Hal Leonard LLC

Hal Leonard LLC is named in the acknowledgments as the permission source for lyrics from five songs reproduced in the book. Its documented presence is specific: the credits associate it with the permitted use of those lyrics, while the story places several of the songs in the soundscape of characters’ everyday lives. The contrast between formal rights acknowledgments and music heard in scenes makes the company part of the book’s publication record, not a character or an actor in its plot.

Acknowledgment and documented role

The acknowledgments identify Hal Leonard LLC in five separate credits: for “Little Green Apples,” “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” “Secret Agent Man,” “Teddy Bear Song,” and “There But For Fortune.” Each credit names the words and music, supplies copyright information, and states that the material is used by permission and reprinted by permission of Hal Leonard LLC. The company is therefore explicitly credited in connection with the reproduction of these lyrics in the book.

The notices provide different details for different works. “Little Green Apples” is credited to Bobby Russell, with a 1968 copyright attributed to Universal Songs of Polygram International, Inc. and a notice that the copyright was renewed. “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” is credited to John Fogerty, with a 1970 copyright attributed to Jondora Music c/o Concord Music Publishing, also marked as renewed. “Secret Agent Man,” identified as being from the television series, is credited to P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri; its 1965 copyright is attributed to Universal Music Corp. and is likewise marked as renewed. The notices name these rights holders and composers separately from Hal Leonard LLC, whose stated role in each is permission for reprinting.

The remaining two entries extend the list across different periods. “Teddy Bear Song” is credited to Don Earl and Nick Nixon, with a 1971 copyright attributed to Songs of Universal, Inc. and a renewal notice. “There But For Fortune” is credited to Phil Ochs, with a 1963 copyright attributed to Barricade Music, Inc.; the notice specifies that United States rights are controlled and administered by Almo Music Corp. These distinctions matter: the acknowledgments do not collapse the composers, named copyright holders, and permission credit into one role.

Songs within the narrative

The book also gives some of the credited music a place in its scenes. On the evening of February 8, 1969, “Little Green Apples” is playing on the piano as Jim Stacy enters the Drinker’s Hall of Fame with Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth. The song is thus both a title in the permission record and a sound heard within a particular social setting: a bar whose walls display images of famous Hollywood drinkers. Its appearance situates the scene in a lived musical environment rather than leaving music solely to the acknowledgments.

Earlier, at home with Brandy, Cliff Booth has the television on while Robert Goulet performs “MacArthur Park” on The Hollywood Palace. The song establishes the television program as part of the domestic scene, but the acknowledgments do not list it among the five lyric credits to Hal Leonard LLC. That distinction keeps the documented scope of the company’s permission credit clear: the presence of a song in the narrative does not, by itself, establish that it is one of the works credited to the company.

The acknowledgments also include “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” “Secret Agent Man,” “Teddy Bear Song,” and “There But For Fortune,” but the supplied scenes do not assign each of those songs a specific narrative moment. Their publication credits are certain; further claims about where or how they occur in the story would go beyond the available evidence.

Copyright detail and limits of the record

Taken together, the five notices make the acknowledgments a compact record of lyric permissions. They identify song titles and writers, provide copyright dates and named rights holders where stated, and repeat the permission and reprinting credit to Hal Leonard LLC. The entries also preserve differences among the works: the credits point to Universal-associated copyright holders for three songs, a specific United States administration note for “There But For Fortune,” and distinct writers and dates across the list.

The book does not, in these notices, describe Hal Leonard LLC’s broader business, its internal arrangements, or the process by which permission was obtained. Nor does the evidence establish that the company composed the songs or owned every copyright named in the credits. The grounded account is narrower and more precise: Hal Leonard LLC is acknowledged as the permission source for five lyric reprints, while the narrative’s music—including “Little Green Apples” in the bar scene—helps mark the period and texture of particular moments.