Lennon Murphy

Lennon Anne Murphy, named after musician John Lennon,^[1] is a singer-songwriter out of Hendersonville, Tennessee, United States.

Early life

Murphy was born in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, New York on March 31, 1982. When she was four years old, Murphy and her mother moved to Hendersonville. Murphy began playing piano at a young age and first performed in front of an audience at fifteen.

Just after Murphy's eighteenth birthday, she arrived at home and found her mother dead. The cause of death was determined to be an allergic reaction to prescription medication. Murphy fought for and eventually won custody of her younger sister, Mariella.

Career

Known in music by only her first name, she released her debut album, 5:30 Saturday Morning, from Arista records, on September 11, 2001. Her only single from that album was a song called "Brake of your Car". Soured by the experience, she left Arista, saying "I wanted a career as a rock act, and an album I could be proud of, and staying with Arista I really didn't see that happening,".

In 2004, Murphy released two albums and a DVD. One album is a strictly acoustic release entitled Career Suicide, released on September 24, 2004. Murphy accompanied herself on piano throughout the record. Most songs were remakes of songs from 5:30 Saturday Morning but the new ones were also well received. On December 27, 2004, she released another album entitled I Am. She also released a DVD entitled My Crazy Life. She released them all independently on John Galt Entertainment, a record label she founded with her manager.

On September 5, 2006, Murphy kicked off a tour opening for Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe to promote the September 19, 2006 release of her album Damaged Goods. The lead single is the track Where Do I Fit In?, which is a revamp of the track My Beautiful from her Arista debut. While on tour, she also headlined gigs at local clubs. Often those who hold tickets for the Aerosmith/Mötley Crüe show in the area could get into the smaller venue to see Murphy for free.

Murphy is currently touring with her new metal band called "Devil's Gift". Their self-titled album was produced by Jason Suecof (Trivium, DevilDriver, Chimaira). The project will reportedly be taking a more metal approach as compared to Murphy's solo material. ^[2] The album was released in Europe in 2008 and will be released in the US on October 6th, 2009. An acoustic album will be released on that date as well.

Murphy currently resides in Orlando, Florida, United States.

Complaint from Yoko Ono

On February 12, 2008, Yoko Ono filed a complaint against Murphy's use of her own first name.^[3] Murphy reported on her own MySpace page that she is being sued by Ono to cease use of the "Lennon" name. The news turned up because Julian Lennon picked up a letter from Murphy and published it. Murphy wrote on Feb. 8: "Yesterday I received notice that Yoko Ono had filed a lawsuit against me, asking for a cancellation of the trademark that I own for the name 'Lennon.' This could very well mean the career that I have worked so hard at, the one you all have believed in, may come to an end. I wanted to address the situation to all my fans because without you I am nothing and it's not fair to everyone who has believed in my music not to be properly informed of this pure bulls***." Murphy says in her letter that in 2003, her Arista product manager was Justin Shukat, the son of Ono’s longtime attorney Peter Shukat.

Murphy says Justin went to his father and Ono "to make her aware of the use, evidently giving her blessing as Arista proceeded forward with the album release and at the same time filing for the trademark. Its [sic] takes time for all of the legal work to go through, but finally in 2003 I was granted by the United States Patent & Trademark office the ownership in the name Lennon for musical use.

"Eight long, hard years pass and no one says a word. Just two days before the statute of limitations was up this very same lawyer we went to in 2000 filed their complaint. It accuses me of falsely representing myself and causing confusion in the market place that has damaged ... the John Lennon name."

Yoko Ono's answer to Lennon Murphy's allegation

A blog entry on Yoko Ono's official Myspace page, dated February 14, 2008, and titled "Lennon Murphy", stated that musician Lennon Murphy is claiming that Ono has sued her and is seeking to stop Murphy from performing under the name "Lennon". Ono states that both of these claims are untrue.^{[citation needed]}

According to this entry, several years ago Lennon Murphy sought Ono's permission to do her performances under her name. Ono, of course, did not object to her request. Subsequently, without Ono's knowledge, Murphy filed an application in the United States Trademark Office requesting the exclusive right to utilize the name "Lennon" for musical performances. Ono's attorneys asked Murphy's attorneys and manager to withdraw her registration of exclusivity to the name "Lennon" for the trademark. Ono also offered to cover all costs incurred in filing for the trademark, but Murphy went ahead to register.^{[citation needed]}

Ono did not sue Murphy, but sought to stop her from getting the exclusive right to the name Lennon for performance purposes. Ono's attorneys notified the Trademark office that Ono did not believe it was fair that Murphy be granted the exclusive right to the "Lennon" trademark in relation to musical and entertainment services.^{[citation needed]}

On September 23, 2008, after months of legal battle Yoko Ono lost to Lennon Murphy after the United State Trademark Board dismissed Ono's petition.^{[citation needed]}

Discography

• 5:30 Saturday Morning (2001)
• Career Suicide (2004)
• I Am (2004)
• Damaged Goods (2006)

References

1. ^ melodic.net: Lennon
2. ^ BLABBERMOUTH.NET - LENNON Working On 'Straight-Up Metal' Album With Producer JASON SUECOF
3. ^ FOXNews.com - Julian Lennon: Yoko Wants to Sue 'Lennon' - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment

External links

• Lennon's Suicide Girl profile
• Lennon Murphy's official website
• Lennon on MySpace
• Devil's Gift Myspace Page