Legal Information
We wholeheartedly support the Truth In Music
legislation that has been enacted in a number of states, including
our home state of Michigan, and proposed in many other states.
This legislation was created to protect the artists from identity
theft and to protect the consumer from being misled to believe
they are seeing the legendary artists that made hit songs
famous - when in fact they are not. In accordance with the
spirit of Truth In Music, Joseph Billingslea,
Jr. (hereinafter called Joe Billingslea) makes the following
statements under oath:
- I am a co-owner of the service mark The
Contours®,
registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office
as an International Service Mark.
- Along with my friend, Billy Gordon, I founded The Blenders,
the predecessor group to The Contours, in the 1950s.
- The original members of The Blenders were Joe Billingslea,
Billy Gordon, Billy Hoggs and Leroy Fair.
- Billy Gordon and I founded The Contours
in the fall of 1960.
- The original members of The Contours
were Joe Billingslea, Billy Gordon, Billy Hoggs, Leroy Fair
and Hubert Johnson.
- I was a member of the group for a number of its hit records,
including our most famous hit, "Do You Love Me."
- It has been verified by the United States Federal Court
that I, Joe Billingslea, am both an original and founding
member of The Contours.
- In 2004, my group changed its name to THE CONTOURS
with Joe Billingslea. (However, the service mark,
The Contours®
remains in effect. No group is legally permitted to use
the billing name "The Contours" or bill themselves
as "The Contours").
- When you watched one or both of the nationally televised
PBS Specials featuring performances from The Contours, you
saw the members of our group (Joe Billingslea, Charles Davis,
Gary Grier and Al Chisholm). In the first performance -
"Rock, Rhythm & Doo-Wop", the group on stage
was billed as The Contours; in the second
performance, "Motown: The Early Years", the group
was billed as Joe Billingslea's CONTOURS.
- Our group has been certified ORIGINAL
by the Motown Alumni Association.
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