Michael Jackson's connection to 'Sonny's Dream'

I'm currently reading “Fab,”a new, in-depth, Paul McCartney biography.

Through it, I've learned that Sir Paul sold his rights to the first 56 Beatles songs in the mid-'60s.

Since reading that, something has been gnawing at me. Years ago, someone told me the rights to Ron Hynes' “Sonny's Dream” were bought by the late king of pop, Michael Jackson.

Needing to to know if that was true, I contacted Ron through his manager, Lynn Horne.

The Ask: “Does Michael Jackson's estate own the Ron Hynes song? If not, who does?”

A day or so later, Ron replied (and ironically enough, there's a McCartney connection). His answer:

Hello Steve,

When Michael Jackson bought the Beatles catalogue from ATV Music, he also acquired rights to about 40,000 other works in various catalogues around the world...among them the ATV Canada Catalogue which had a three-year administration right to “Movie Scene,” “The St. John's Waltz,” and “Sonny's Dream.” I was only six months into the deal so, in theory, Jackson owned administration rights (not copyright) to these three songs for a period of two-and-a-half years.

At the end of that period, all rights came back to me.

Too bad Michael didn't cover either of these works.

Ron Hynes

Want answers about something odd or intriguing? Email sbartlett@thetelegram.com.