POP/ROCK - June 18, 1987

Songwriter Billy Preston and two others filed a suit Tuesday in Los Angeles charging that Little Richard took credit for a song he sang in the 1986 hit, “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” that actually belongs to them. Preston, Sylvia Smith and John Schuller said they wrote “Just a Matter of Time” in March, 1985, and that Preston recorded an audio tape while Little Richard, a. k. a Richard Penniman, listened, says a copyright infringement suit filed in U.S. District Court. Little Richard, now known primarily as a gospel singer and evangelist, allegedly recorded his own version of the song for the movie. He says he is its legal owner. Little Richard could not be reached for comment. The suit filed by attorney Lavery H. Einhorn seeks a restraining order and damages, including a court order for $1 for every copy of the song produced.