Fight waged over Monroe’s name

WKMS | By The Associated Press

Published October 5, 2012 at 4:14 PM CDT

The use of bluegrass legend Bill Monroe’s name and likeness to promote an Ohio County bluegrass festival is at the center of a lawsuit between the festival’s organizer and the county government. Ohio County and its industrial foundation purchased the rights to Monroe’s name and image from the musician’s son 13 years ago. The dispute is over whether the county gave the Jerusalem Ridge Foundation, which hosts the Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Music Festival, permission to use them. Festival organizer Campbell Mercer says they were given the rights and thinks they can win the case. The Ohio County Industrial Foundation did not respond to requests for comment. Mercer and the county are set to present arguments to the Kentucky Court of Appeals November 9^th.

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Todd Hatton

Todd Hatton hails from Paducah, Kentucky, where he got into radio under the auspices of the late, great John Stewart of WKYX while a student at Paducah Community College. He also worked at WKMS in the reel-to-reel tape days of the early 1990s before running off first to San Francisco, then Orlando in search of something to do when he grew up. He received his MFA in Creative Writing at Murray State University. He vigorously resists adulthood and watches his wife, Angela Hatton, save the world one plastic bottle at a time.

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