Source: NBC / Getty
When the hugely successful country music trio Lady Antebellum recently changed their name to Lady A, they did so because they did not want to be associated with the origins of one of its names.
‘Antebellum’ has a lot of connections to slavery, and its members now want no part of that.
The problem with the name change is that there is a blues singer named Anita White that has been performing under the ‘Lady A’ name for over two decades.
Now, both the group and the singer are going to court over sharing the name.
From The Grio:
“Today we are sad to share that our sincere hope to join together with Anita White in unity and common purpose has ended,” members Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley, and David Haywood said in a statement to CBS News.
“She and her team have demanded a $10 million payment, so reluctantly we have come to the conclusion that we need to ask a court to affirm our right to continue to use the name Lady A, a trademark we have held for many years.”
Since the group that used to be ‘Antebellum’ ditched their name, White has not been pleased to see her stage name being used elsewhere. She has made it known who the real ‘Lady A’ is on Twitter, and it’s not the group behind “Need You Now.”
Scott, Kelley, and Haywood have claimed to have been “using using the name Lady A” since 2006 and ’07 along with the group’s original name.
Here is the country group’s statement on why they dropped ‘Antebellum’ from their name:
The group does acknowledge White has been using ‘Lady A’ publicly before they have been, but adds that she only has “166 monthly listeners, compared to the band’s more than 7 million” on the streaming music service Spotify.
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Article Courtesy of The Grio
First Picture Courtesy of Judy Eddy and WENN
Second Picture Courtesy of NBC and Getty Images
Third through Seventh Picture and First and Second Tweet Courtesy of Twitter and The Grio
Country Group Formerly Known as ‘Lady Antebellum’ Suing Blues Singer Over ‘Lady A’ Name was originally published on wzakcleveland.com
