# "Under Pressure" vs. "Ice, Icy Baby" and other similar beginnings to songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 8, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201 "2012-03-08T21:54:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [March 10, 2012, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/61 "2012-03-10T01:46:25Z")
> [@MilTan](#): > > In a case of double-borrowing, Sugarhill Gang’s _Rapper’s Delight_ used a lightly modified version of the bass line from _Another One Bits the Dust_. > > But, in general, many, many rap songs sample hooks and bass lines from earlier songs, so it’s not terribly surprising. Er, Rapper’s Delight came out in [1979](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapper%27s_delight). Another One Bites The Dust came out in [1980](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_one_bites_the_dust). ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/62 "2012-03-10T01:47:57Z")
> [@MilTan](#): > > In a case of double-borrowing, Sugarhill Gang’s _Rapper’s Delight_ used a lightly modified version of the bass line from _Another One Bits the Dust_. No, _Rapper’s Delight_ (1979) and _Another One Bits the Dust_ (1980) were both inspired by _Good Times_ (1979) with _Rapper’s Delight_ being a direct lift: > **[The Sugarhill Gang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sugarhill_Gang)** > > The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop group formed in Englewood, New Jersey, in 1979. Their hit "Rapper's Delight", released the same year they were formed, was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching a peak position of number 36 on January 12, 1980. This was the trio's only U.S. hit, though they would have further success in Europe until the mid-1980s. The trio reformed in 1994 and embarked on a world tour in 2016. > The members, all from Englewood, Ne... > [@](#): > > The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop group, known mostly for its 1979 hit “Rapper’s Delight,” the first hip hop single to become a Top 40 hit. The song uses an interpolation of the instrumental track from the classic hit “Good Times” by Chic as its foundation…Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement over “Rapper’s Delight,” the first of many such legal battles for hip hop. It was settled out of court, leaving Rodgers with a large cut of all future royalties. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/63 "2012-03-10T01:52:55Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > This one is kind of embarrassing, but the Smiths, “[How soon is now](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U5HpeA_WSo)” sounds similar to (the nearly unknown) “[Hippy Chick](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILaTgQBKRbE)”. For some reason I always think it’s Hippy Chick for a half second. “Hippy Chick” samples The Smiths song so they sound very similar. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/64 "2012-03-10T02:03:45Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > That is clearly not the same melody. Nowhere in there is the famous “Fame” melody, and I thought this thread was about melodies, not lyrics or “cover” songs. And Lennon is in the chorus of the song Fame. They wrote/sang/created it together in studio. Even if all Lennon did was sing in the background, that’s enough for me. The vocal melody of the Flames’ and Bowie’s “Footstompin” is the same. However, Carlos came up with a new backing track for “Footstompin” which they recycled for Fame. So you are correct that the Flames’ “Footstompin” and Bowie’s “Fame” have nothing in common. The story goes that Bowie got Lennon in the studio but had nothing prepared so Bowie told Carlos to play that “Footstompin” riff. Lennon starting singing “Aim” which sounded like Fame. Bowie cranked out the lyrics to “Fame” and they recorded it. Bowie realized that co-writing a song with Lennon would be a major coup. It was his first American #1. It might not have been if Lennon were not involved. ---
**Author:** ![Renifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Renifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renifer)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/65 "2012-03-10T06:10:49Z")
The beginning of Alanis Morissette’s “Uninvited” [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvgi7P97lu0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvgi7P97lu0) sounds eerily like the theme music to 28 Days Later. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/66 "2012-03-10T20:49:53Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Anyway, my contribution to this thread, after reading a Bathroom Reader, is that George Harrison once got sued because his “My Sweet Lord” apparently ripped off (note by note) “He’s So Fine” by The Chiffons. > > [My Sweet Lord](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c3hK4reVOY) > [He’s So Fine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfxx3scAKS8) The Doors similarly caught heat with The Kinks. https://www.youtube.com/embed/RMpwHHpDf7o?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque https://www.youtube.com/embed/mMWNwHof0kc?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque U2’s Mysterious Ways remix [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zoQ4xzFqFoA/hqdefault.jpg "U2 - Mysterious Ways - REMIX") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoQ4xzFqFoA) Has the drum opening of Steve Miller Band’s -Take the Money and Run [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/M-vBd-r_Pww/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AG-AoAC8AGKAgwIABABGGUgZShlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLBMj0dQFweTttQgs-NmZqvcpe9kuA "steve miller band - take the money an run") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-vBd-r_Pww) Clapton’s Let it Rain and Harrison/Starr’s It Don’t Come Easy are practically the same song. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yow4Aus8oTo?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque https://www.youtube.com/embed/pGlOUc0LTiE?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**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:** [March 11, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/67 "2012-03-11T00:16:45Z")
