Redbone News

The band that headlined the Butte-Silver Bow Fair last weekend is accused of masquerading as the rock group Redbone, which released albums in the 1970s and is perhaps best known for the song "Come and Get Your Love."

The band at the fair performed under the name Redbone, but the real Redbone was playing in Wisconsin, said Ron Kurtz, Redbone's manager.

"I've been in the business for 40 years, and I've never ran into anything this blatant," Kurtz said Thursday from his office in Burbank, Calif. He said the fair board was conned.

Fair officials dealt with a man who identified himself as Denny Freeman and said he was a co-founding member of Redbone.

Pat Vegas, who founded Redbone with his brother, Lolly, in 1968, said he had not heard of Freeman.

The fair board is investigating and will consult the county attorney, Chairman Dave Palmer said.

"The whole thing was fishy from the start," Palmer told The Montana Standard. Only two performers showed up at the fair, he said, and they claimed other band members were missing because they were sick with mumps. Local musicians filled in.

Palmer and the manager of Redbone said they had been unable to contact Freeman.

"He's on dangerous waters, because he's messing with my name," Vegas said.

A call Saturday seeking information from Palmer, about payment for the band that played, was not returned immediately.

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Information from: The Montana Standard, http://www.mtstandard.com