Talk:Hy Zaret

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[edit] Dispute

I will do some fact-checking on this. Hy Zaret published over 400 songs and lives in Connecticut. This entry is based on one unverified newspaper article, but Zaret's songwriting record is easily documented. Even if Zaret did not write the words to "Unchained Melody" it's erroneous to call it a pen name, because a pen name implies that Stirrat took the name himself for professional reasons. That's the first clue that there are holes in Stirrat's story. Bruxism 20:00, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

while their may or may not be holes in the story, the courts eventually ruled in his favor. and he's now dead, so give it up. -RG

Despite your uncivil tone, it's not so easy. Nowhere in the sourced article does it say the courts ruled in his favor. There could well have been an out-of-court settlement. The newspaper article seems to be based on his word alone - where is the fact-checking of the court records? The following sentence is a giveaway that something is not right: "'I never met anybody that didn’t believe I wrote that song, but another Hy Zaret who was a close friend of the lawyer that was representing the publisher, was collecting royalties,' he said." Why would he say 'another Hy Zaret'? That just doesn't make sense. A pen name is a name consciously used by an author instead of a real name. A pen name is not what you would call it if you claimed someone else wrote your book. So, regardless of who wrote this song, the wikipedia entry is wrong to call it a 'pen name.' Second, his claim that there are other Hy Zarets who also claim to have written the song. This makes no sense. Either the journalist, or Stirrat, can't get the facts straight. Maybe there were other people claiming to have written the song, but why would they all claim to be named Hy Zaret? And, finally, Stirrat may be dead, but Hy Zaret is alive and living in Connecticut - so the issue isn't dead either. What we have is a newspaper article with one unconfirmed source given credibility merely because it's been posted on the internet. So, RG, that does not qualify in my book as good research. Bruxism 02:10, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

The courts never ruled in Stirrat's favor. He also sued other people claiming to have written their songs, including, I believe Ira Gershwin. HY ZARET DEFINITIVELY WROTE UNCHAINED MELODY, BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT. THIS ERRONEOUS ENTRY, AS WELL AS THE ERRONEOUS NEW YORK TIMES OBITUARY ARE A DISHONOR. If you don't believe this is true, check with ASCAP! Hy Zaret continues to receive royalty checks as he always has because ASCAP knows he is the true lyricist. --Unsigned edit by 68.161.243.72 12:04, 1 December 2006