The children of Steve Marriott (Humble Pie, Small Faces), along with his bandmates and fellow rock legends, are fighting against the potential release of recordings featuring new AI-generated versions of the late singer’s vocals.
According to Variety, the recordings were authorized by Marriott’s third wife, Toni Marriott, to whom the rock icon was married to for only two years before he tragically died in a fire at age 44 in 1991.
Steve’s daughter Mollie, on behalf of her siblings, has issued a statement decrying the potential release of these AI-generated recordings. Her stance has been endorsed by Small Faces’ Kenney Jones and Humble Pie’s Peter Frampton and Jerry Shirley, along with such legends as Robert Plant, David Gilmour, Bryan Adams, Paul Weller, Paul Rodgers, and others.
The statement reads as follows:
“The Marriott Estate is due to release an AI solo album of old and new songs of my father, Steve. Sadly, the surviving family which comprises just my siblings Lesley, Toby, Tonya, and I, have nothing to do with the Estate as there was no will. It is run by my stepmother who was only with my father for two years prior to his death and has since been re-married. We, along with his bandmates of Humble Pie and Small Faces, are looking to stop this album from happening as it would be a stain on my father’s name. Someone who was known as one of the greatest vocalists of our generation, with such a live and raw vocal, it would absolutely break his heart if he were alive to know this. This is only for money, not art nor appreciation. It is the start of a campaign I wish to lead against this sort of thing, where deceased artists have no rights and that everything natural in this world is truly dying, including creativity and the arts, as AI comes into play.”
Led Zeppelin legend Plant added, “This is a far cry from what any of us dreamt of when we set off into this wonderful world of music. We just can’t stand by and watch this unfold.”