Vee Jay Records Reaches Settlement With The 4 Seasons May 15th

On May 15th, 1965, The Four Seasons announced they had reached a court settlement with Vee Jay Records, which would allow the group to record for Mercury Records.

The 4 Seasons stayed with Mercury Records but agreed to cut one final record for Vee Jay Records.

Vee Jay agreed to pay the band, and their producer, Bob Crewe, approximately $200,000 in partial settlement of past royalties.

It took two days to come to the decision in Supreme Court, New York County. The previous year, Vee Jay sued to prevent The 4 Seasons recording with Mercury.

The settlement came after the band’s attorney, Martin J. Machat, claimed the band was under contract to Crewe, and after several hits on Vee Jay, their contract had been violated.