further compensation if any of the photos were used.
Instead, Billotti never heard another thing.
A few months after the photo shoot, Billotti landed in the hospital with Covid-19. His son, Louis M. Billotti, says his father had health problems for months until his death in May 2022.
“In his final months, Mr. Billotti discussed the October photo shoot with several witnesses almost the day of his death and asked his son if the contract had arrived in the mail,” the lawsuit states.
Louis A. Billotti was never sent a contract spelling out the marketing terms of which he was entitled as the owner of the GTO,” the suit says. “His GTO was used in this mega-entertainment venture without his permission or reasonable renumeration.
Over the past year, Springsteen’s official website, as well as the site of defendant Sony Music Entertainment, have sold a variety of products bearing the GTO effigy and, in many cases, displaying only the GTO on the products.
I’d like to think that Bruce Springsteen, a guy who paid a real ransom for doing what comes naturally to him, a guy whose own father struggled with paintings and poverty when Bruce was a kid, wouldn’t have consciously participated in some little planned deception. .
I’d like to think that whoever communicated with Billotti that day was just doing it and wasn’t looking to scam anyone either.
However, it is clear that Billotti believed that the deal had not been done. And it breaks my heart to think that as he lay dying, he kept asking if anything had arrived in the mail.
So I’d also like to think if there’s even partial veracity to this story that Springsteen would think of his own dad, “Dutch”, and contact the son.
Bruce. Write a check now.
Gallery Credit: Stacker
Gallery Credit: Stacker
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There is a lawsuit filed against Bruce Springsteen by the son of an Ocean County man killed by a car.
Learning
Bruce. Write a check now.
But I’m getting ahead of myself, sorry.
If you haven’t heard, a lawsuit was filed against Bruce Springsteen through the son of a deceased Ocean County man over a car.
His father owned a vintage 1968 Pontiac GTO and was invited to visit Colts Neck to use the vehicle in a photo shoot. According to court documents, Louis A. Billotti didn’t know it was a Bruce Springsteen album cover and was shocked when Bruce himself appeared. They got along, talked about cars, and took lots of pictures with Bruce sitting or leaning against the car.
A photo ended up as a representation of the album “Only The Strong Survive” released in November 2022. The photo shoot itself took place in October 2021.
But in the meantime, many things have.
The lawsuit says the photographer that day gave the senior Billotti a check for $450 with “car prop” written on the memo line, but that there was supposed to be a contract to follow with further compensation if any of the photos were used.
Instead, Billotti never knew more.
A few months after the photo shoot, Billotti landed in the hospital with Covid-19. His son, Louis M. Billotti, says his father had health problems for months until his death in May 2022.
In his final months, Mr. Billotti spoke about the October photo shoot with several witnesses near the day of his death and asked his son if the contract had arrived in the mail,” the lawsuit states.
“Louis A. Billotti never won a contract specifying the marketing terms to which he was entitled as the owner of the GTO,” the lawsuit states. “His GTO was used in this entertainment mega-company without his permission or moderate remuneration.
Over the past year, the official Springsteen website, together with the defendant Sony Music Entertainment’s site, sold multiple and various forms of merchandise bearing the image of the GTO, and in many instances, exhibiting only the GTO on the merchandise.”
In his final months, Mr. Billotti spoke about the October photo shoot with several witnesses near the day of his death and asked his son if the contract had arrived in the mail,” the lawsuit states.
Louis A. Billotti was never sent a contract spelling out the marketing terms of which he was entitled as the owner of the GTO,” the suit says. “His GTO was used in this mega-entertainment venture without his permission or reasonable renumeration.
Over the past year, Springsteen’s official website, as well as the site of defendant Sony Music Entertainment, have sold a variety of products bearing the GTO effigy and, in many cases, displaying only the GTO on the products.
I’d like to think that Bruce Springsteen, a guy who’s been paid a king’s ransom to do what comes naturally, a guy whose own father struggled with work and poverty when Bruce was a kid, wouldn’t have knowingly had any part in some purposeful, petty deception.
I’d like to think that whoever communicated with Billotti that day was simply doing it and wasn’t looking to scam anyone either.
However, it is clear that Billotti believed that the deal had not been done. And it breaks my heart to think that as he lay dying, he kept asking if anything had arrived in the mail.
So I’d also like to think if there’s even partial veracity to this story that Springsteen would think of his own dad, “Dutch”, and contact the son.
Bruce. Write a check now.
With the soulful vocals of hits like “Let’s Stay Together” and “Love and Happiness,” Al Green has become one of the most successful artists of the 1970s. However, in 1979, the singer of R