From: timc@diva.Berkeley.EDU (Tim Castro)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.marching.misc
Subject: Re: UCLA Rumor
Date: 17 Dec 92 18:10:26 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: diva.berkeley.edu

In article <FAIGIN.92Dec16200705@solarium.aero.org> faigin@aero.org (Daniel P. Faigin) writes:
>
>The late Kelly James wrote "Sons of California" as a graduate student at Cal,
>but did not copyright it. When he moved to UCLA, he re-wrote it as "Sons of
>Westwood" and copyrighted it, thereby really annoying the Cal people!!! and
>since it is copyrighted by UCLA the Cal people are SOL!!


NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! 

Are these the lies they're feeding you at UCLA?  I'm sorry, but I
have to set the record straight on this one.

The song "Big C" was written circa 1917 by two Cal students (Sorry, 
I don't have the names handy.  All my reference materials are 
elsewhere.) as an entry in an undergraduate song contest for the 
University of California AT BERKELEY.  The campus embraced the song
                         ^^^^^^^^^^^
and it has been in our repertoire ever since.  Unfortunately, neither 
the authors of "Big C" nor the University had the foresight to 
copyright the song.

In the late '50s, Asst. UCLA Band Director and Principal Arranger 
Kelly James took it upon himself to create a new arrangement of 
"Big C."  James is known for defining the UCLA Band's "Hollywood"
sound by filling his arrangements with bell-tones, abrupt chord
substitutions, cross-relations, deceptive cadences and grandiose 
endings.  It was James' intent that this arrangement would be played 
by all the participating bands at the annual Cal-UCLA football game 
(also known back then as "All-University Day").

Cal Band Director James Berdahl didn't take too kindly to this
new "Hollywood" arrangement and members of the Cal Band refused 
to play it.  However, UCLA bandsmen liked the new arrangement and 
took the song as one of their own, changing the title to "Sons of 
Westwood" and writing new lyrics.

Berdahl sent many letters to UCLA Director (Clarence Sawhill???)
and Kelly James asking them to please stop playing the song
which was already associated with the Berkeley campus for many
years.  James wrote back and claimed that since the song was never
copyrighted by U.C. Berkeley, UCLA had no moral obligation to stop 
playing it.  

Unfortunately, this turned out to be true.  Letters from the U.S. 
Copyright Office confirmed the fact that "Big C" was never copyrighted
and, as a result, new arrangements of the song could legally be produced.

The UCLA Band continued to play the arrangement and this has been a 
sore point between the two schools (and especially the bands) ever since.  
Sadly, it seems that many UCLA fans and alumni now regard this
song as one of their own, even though it was never intended to
represent the Los Angeles campus.

So, whenever you hear UCLA strike up the song "Sons of Westwood,"
remember that it is really Berkeley's "Big C."  It's my hope that
UCLA will gradually phase out "Sons," but as was mentioned before,
this will probably take some time.  And let this serve as a warning
to all other Bands and songwriters out there.  Make sure your songs are 
copyrighted!!!  Hopefully before some other band comes along and snatches 
them away.

The above information comes from a research project that I've been working
on for the past couple of years.  Anyone who is further interested in this 
subject can contact me at the below address.


--Tim
Cal Band '86 -'90


>--- Mindy Shaffer
>    Alto Saxophone (yes, a WOODWIND player!!!)
>    UCLA '78
>
>(using Daniel's account -- DPF)


-- 
Tim Castro		    *   "When the air becomes uranious
U.C. Berkeley               *    We will all go simultaneous
timc@diva.Berkeley.EDU      *    Yes we all will go together when we go." 
timc@ocf.Berkeley.EDU       *           --Tom Lehrer, 1958
Newsgroups: rec.arts.marching.misc