SEATTLE — Singer Chris Cornell said Tuesday the co-founder of a famed Seattle recording studio has no legitimate claim to own the master tapes of a defining album of the grunge era — “Temple of the Dog,” which Cornell recorded with Eddie Vedder and other members of Pearl Jam in 1990.
A&M records sued Raj Parashar, who founded London Bridge Studios with his brother, in March, demanding that Parashar turn over the master tapes. Parashar’s lawyer confirmed to The Seattle Times that his client has had the tapes all along and said that he owns them.
But A&M insists it bought the album — and the master tapes — from the band in 1991. In a statement issued Tuesday, Cornell agreed.
“A&M Records paid for the recordings and the use of the studio,” he said. For Parashar “to pretend he has a right to keep the recordings makes no more sense than the owner of a laundromat claiming he owns the clothes you washed in his washing machine.”
Parashar’s lawyer, Warren Rheaume, did not immediately return an email from The Associated Press seeking comment Tuesday.
The band Temple of the Dog was founded by Cornell in 1990. He was joined by future members of Pearl Jam, including Vedder, who had just moved to Seattle. The album was recorded in 15 days after Cornell wrote several songs as a tribute to Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood following his fatal heroin overdose.
According to the lawsuit, Parashar’s brother, Rick Parashar, produced “Temple of the Dog” on a verbal agreement with the band. After the album’s success, the lawsuit said, they memorialized the deal in a contract signed in 1993, in which Rick Parashar agreed to turn over the master tapes and all rights to them for $35,000.
The album was released by A&M Records in 1991 to positive reviews, but it failed to chart. The following year, A&M re-released it as a collaboration of two of its most popular acts. The album, with the popular single “Hunger Strike,” eventually sold more than 1 million copies.
Rick Parashar died last year.
The lawsuit was initially filed in Washington state court. Raj Parashar had it transferred to federal court last week.
In its complaint, A&M said that until 2013 it believed the musicians had the master tapes, but learned otherwise from a representative.
The Parashar brothers built the studio in 1985. Rick Parashar’s credits include Pearl Jam’s seminal album, “Ten,” as well as recordings of Alice in Chains, Blind Melon and Dinosaur Jr.
The lawsuit demands that Parashar immediately surrender the tapes. It also asks for damages and legal fees.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
