Mariah Carey, the Queen of Christmas, isn’t enjoying a particularly happy start to the summer.
Andy Stone, who co-wrote Vince Vance & the Valiants’ country song “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” is suing Carey for copyright infringement, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. He claims the diva never sought or obtained use of his title for her perennial smash holiday hit.
In the legal claim, Stone is also suing Carey’s co-writer on the song, Walter Afanasieff, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Before Carey transformed the holiday season forever in 1994, Stone recorded his twangy rendition in 1989, which musically and lyrically sounds nothing like Carey’s pop effort. In the lawsuit, he says that his song had a lot of radio during the 1993 holiday season, a year before Carey’s.
The Scrooge is seeking $20 million in damages from the “Obsessed” singer
In part, the suit states, “Plaintiff [Stone] directly demanded that Defendants [Carey and Afanasieff] halt and desist from further distribution of Plaintiff’s work.” “Defendants continue to exploit Plaintiff’s work ‘All I Want for Christmas is You,’ reaping enormous financial rewards and other pecuniary benefits to Plaintiff’s harm, despite Plaintiff’s request.”
For her annual holiday classic “Wall I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey is being sued for $20 million. Andy Stone, who co-wrote the country song of the same name by Vince Vance & The Valiants, is suing for copyright infringement. Right: A still from the Stone-penned song’s music video. For her perennial holiday song “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Carey is being sued for $20 million. Copyright infringement is being claimed by Andy Stone, who co-wrote a country song with the same title. Right: A still from the Stone-penned song’s music video. Vince Vance and the Valiants in FilmMagic
According to the filings, Carey and Afanasieff “knowingly, willingly, and purposefully engaged in a campaign to infringe [Stone’s] copyright in the work… to the defendants’ commercial advantage, personal profit, and unjust enrichment and Stone’s irreparable injury and pecuniary loss.”
When approached by The Washington Post, Carey’s representative declined to comment
Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” continues to fill her stocking with cash decades later, thanks to streaming and radio broadcast. On Spotify alone, the song has over a billion streams.
Stone is a self-employed musician who makes a living by performing, selling, and licensing his copyrighted music, according to the lawsuit, and earns his living from the fees he receives from these activities.
Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is the ultimate present that keeps on giving, apparently bringing in millions of dollars each year.
Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is the ultimate present that keeps on giving, apparently bringing her millions of dollars each year.
Mariah Carey is a singer who is well-known for her