Clash on the Levy as Jacque’s wife ‘desires’ £5m off Bob from songs sale

Does Dylan really owe the wife of one-time song collaborator Jacques Levy £5.25m?

Or is this just a desire to get a share of Bob’s fortune at a time when he is, quite rightly, cashing in his assets?

In the complaint, to the New York Supreme Court, Claudia Levy has accused Dylan and Universal of failing to pay Levy’s estate its rightful portion of the catalogue sale for the songs he co-wrote with Dylan way back in 1976.

Levy died in 2004. He co-wrote seven songs.

Claudia claims that a deal gave Levy 35pc “of any and all income earned by the compositions”. They included Hurricane, Isis and Mozambique.

Levy’s publishing company Jackelope is listed as a co-plaintiff.

Desire was the follow-up album to Blood on the Tracks and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart and was eventually certified double Platinum.

It then reached No. 3 in the UK and was placed at 174 on The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.
Levy’s contribution can’t be denied, particularly on the enigmatic, cinematic Western Isis. But Dylan rarely worked with other writers.

The row follows the sale of Dylan’s catalogue to Universal Music for a reported £217.3m. Claudia Levy’s claim could actually constitute 20 per cent of the value of the whole sale!

So how does that work?

Dylan’s lawyer, Orin Snyder, has been quoted as saying the lawsuit was “a sad attempt to unfairly profit off of the recent catalogue sale. The plaintiffs have been paid everything they are owed. We are confident that we will prevail. And when we do, we will hold plaintiffs and their counsel responsible for bringing this meritless case.”

Dylan met Levy in spring 1974.