Mention the disco era and one of the first songs that comes to mind is the anthem to heartbreak and resilience, “I Will Survive.” The immensely popular song cemented singer Gloria Gaynor in the pop music history books.
Now Gaynor is suing one of her producers, alleging that Joel Diamond and companies he worked for cheated her out of $2 million. Her lawsuit claims Diamond and the other defendants did not keep her updated on how her recordings were being licensed and sold, and enriched themselves at her expense.
Gaynor filed the complaint in the Southern District of New York at the end of July. She claims Diamond falsely claimed that he owned several of her recordings, including the songs “You’re All I Need to Get By,” “I Am What I Am,” and others. In addition, she claims Diamond credited himself as a co-writer on one of her songs when he did not contribute to it. The suit says “Diamond has never been a songwriter.”
Ouch.
The complaint goes on to say that despite multiple requests by Gaynor for a thorough accounting of her music’s licensing and income, the defendants did not comply. Not only that, says the suit, but they did not pay Gaynor royalties to which she was entitled under her contract. Money from Gaynor’s songs has flowed into the defendant’s pockets, her lawyers claim, but none of that made its way to the songstress.
Joel Diamond categorically denies Gaynor’s claims. In a written statement to the media, he called them “demonstrably false.” Diamond said the contract between him and Gaynor is 40 years old, and that Sony Music confirmed to him that he is the rightful owner of the recordings.
He went farther, stating that Gaynor’s claims against him are themselves defamatory and that he will defend himself legally.
But Gaynor is not the only one accusing Diamond of underhanded dealing. She is suing along with the songwriter Robin Randall, who claims Diamond has falsely claimed ownership of songs she wrote.
Whatever the case may be, there’s no doubt that I Will Survive is one of the most durable anthems in pop music history overall, not just disco.
