# Riff Rip-Offs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 16, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381 "2010-10-16T22:19:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/41 "2010-10-19T03:57:28Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > Huh? I dont’ get it. “I Want to Be Your Boyfriend” is a gorgeous little pop masterpiece, with lyrics that actually scan (more rare than you’d think) and fit the music, and a lovely guitar solo. > > “Get Off of My Cloud” is great too. But I can’t hear it as source material for the Rubinoos’ hit. Me either. Other than the call-and-response “Hey (Hey) You (You)”, the songs don’t sound similar at all. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/42 "2010-10-19T04:16:09Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > Huh? I dont’ get it. “I Want to Be Your Boyfriend” is a gorgeous little pop masterpiece, with lyrics that actually scan (more rare than you’d think) and fit the music, and a lovely guitar solo. > > “Get Off of My Cloud” is great too. But I can’t hear it as source material for the Rubinoos’ hit. It was a claim made by Avril Lavigne’s manager while they were being sued for her hit song “[Girlfriend](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg59q4puhmg)” sounding too much like “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”. > [@](#): > > In 2007, Dunbar and co-writer James Gangwer sued Canadian pop-punk singer Avril Lavigne, claiming that her hit song “Girlfriend” had too much in common with “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”. > > Filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, the case also named Avril Lavigne Publishing, her songwriting partner Dr. Luke, RCA Records, and Apple Inc. as defendants.[5] Lavigne’s manager, Terry McBride, but neither Lavigne or Dr. Luke, denied that “Girlfriend” was copied from “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend,” and pointed out that “Boyfriend” itself was similar to The Rolling Stones’ “Get off of My Cloud”. The two parties reached a confidential settlement in January 2008. > **[The Rubinoos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rubinoos)** > > The Rubinoos is an American power pop band, formed in 1970 in Berkeley, California. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I Think We're Alone Now" (1977, a cover of the hit by Tommy James & the Shondells), "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" (1979), and for the theme song to the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds. Although "I Think We're Alone Now" has been their highest charting hit, reaching No.45 in 1977, the group has a significant enduring cult following among fans of the power pop genre. > In... ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/43 "2010-10-19T04:54:53Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Some riffs are so recycled that they might as well be in the Public Domain. _I Want To Hod Your Hand/Just What I Needed/With or Without You_ falls into this category. So would any I-IV-V-I riff. Yeah, most of the riffs in these thread would fall under the category of homage, subconscious borrowing, or public domain to me. I mean, yeah, Free and Steve Miller have some superficial similarities, but I consider them distinct riffs. I would not confuse one for the other. Under the category of homage: Little Richard’s [You Keep a-Knockin’](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYr7I4gOSXk) Led Zeppelin’s [Rock & Roll](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHyUYxBXLdc) And while I do think Led Zeppelin did some real wholesale ripping off of other artists, this one does fall under the category of homage to me. Given the song title, I think borrowing the feel of the drum intro to Little Richard’s song was a direct tip of the hat to their rock and roll predecessors. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/44 "2010-10-20T19:35:52Z")
Devo - [Uncrontrollable urge](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRENoPisFYk) Led Zeppelin - [Misty Mountain Hop](http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/misty-mountain-hop-led-zeppelin/78b22faf91f0a03fcbf478b22faf91f0a03fcbf4-190619714361?q=misty%20mountain%20hop&FORM=VIRE2) ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/45 "2010-10-21T00:00:52Z")
