Eight decades after Albert E. Brumley began piecing together the gospel standard “I’ll Fly Away” in an Oklahoma cotton field, the song continues to rake in cash for one man: the songwriter’s son Bob Brumley. Bob Brumley’s siblings have a problem with that.

In a case that has fractured the family, Bob Brumley’s three surviving siblings, the widow of a fourth and the children of a fifth are suing him in federal court in Nashville. They hope to capture a share of the song, which generated about $1.4 million in royalties between 2004 and the third quarter of 2009, according to court documents.

Money and the fate of one of the most recorded gospel songs in history aren’t the only things at stake. The case will provide much-needed guidance from the federal courts on copyright termination rights and help influence countless disputes between writers and publishers. It will help answer questions about when creators, or their heirs, can “take back” the legal rights to their works and the financial benefits that accompany them.

Most similar cases pit artists or their families against faceless companies, such as record labels, that own copyrights. The “I’ll Fly Away” case is complicated by the fact that one of Albert Brumley’s heirs also is the 100 percent owner of the company that publishes his songs.

Albert Brumley created Albert E. Brumley & Sons to administer his copyrights and bought out the company that he had previously sold “I’ll Fly Away” to. That made for smooth sailing when Albert Brumley ran the business, but it has led to consternation decades after his death as his children pursued different careers and ultimately only Bob Brumley was left in charge of Albert E. Brumley & Sons.

“We were always kind of wondering what the deal was,” said Jackson Brumley, a retired music agent and manager who lives in Hendersonville and is the second-youngest of Albert Brumley’s six children. “They never shared any royalties with us. As time went on, we just wondered more about how it was done. I kind of hesitated to do anything because I knew it was going to split the family up.”

But after he learned about termination rights from a friend, Jackson Brumley approached his brother about canceling his exclusive hold on “I’ll Fly Away” and other songs. Bob Brumley was outraged and vowed to fight the effort to his death, according to Jackson Brumley and court testimony. Bob Brumley no longer speaks to his siblings, Jackson Brumley said. Bob Brumley did not return multiple messages left with staff at his Powell, Mo., offices.

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