> [@Kasper1014](#): > > Stevie Wonder’s Superstition and Will Smith’s Wild Wild West. I think you mean Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish.” ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/68 "2012-03-11T01:16:14Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > This one is kind of embarrassing, but the Smiths, “[How soon is now](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U5HpeA_WSo)” sounds similar to (the nearly unknown) “[Hippy Chick](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILaTgQBKRbE)”. For some reason I always think it’s Hippy Chick for a half second. Good lord, hippy Chick was a deliberate sample ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/69 "2012-03-11T01:44:36Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > There is exactly one Lenny Kravitz song that I like “Are you gonna go my way” whatever idiot took that riff from the opening and turning it to some teeny bopper song needs to be strangled. > > Ahh, [here it is](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi1L_JHxZUE). > Every time I hear this I think “Hey, I love this riff…waitaminute what’s that sound coming in…dammit it’s that other song” Og help me, I wanted to hate it, but couldn’t. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/70 "2012-03-12T00:19:32Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > The vocal melody of the Flames’ and Bowie’s “Footstompin” is the same. However, Carlos came up with a new backing track for “Footstompin” which they recycled for Fame. So you are correct that the Flames’ “Footstompin” and Bowie’s “Fame” have nothing in common. > > The story goes that Bowie got Lennon in the studio but had nothing prepared so Bowie told Carlos to play that “Footstompin” riff. Lennon starting singing “Aim” which sounded like Fame. Bowie cranked out the lyrics to “Fame” and they recorded it. Bowie realized that co-writing a song with Lennon would be a major coup. It was his first American #1. It might not have been if Lennon were not involved. Thanks for that. 🙂 But I think it still would have been a hit, since at the time I had no idea Lennon was even involved. And Duran Duran redid it if I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Kasper1014](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c89c15/32.png) [@Kasper1014](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kasper1014)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/71 "2012-03-12T01:13:01Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > I think you mean Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish.” I knew that…only testing you! Yes, you are right. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/72 "2012-03-12T03:16:13Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > No, _Rapper’s Delight_ (1979) and _Another One Bits the Dust_ (1980) were both inspired by _Good Times_ (1979) with _Rapper’s Delight_ being a direct lift: > > [The Sugarhill Gang - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sugarhill_Gang) Huh. Learn something new every day! ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/73 "2012-03-12T15:04:07Z")
The beginning of Guns 'n Roses “November Rain” sounds just like the beginning of a Cure song to me, but I can’t think of which one right now. Every time I hear “November Rain” I think it’s The Cure coming up but no… ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/74 "2012-03-12T18:06:16Z")
Sly & The Family Stone’s [Thank You (for lettin me be mice elf again)](http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=5YXPJOUD7G0) vs. Janet Jackson’s [Rhythm Nation](http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=OAwaNWGLM0c). Fortunately for me, I love both songs. The Offspring’s [Get a Job](http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=yj-tQ09IJ5w) vs. The Beatles [Ob La Di Ob La Da](http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=LedUjMuTR7Q) Same friggin’ song. Not a fan of either. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/75 "2012-03-12T18:53:28Z")
[The Jam - _Start!_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI8AOkbfgNE) [The Beatles - Taxman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Maz9ddxEQnM) ---
**Author:** ![Scupper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/76 "2012-03-12T19:18:25Z")
The opening bass line from the Fraggle Rock theme song sounds very similar to the opening of Psycho Killer by Talking Heads. ---
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/77 "2012-03-12T22:11:05Z")
People who are scornful of Vanilla Ice’s comments should pay more attention. He was saying that the songs don’t sound anything alike. And he’s right. No one would mistake one song for the other. It’s only the base lines which are similar. He doesn’t deny that they borrowed from _Under Pressure_. He says outright that they did. He doesn’t say that the base lines sound totally different. He says there is “that little bitty change”. So why are his comments so consistently misrepresented? Because that’s how they were originally framed and since then people watching the video mostly see what they expect to see. For me it’s the beginning of _I Only Wanna Be With You_ by Hootie and Company. I mistake it for _Tangled Up In Blue_. (I’d link the songs but can’t find one to the studio version of the Dylan song.) ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/78 "2012-03-13T02:42:23Z")
To me, Argent’s _Hold Your Head Up_ sounds a lot like Neil Young’s _When You Dance I Can Really Love_. _Enter Sandman_ by Metallica has a riff straight out of _Space Truckin’_ by Deep Purple. ---
**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 13, 2012, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/79 "2012-03-13T02:53:32Z")
> [@2sense](#): > > People who are scornful of Vanilla Ice’s comments should pay more attention. He was saying that the songs don’t sound anything alike. [Here is the interview](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s0hEi8zhmg): Viewers at home can make the call, but the synopsis of the interview is that MC Hammer gave credit to Rick James for reappropriating “Superfreak” in “U Can’t Touch This,” but Vanilla Ice gave no credit to Queen or David Bowie. In a response to why this is the case, he says: “[It] doesn’t sound anything like ‘Under Pressure.’ Only part that sounds like ‘Under Pressure’ is the hook. We sampled it from them, but it’s not the same bass line.” Technically, he is correct. It is not the _exact_ same bass line. It has a single additional note. Otherwise, it’s the same tempo, the same key, the same everything. I don’t see the misrepresentation you are claiming. ---
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/80 "2012-03-13T06:40:24Z")
Watch the clip again. We don’t know what the quote you give is a response to. What we hear is a voice over saying that Vanilla Ice only gave credit to himself and his DJ (presumably in the album credits). Then they cut to Vanilla Ice giving the quote. We don’t even know who is interviewing him let alone what question they asked to elicit that response. All we have is the quote itself which, as I’ve pointed out, is true. The songs do not sound the same only the base lines are similar. After another voice over the video cuts to another quote where Vanilla Ice states plainly that they did lift the hook. He says the base lines are not the same but doesn’t try to pretend there is a major difference. He says flat out there is a “little bitty change”. Given what we know there is no room for any interpretation other than what he said was completely accurate. And yet people describe the video as if Vanilla Ice was claiming the bass lines were very different or even as if he is saying that the hook wasn’t borrowed at all. **MilTan** ’s sarcastic mischaracterization is typical. Again, this is due to how the video was presented by MTV. The thrust of their report is that Vanilla Ice is minimizing the relationship between his song and _Under Pressure_. But they can only do so by showing his comments in that context. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201.md?page=5)