> [@Gilliver](#): > > The first one that comes to mind is when Vanilla Ice snagged the riff from Queens “Under Pressure”. > > I really dont know if that one ever went to court, but I cannot hear “Ice Ice Baby” without hearing “Under Pressure” in my head. > [@Manwich](#): > > The riff from [Come As You Are](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vabnZ9-ex7o&ob=av2e) sounds a lot like the intro riff from [The Eighties by Killing Joke](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1oyfG6t2ew&ob=av2e). Probably “subconsciously plagiarized”, the riffs are not the same, just similar. > [@Manwich](#): > > A very blatant one: > > The [Ghostbusters theme](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCHFVTQKqdQ) rips off [I Want a New Drug by Huey Lewis & The News.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6uEMOeDZsA) All of the above indeed resulted in lawsuits, as did these: [New Order’s “Run2”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFe4Lxp_9FQ) vs. John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane” [Men at Work’s “Down Under” vs. “The Kookaburra Song”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCyB2l5wqLE) Some obscure examples: [Anathema’s “Hope”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sEgATi6Z44) totally nicks the main riff of [Pete Townsend’s “White City Fighting”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myt86ReqMqg), and Dream Theater has knowingly [del]ripped off[/del] “paid homage” to [Metallica](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYSjcpFJJZI), [Linkin Park](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkDrAAODXbQ), and numerous other bands. Amusingly, the Megadeth song “When” blatantly rips off Metallica’s “Am I Evil?” – Dave Mustaine himself admits that it was intentional, as an F.U. to Metallica for stealing his song “Mechanix” and renaming it “The Four Horsemen”. (The ultimate irony, of course, is that “Am I Evil?” was originally by Diamond Head, not Metallica!) ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/46 "2010-10-21T14:50:04Z")
Actually, this one should go in the recent “one melody, two sets of lyrics” thread, but what the hell… Phil Manzanera’s song “Frontera”, off _Diamond Head,_ has the same melody as Robert Wyatt’s song “Team Spirit”, off _Ruth is Stranger than Richard,_ but the lyrics are completely different. Both albums were released in 1975, and the two artists have worked together, so I assume they must have said something like, “Hey, let’s each of us take this tune and write our own lyrics to it and see what we come up with.” ---
**Author:** ![Shadowfyre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfyre/32/9972_2.png) [@Shadowfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadowfyre)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/47 "2010-10-21T16:20:45Z")
I can’t get to youtube from work, but Kenny Wayne Shepperd’s While We Cry sounds identical to Pearl Jam’s Yellow Ledbetter (KWS’s song is on the album, “Ledbetter Heights”, hmmmm…) They both claim they are homages to Hendrix’s Little Wing, but KWS’s song sounds like the instrumental version of Yellow Ledbetter (which can be nice if I’m in a particularly bad mood - Vedder’s pain inflected cries become unintelligible caterwauling depending on my mood). While We Cry was on Ledbetter Heights which came out in Sept. '95. Yellow Ledbetter (according to Wikipedia) was the B side to Jeremy in '92. So I guess Kenny Wayne Shepperd was the thief there. ---
**Author:** ![cgg419](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cgg419/32/2847_2.png) [@cgg419](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cgg419)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/48 "2010-10-21T18:07:11Z")
[All The Young Dudes - Mott The Hoople](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amnjZtNDKqk) [21 Guns - Green Day](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt1Hev7SO_E) [Dare If You Dare - Stone Temple Pilots](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je8v3yfOfAo) The chorus is very close in all three, and the verses from the STP song are similar to Mott The Hoople as well. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/49 "2010-10-21T19:27:41Z")
> [@cgg419](#): > > [All The Young Dudes - Mott The Hoople](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amnjZtNDKqk) > > [21 Guns - Green Day](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt1Hev7SO_E) > > [Dare If You Dare - Stone Temple Pilots](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je8v3yfOfAo) > > The chorus is very close in all three, and the verses from the STP song are similar to Mott The Hoople as well. “Too Late for Goodbyes” by Julian Lennon also comes to mind. (But there, it’s in the verse, not the chorus.) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/50 "2010-10-22T06:55:21Z")
The main riff in Glenn Miller’s **In the Mood** was lifted from an earlier piece by Wingy Manone called **Tar Paper Stomp**. You can listen to both of them [here](http://www.redhotjazz.com/hotdogs.html). ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/51 "2010-10-22T07:57:42Z")
Did Coldplay rip-off Joe Satriani for his hit song “Viva la Vida”? [You be the judge.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb49QuPLuHg) ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/52 "2010-10-22T13:49:19Z")
