It’s a new world for copyright law. A lot of old songs could be questioned. I hope they aren’t but. Just for fun can you think of any that infringed?
Here’s my example. Memphis by Johnny Rivers.
Jim Croce Don’t Mess Around With Jim
the obvious chug, chug bass run. Yeah, Rivers covered Lonnie Mack. Who in turn ripped off Chuck Berry. All three guys had hits with the song.
What’s some more songs the copyright lawyers can’t sink their teeth into? Just for fun.
It will show just how hard it is to avoid reusing a key lick or run. Licks are what songs are built on.
There’s a real quick part of the bass line in the beginning of the song that sounds a bit like Croce’s bass. It’s not much and how someone caught that little bit is beyond me.
It turns copyright into a weapon against any songwriter. Any comparison at all to another song can cost an artist millions. Pharrell gave a Rolling Stone interview.
The court decision has been thoroughly discussed. It is what it is. We’re in new dangerous litigation waters. What other songs have similiar licks that some copyright lawyer can exploit?
I immediately thought of Croce’s song. The bass lick always reminded me of Memphis. One of the greatest Rock N Roll songs ever done. Three people had major hits with it. I don’t think it’s a big deal if Croce lifted the bass lick. Otherwise the songs are totally different. But, under the new copyright rules who knows what the courts will do.
Play along if you want. This is just for fun. Think of a few similar songs. See if others can hear the similarities.
Well, there’s “So It Goes” by Nick Lowe… when one of the musicians first heard it, he thought, “We are so going to get sued – that’s ‘Reelin’ In the Years’!”. (It’s the riff underlying the verses that Nick nicked.)
And Spoon might have nicked (a teeny, tiny beginning li’l riff from) Nick.
Similarly (I mean, seriously, I don’t find any of these so far listed, least of all mine, to be egregious copies; but then what do I know?), I always found Blur’s “Girls and Boys” to be vaguely “Fashion”-ish. I mean both do feature nearly identical bouncy, post-disco/new wave basslines.
Yes, everybody has used some basic riffs. The Bo Diddley riff is everywhere.
But covering someone else’s song is not plagiarism. There is no copyright infringement. The only thing you have to do is acknowledge the original writer.
Not citing the writer is an infringement. That has been true forever. There have been court cases on this forever. Absolutely nothing changed in the law. “Blurred Lines” is a continuation of this history not a departure from it. I don’t care what Pharrell says about it.
Litigation only occurs when a deal can’t be worked out. One of the most famous examples is Deep Purple’s “Child of Time”.
There are countless songs that COULD have led to lawsuits.
The Stones could easily have sued Neil Young for copying “Mr. Soul” from “Satisfaction,” or Dire Straits for copying “Jumping Jack Flash” in “Money For Nothing.”
Free could have sued Steve Miller for turning “All Right Now” into “Rock ‘n’ Me.”
Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker for turning “I Want a New Drug” into “Ghostbusters,” but M should have sued them both for copying “Pop Muzik.”
George Jones didn’t like the song He Stopped Loving Her Today. But he was right. It would have worked equally well or maybe even better using Kristofferson 's melody. But of course they couldn’t record it that way. As it turned out, the public loved the song and it revived his career.
I don’t have any issues with this application of copyright. Clearly you can’t rip off an entire melody. Its when they start claiming if feels like or its in the style of somebody that I think copyright overreaches.Which was what happened with Pharrell.
I read the book on the Carter Family. Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone?
AP Carter started recording songs that his family had sung. They quickly ran out of songs. So he traveled around the mountain area visiting neighboring families and playing music with them. The book says he would be gone weeks at a time traveling. He had an excellent memory for melody and music. Recording many family songs and putting his name on them. He may have made changes. No one really knows. The origin of these songs is lost. Most I guess are considered traditional. Some may have been original writings. AFAIK AP Carter was never challenged in court. The people and families involved long, long dead.
A lot of people don’t realize Wabash Cannonball is credited to AP Carter. I have the sheet music and here’s a link to the first page. Some of the best songs that Emmylou Harris does are AP Carter songs. Gold Watch and Chain is a favorite of mine.
The problem with the Gaye estate suing Pharrell is that they’re claiming that the *style and feel *of Marvin Gaye’s work is their intellectual property. That’s new law, if it stands. It means a writer would have to credit the “originator” of a “genre,” whoever that is, as co-writer just to write in that genre.
Badfinger could have sued Joe Jackson for “Breaking Us In Two”, the song feels like “Day After Day”.
But I don’t agree personally, Jackson’s song is very much original in itself to, just similar in the beginning to the BadFinger song. Besides different songs.
Plus Pete Ham had already committed suicide by the time Joe Jackson released that song.
Stephanie Mills could have sued Madonna for the intros to “Borderline” is eerily similar to “Never Knew Love Like This Before”. Again very different songs, just the intro.
“Me and My Broken Heart”-Rixton could be sued by Rob Thomas “Lonely No More”
There was a song last year or so by a young guy who sounded eerily like the Wanted’s “Glad You Came”.
I don’t think Robin Thicke, Pharrell and T.I should have been sued by Gaye’s family and hope the judgement does not stand.
That’s my understanding of the court decision too. If its not reversed there could be a flood of litigation.
Claiming that the style and feel of a song is intellectual property is much too broad. Heck nearly every Motown song has a similar style and feel. That’s because the same producers and studio musicians recorded it. The main difference is who did the vocals.
The very first time I heard “Stay With Me” on the radio, having never before heard of Mr. Smith, my immediate thought was “Hey, he’s sampling ‘Won’t Back Down’”.
I’m not too sure to be honest, but while I see where Petty is coming from with the part that goes “Well I won’t back down”, it is NOTHING like Smith’s chorus “Won’t you stay with me …”.
It is very scary to think that any artist can be sued for such tosh!
Bob Dylan, take your pick of songs. E.g. “With God on Our Side” is “the Patriot Game” (the tune is not original, the tune+lyrical motifs are suspect). Love and Theft apparently rips lyrics off of a novel. At least in the latter case, the author said he didn’t mind, and Behan was more grumpy than litigious. Dylan doesn’t comment or blames it on a “folk tradition.”
I’ve done more reading on it, and I have to back off my statement. Although the listeners did find actionable similarities in the songs, they apparently were based on style and not specific borrowings. That is a concern.
I always thought that “At This Moment” by Billy Vera and the Beaters sounded an awful lot like Linda Ronstandt’s “Love has No Pride” but I’ve never heard the similarity mentioned so maybe it’s just me.
I can do a great karaoke mash-up of the two when I’m singing in the shower.