In 1990, in the wake of the death of Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood, Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell got together with members of MLB to record a tribute album to Wood. Recorded in just 15 days, Temple of Dog began to define the grunge era, and the rest of the band, along with Eddie Vedder, who sang with Cornell on “Hunger Strike,” went on to form Pearl Jam. However, all of those good vibes and positivity are threatening to come undone, as Rolling Stone reports that A&M is now suing for rights of the album.
The co-founder of London Bridge Studios, Rajan Parashar, hosted Temple of Dog during the recordings. A&M Records is now suing Rajan Parashar, whose brother, Rick Parashar, was the late producer of the album. A&M alleges they paid Rick $35,000 for the rights and possession of the masters. Rick supposedly had a verbal agreement with the band so he would partially produce the album. After the success of the album, the contract was supposedly memorialized in 1993, where Rick agreed to turn over the tapes for $35,000. At first, A&M believed the band members had the masters. A representative said that Rajan held the tapes in his possession; A&M filed the lawsuit shortly after. So far, Rajan has denied several requests from A&M to turn the tapes over. On top of returning the tapes, A&M also demands damages and legal fees.
A large problem for both sides comes from the deal that was first struck. The deal was between Rick and A&M. While Rajan is next-of-kin, he did not make the deal with A&M, which may become a very tricky lawsuit. It may not take too long for Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder to get dragged into the lawsuit.