(Originally Posted by cgg419: All The Young Dudes - Mott The Hoople 21 Guns - Green Day Dare If You Dare - Stone Temple Pilots The chorus is very close in all three, and the verses from the STP song are similar to Mott The Hoople as well.) > [@cjepson](#): > > “Too Late for Goodbyes” by Julian Lennon also comes to mind. (But there, it’s in the verse, not the chorus.) Oh yeah, and ELO’s “Telephone Line” too. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/53 "2010-10-22T15:14:35Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > Did Coldplay rip-off Joe Satriani for his hit song “Viva la Vida”? [You be the judge.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb49QuPLuHg) Yeah, that’s one of those I throw in the coincidence/not-a-rip-off pile. That whole controversy seemed ridiculous to me. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/54 "2010-10-22T15:26:31Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, that’s one of those I throw in the coincidence/not-a-rip-off pile. That whole controversy seemed ridiculous to me. I think what you meant to say “they’re fighting over claiming ownership of that piece of crap/those pieces of crap?” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![rusty1491](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@rusty1491](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rusty1491)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/55 "2011-10-20T07:24:53Z")
Daryl Hall “paid homage” twice on Big Bam Boom. I guess he was tired of getting plagiarized himself. **Hey DJ** - World’s Famous Supreme Team Method of Modern Love - Hall & Oates \*\*White Lines \*\*- Grandmaster Flash Dance On Your Knees - Hall & Oates ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/56 "2011-10-20T23:12:43Z")
I meant to post last time this came up. Two songs that seem to be impossible to find in entirety = in their album form = anywhere on the interwebs, but which bear a remarkable resemblance to one another, are: Bob Dylan (+ The Band) - Wedding Song Elvis Costello - Little Palaces ---
**Author:** ![FrustratedIdiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@FrustratedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrustratedIdiot)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/57 "2011-10-20T23:25:39Z")
25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago Brain Stew/Jaded - Green Day Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson Maps - Yeah Yeah Yeahs ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/58 "2011-10-20T23:30:41Z")
I never really caught this until both songs came up back-to-back in the shuffle on my iPod: Accept’s “[Flash Rockin’ Man](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzC0bGCdxis)” (1982) Iron Maiden’s “[2 Minutes to Midnight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NRbycO0O_k)” (1984) Same key and everything! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2011, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/59 "2011-10-21T02:59:39Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > I always thought the riff from Beck’s \*Loser \*was pretty close to \*Midnight Rider \*by the Allman Brothers. There’s an Allman Brothers connection there, but not the one you think: the instrumentation in Loser is sampled from Johnny Jenkins’ cover of I Walk on Gilded Splinters (original by Dr. John). That song was originally recorded for a Duane Allman solo album, but the project was abandoned when the Allman Brothers Band was formed. Jenkins used some of those tracks for an album of his own (with his own vocals). So when you hear Loser, you’re hearing Duane Allman on dobro and Butch Trucks and Jaimoe on drums. All of that came before Midnight Rider - I think they’re both in D and I can see the resemblance, but to me, they’re not much alike. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381/60 "2011-10-21T04:11:42Z")
I’ve got you ALL beat. Justin Bieber’s new Xmas single (yes, he released a Christmas single in October :rolleyes: ) and Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” are EXACTLY the same song. IDENTICAL. Bieber: [Justin Bieber - Mistletoe (Official Music Video) - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUjn3RpkcKY&ob=av2e) Mraz: [Jason Mraz - I'm Yours (Official Video) [4K] - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkHTsc9PU2A&ob=av2e) I’d only heard “I’m Yours” one time in my entire life (on “The Sing-off”) and I recognized it instantly. I’ve always thought the opening of Cheap Trick’s “Surrender” was pretty much the opening of “Pinball Wizard.” That’s pretty much where the similarity ends though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riff-rip-offs/557381.md?page=4)