Lovett testifies before Congress

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Musician Lyle Lovett was among a handful of performers who testified before a star-struck U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the subject of copyright laws.

Lovett -- joined by singer Alice Peacock, Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel and other professional music makers -- lobbied the senators to pass a law requiring radio stations to pay royalties to studio musicians when music created by the performers is played on the air, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

However, for much of the hearing, the lawmakers seemed more interested in trading musical notes than policy discussion, the Post said.

"My parents forced upon me trombone lessons," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Lovett at the hearing.

"I learned how to play the guitar," he said, because "the opposite sex was not attracted to trombone."

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who has written multiple patriotic Christian hymns, boasted of his own accomplishments in the music industry.

"I gave the keynote address at the (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) national convention one year," Hatch said. "The place went wild. I mean, they screamed and shouted and stood on chairs."