Italian Composers Receiving Royalties For Prince Song

(Radio.com) Two Italian songwriters, Bruno Bergonzi and Michele Vicino are now officially receiving royalties for Prince's 1994 hit "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," reported Billboard.

Italian collecting society SIAE are recognizing the duo as rightful composers following a lawsuit that was filed in 1995, in which the pair accused Prince of plagiarizing their 1983 song "Takin' Me to Paradise."

Prince's estate is currently barred from distributing "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" in Italy. In an interview with Billboard, Bergonzi explained the song's origins.

"The recording artist was Raynard. J, which was the pseudonym of Jay Rolandi, a session vocalist who also sang with the Italian disco group Firefly," he said. "The song wasn't a big hit, but it did appear on a number of compilations that were distributed internationally. It continues to re-appear in DJ remixes." Read more here.

Radio.com is an official news provider for antiMusic.com.
Copyright Radio.com/CBS Local - Excerpted here with permission.

Related Stories