He didn’t have a greased hairdo or Converse sneakers, but “Bowzer” of the group Sha Na Na doo-wopped part of his testimony today before a House committee.
Leaning into the microphone, Jon “Bowzer” Bauman, sang in a deep voice:
“Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip,
Mum mum mum mum mum mum,
Get a job.”
Bauman’s message was directed not at the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee but at what he calls “impostor groups.” These are musical acts that carry the names of famous groups but which have no members from the original ensemble, he said.
Bauman, 60, chairman of the Truth in Music Committee, said 18 states have already adopted laws banning acts purporting to be famous groups — but with no original members — from performing.
He said the law is needed because current anti-fraud laws are not specific enough and original performers have been tied up in the court system while impostors steal their identities. The problem has been particularly acute in the world of doo-wop, he said.
The Colorado bill, sponsored by Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley, would require that such groups label themselves as “tribute” or “salute” acts and not use the original group’s name.
The bill requires there be at least one original “recording member” of a group for an act to use the group’s name and that the member have some kind of legal claim to the group’s name.
The committee passed the bill 10-0, and it now moves to the full House.
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
