Despite providing the source material for one of Daft Punk’s biggest hits, artist Eddie Johns has reportedly spent decades uncompensated for his work.
That may soon change, however, as news of the legendary duo’s breakup has sparked a renewed drive to get Johns credited, which started with Johns’ case manager Alyssa Cash.
Johns, who previously spent over a decade shuffling through homeless shelters, had his original song “More Spell On You” sampled by Daft Punk to create “One More Time.” “He showed me his album cover and when I found this video talking about how it was sampled by Daft Punk, it was like a lightbulb went off,” Cash recalled. “‘That’s Eddie, this is his song.'”
The Los Angeles Times investigated further and were able to confirm that Daft Punk had, in fact, been paying royalties to the rights owner of “More Spell On You” twice annually for years. As it turns out, French publishing company GM Musipro acquired the rights in 1995, and according to the company’s founder Georges Mary, they’ve been unable to get in touch with Johns since then.
This story could have a happy ending, however, as Mary told the Times he would look into the matter expediently and inform Johns of what he is owed.
Johns, now 70 years of age, is thinking about his legacy and would like to be able to hand something meaningful down to his daughter. Johns is not currently listed as a songwriter on “One More Time” and maintains that ultimately he’d just like to see some credit.