# THIS song sound just like THAT song. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106 "2013-10-24T13:16:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/121 "2013-12-07T04:39:59Z")
I’ve been hearing a fairly new song “[Out of My League](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4mbxaa3XL8)” by Fitz and the Tantrums on the radio. To me, it bears a HUGE similarity to “[Tenderness](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmoHQ2DC3zo)” by General Public. Does anybody else notice the similarity? I’ve googled both titles, and I’m shocked that I’m not seeing anything that says they’re similar. Both songs also sound kind of like “Modern Love” by David Bowie. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/122 "2014-03-12T21:50:07Z")
Jackie DeShannon’s “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” sounds like the Beatles’ “Baby You’re a Rich Man.” (Jackie is well known as a Beatles fan.) ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/123 "2014-03-12T22:32:43Z")
Three pages and no one mentioned Sara Bareilles’ [Love Song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi7Yh16dA0w) and Michael Buble’s [Haven’t Met You Yet](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AJmKkU5POA)? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/124 "2014-03-12T23:11:34Z")
Why has no one mentioned Sly and the Family Stone’s “Hot Fun in the Summertime,” and Genesis’s “Misunderstanding”? If there was ever a lawsuit… ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/125 "2014-03-13T12:32:19Z")
“And you can tell everybody -” A) This is your song. B) I’m the man, I’m the man, I’m the man. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/126 "2014-03-21T09:59:55Z")
10cc’s “The Things We Do for Love” sounds kind of like the Clovers’ “Love Potion No. 9” at the beginning of the verses. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/127 "2014-03-21T19:16:49Z")
People all over the world, join hands . . . fuck you, and fuck her too! I guess the change in my pocket wasn’t enough . . . start a love train, love train! (as originally performed by Cee Lo and the O’Jay’s) ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/128 "2014-03-21T22:52:21Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Also, Chopin’s [e minor Prelude](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef-4Bv5Ng0w) and Radiohead’s [Exit Music (For a Film).](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMqXj-eVCjI) More Chopin. This [Chopin Etude](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFKeV-slkHU) has yielded both this [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjDqMftHbKI) and this [tango](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaeKBvYqDnw). It’s all quite deliberate, but I think it’s fun to hear the same beautiful melody across different genres. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/129 "2014-03-22T02:10:41Z")
[“Puff the Magic Dragon,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC2tlNmz4ao&feature=kp) by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow, and [“Celluloid Heroes,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTJVclgwS5g) by the Kinks. The resemblance is _very_ strong in the verses. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/130 "2014-03-22T02:17:23Z")
Too late to edit, but here’s another one. “American Tune,” by Paul Simon, and [the St Matthew’s Passion chorale](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8U9bzT968k), by Bach, are extremely similar - though Bach borrowed it without attribution as well, so hey. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/131 "2014-03-22T02:23:19Z")
Wilco’s [Dreamer In My Dreams](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95wQnKCw3M0) always sounds uncannily like a sped up [Honky Tonk Woman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6M77oHD110) to me. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/132 "2014-03-22T11:31:25Z")
> [@Octarine](#): > > Too late to edit, but here’s another one. “American Tune,” by Paul Simon, and [the St Matthew’s Passion chorale](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8U9bzT968k), by Bach, are extremely similar - though Bach borrowed it without attribution as well, so hey. This melody has a long history, and [we’ve discussed it before](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14935355). Bach didn’t have to attribute his usage since it was SOP to include the standard Lutheran hymns in sacred works. But Paul Simon was pretty brazen to NOT include “Adapted by” in his authorship, especially since all the folkies knew “Because All Men Are Brothers” ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/133 "2014-03-22T18:42:53Z")
“Lipstick Traces (on a Cigarette),” recorded by Benny Spellman in 1962 and written by Allen Toussaint under a pseudonym is the same song as the 1961 “Mother-in-Law” recorded by Ernie K-Doe and written by . . . Allen Toussaint. ---
**Author:** ![Mind\_Your\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Mind\_Your\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mind_Your_Head)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/134 "2014-03-22T21:24:27Z")
The Four Tops had a big hit with "Can’t Help Myself"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z59EVHU8MjI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z59EVHU8MjI). But when they came out with “It’s the Same Old Song” [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wYoLQc-x5g) I thought they were taking the piss. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/135 "2014-03-22T23:21:14Z")
> [@Mixolydian](#): > > Miike Snow’s [“Paddling Out”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8WOu1_de8w), used to annoying regularity in the new Budweiser “Grab Some Buds” commercials, has the same chord changes (though at different tempo and spacing) as Bob Marley’s “Jammin’”. > > Maybe retribution for Bob stealing the [Banana Splits theme song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtluQkuT25s) for “Buffalo Soldier”? I was going to mention the Buffalo Soldier/Banana Splits similarity. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/136 "2014-03-22T23:25:24Z")
I may be the only one who hears this, but the intro to Iron Man sounds a lot like the intro to Zappa’s Who Are the Brain Police? Also, the guitar solo in Iron Man reminds me of Zappa’s in Hungry Freaks, Daddy. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/137 "2014-03-23T00:05:26Z")
A good number of these seem pretty tenuous to me, but I’ve always kind of gotten a kick out of artists blatantly plagiarizing their own work. Chuck Berry’s [School Days](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHG5-GxI_Es&feature=kp) and [No Particular Place To Go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6OS_ItMGpc) are pretty damned close to being identical, down to the intro lick and the key. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/138 "2014-03-23T00:27:32Z")
Of course last summer’s Blurred Lines sounds an awful lot like Marvin Gaye’s Got to Give It Up Did that get settled? ---
**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:** [March 23, 2014, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/139 "2014-03-23T00:48:49Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > Of course last summer’s Blurred Lines sounds an awful lot like Marvin Gaye’s Got to Give It Up > > Did that get settled? Yeah, see, that’s one of those where I, as a sometimes musician, say, yeah, I can see the resemblance, but it’s substantially different. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106/140 "2014-03-23T14:41:31Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, see, that’s one of those where I, as a sometimes musician, say, yeah, I can see the resemblance, but it’s substantially different. Not different enough to duck a lawsuit. [http://www.hitfix.com/news/marvin-gaye-family-wins-victory-in-blurred-lines-copyright-case](http://www.hitfix.com/news/marvin-gaye-family-wins-victory-in-blurred-lines-copyright-case) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-song-sound-just-like-that-song/672106.md?page=8)