RE: The only other Rock n Roller that I know of that’s a classically trained pianist is Eric Carmen.
Eric Carmen’s hit song ALL BY MYSELF, incorporated part of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Opus 18.
Rachmaninoff’s music was in the public domain in the United States at that time and so Carmen thought no copyright existed on it, but it was still protected outside the U.S. Subsequent to the release of the album, he was contacted by the Rachmaninoff estate and informed that it was protected.
An agreement was reached in which the estate would receive 12 percent of the royalties from “All by Myself” as well as from “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again”, which was based on the third movement from Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2.
Wow, that’s truly fascinating! I honestly had no idea.
Heck, I thought I was some kind of storehouse of musical knowledge for knowing Jay Black (of Jay & the Americans / “This Magic Moment”, “Cara Mia”, “Come a Little Bit Closer”) was classically trained as an opera tenor. :-)
Yup. I just saw your post about it after I posted and refreshed.