Legendary singer/songwriter BOB DYLAN is at the centre of a bitter legal battle between dealers of the rocker's relics and a man they say has sold them false artifacts.
New York resident Peter MCKenzie - whose famous mother, dancer Martha Graham, and father MAC, supported Dylan before he rose to stardom in the 1960s - is being targeted in separate lawsuits by a pair of Dylan memorabilia dealers who claim he sold them forged items for over $80,000 (GBP40,000).
But MCKenzie is claiming the accusations made by dealers Reed Orenstein and Jeffrey Gold that the items - which include a harmonica, a Harry Belafonte album cover autographed by Dylan and a sheet of lyrics - came only after they were unable to sell their Dylan relics at inflated prices.
MCKenzie has since filed a countersuit asking for $200,000 (GBP100,000) in damages, claiming defamation in the documents filed on 12 June (08).
He says, "(Gold) had a hard time selling his memorabilia and now he wants his money back."
Meanwhile, Reed Orenstein is seeking $40,000 (GBP20,000) in a suit filed with the Manhattan Supreme Court just last week (begs16Jun08), claiming he was also unable to sell the folk legend's artifacts sold to him by MCKenzie.
MCKenzie, 61, was 12 at the time of Dylan's arrival to his home from Minnesota in 1961.
He held on to much of the memorabilia left from the rocker's stay, and alleges he began selling the relics in 1991 with the permission of the iconic folk crooner.
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