FIRST OFF . . .

Brenda Lee--often tabbed as “the world’s biggest-selling female singer”--has filed suit in Nashville, Tenn., against MCA Records for $20 million, claiming she is owed unpaid royalties for a 20-year contract signed in 1962. Lee said she would not comment on the suit itself (MCA also denied comment, pending examination of the suit), but court documents show Lee charges her former record company with failing to account for sales, licensing her records without her permission, neglecting foreign licensing and blocking her attempts to audit the label. The suit comes from the 1962 contract Lee signed with Decca Records, MCA’s predecessor. Lee was 17 and an international hit by the time she signed the 20-year, $775,000/year contract. Lee reportedly generated international record sales of more than $80 million. The suit seeks an accounting for and payment of all proper royalties and asks $10 million each in punitive and compensatory damages. The suit was filed Aug. 4 in Davidson County Chancery Court.