The estate of blues singer Armenter "Bo Carter" Chatmon has filed a lawsuit in Nashville against Eric Clapton. The estate claims that Clapton mistakenly credited Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter as the songwriter of "Alberta," a song that Clapton covered for his Unplugged album in 1992.
The estate argues that the song performed is actually a rendition of Chatmon's "Corrine, Corrina." They claim that Clapton played the melody of "Corrine, Corrina" but replaced the title phrase with "Alberta."
The estate is seeking $5 million from Clapton, Warner Music Group and Rhino Music, along with MTV and Viacom, who broadcasted the Unplugged performance.
The outcome of the case could also hinge upon whether the song "Corrine, Corrina" had already entered the public domain before Clapton performed it.
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