Re: Who ARE these Limeliters??????
It's a complicated question, but here's my quick answer, based on what I've heard. Bill and Rick, as well as the group's manager, Jerry Lonn, quit The Limeliters en masse in the summer of 2003. Jerry conceived the idea of some kind of monster folk group made up of previous members of various different groups and contacted Glenn to be part of that. According to Alex, there were extensive back door dealings in an attempt to use the Limeliter's name in some form for this new group. That was, in large part, the basis for his lawsuit. I understand that Alex felt betrayed by all of this and wanted to protect the name for his own use. I don't think there was ever any thought of reuniting Alex and Glenn, although I think if it had been proposed, Alex probably would have considered it. The two of them have a complicated history, but Alex views the whole thing as business, so he's been able to look past personality differences for the sake of making a buck. But since that option never surfaced, Alex reformed the Limes with Andy and Mack and retained the rights to use The Limeliters name. Glenn only comes out of retirement when he needs cash, so he has no long-term goals and I don't think he had any desire to rehash The Limeliters anyway. I'm trying to avoid talking out of school here, and someday maybe all the ugly twists and turns may be chronicled in book form, but suffice it to say, it was not a pretty time for folk music. Hopefully things are on the mend now, although Alex still loves to recount his motives for taking legal action against the coup that tried to put him out of business. And the last I heard, Bill and Rick still recoil at the mention of his name.
|