What do you do after leading one of the most popular doo-wop revival groups of the '60s and '70s? If you are Jon ""Bowzer"" Bauman, former leader of Sha Na Na, you lead the charge to protect the artists that inspired you—and unknowing consumers—from being ripped off by imposter groups.
""Bowzer"" joined a bipartisan group of state lawmakers Wednesday to introduce a bill that would make it illegal to pose as an established musical group, unless there is at least one recording member of the actual group or a federally registered trademark for the name is obtained. All other groups would have to clearly label themselves as tribute groups as to not confuse fans.
""Consumers generally have a reaction like, ‘How can that happen in America?'"" said Bauman, chair of the Truth in Music Committee. ""There is something fundamentally un-American going on here with what has become a sophisticated form of identity theft.""
Current laws make it costly for authentic artists to take legal action against imposter groups, but this new law would place the burden of proof on the imposters.
Concert promoters marketing a group of people like the Drifters would pay between $5,000 and $15,000 in fines if they did not include one recording member of the band.
Seven other states—including Illinois and Michigan—already have the law, and 13 other states are currently considering it.
Bauman said imposter groups have made it difficult for many authentic members of groups from the '50s and '60s to find work performing their own music, particularly black doo-wop groups.
""The Coasters, the Drifters and the Platters are good examples, because sometimes record companies wouldn't put their pictures on their albums because ... they were afraid they wouldn't sell as much,"" he said. ""Visual identification didn't come with them and consequently they're easy to knock off.""
Bauman stressed the importance of these doo-wop groups to the Civil Rights movement.
""Groups like the Coasters, Drifters and Platters changed the world and brought races together in America, and [were] instrumental in changing society,"" he said. ""To watch them struggle the last 15 years trying to fend off people pretending to be them is a heart-breaking thing.""
State Sen. Spencer Coggs, D-Milwaukee, a co-sponsor of the bill, alluded to his personal investment in the matter: ""Let's be honest: Groups from the '50s and '60s were cool. Everyone liked them; everyone wanted to be like them. But what is uncool is imposters cashing in on the name and the fame of groups of the past.""
Though he stood behind a podium in a well-pressed suit, Bauman ended the conference in the style of his onstage greaser persona Bowzer, and with a line from a 1954 Silhouettes' hit: ""The imposter groups need to, ‘Yip-yip-yip-yip-yip-yip, boom-boom-boom-ba-boom, get a JOB!'""
