Guns n' Roses - Sweet Child o' Mine
Songs which you feel are similar.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | February 10, 2016 11:49 PM |
Andrew Lloyd Webber - Genius or Plagiarist ?
by Anonymous | reply 4 | February 11, 2016 2:48 AM |
Awful song from an awful movie based on an awful book.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | February 11, 2016 2:30 PM |
SPAMALOT's "Find Your Grail" is really just "Country Roads" by John Denver.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | February 11, 2016 6:10 PM |
"Manhattan" from the REVENGE OF THE NERDS soundtrack is really just "Iko, Iko."
by Anonymous | reply 8 | February 11, 2016 6:12 PM |
There's nothing to the "Blurred Lines" allegations. It's way different from "Got to Give It Up," Marvin Gaye's family was just greedy and the judge in that lawsuit was musically incompetent.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | February 11, 2016 6:20 PM |
R10: Yeah, that whole ruling was based on the cowbell section without regard to the melody or chord progressions.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | February 11, 2016 6:21 PM |
Katy Perry's "California Girls" was really just "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha:
by Anonymous | reply 12 | February 11, 2016 6:28 PM |
This song is a response to critics who accused all of Motown's songs of sounding alike.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | February 11, 2016 6:35 PM |
Tell it To My Heart by Taylor Dayne was completely ripped off from The One You Love by Glenn Frey and done in a faster tempo. Try singing the chorus of Tell it to My Heart to the first verse of The One You Love.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | February 11, 2016 6:36 PM |
Kelly Clarkson's latest single, "Heartbeat Song" is a brazen rip-off of Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle."
So flagrant, it's disgusting!
by Anonymous | reply 15 | February 11, 2016 6:38 PM |
That's a stretch, r14.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | February 11, 2016 6:40 PM |
Actually, you're right about the verses, r14.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | February 11, 2016 6:41 PM |
Lady Gaga's Born This Way
VS
Madonna's Express Yourself
by Anonymous | reply 19 | February 11, 2016 6:48 PM |
Radiohead's Creep
VS
The Hollies' The Air that I Breathe
by Anonymous | reply 20 | February 11, 2016 6:54 PM |
Musician here. There are only 12 notes in a scale. With pop music being so structurally formulaic you're bound to find short similarities between two or more songs if you look hard enough. People aren't very original in general.
I agree with R10 and R11 about Blurred Lines. Such a dumb ruling.
Born This Way and Express Yourself is another story. Sing the melody of Born This Way from "I'm beautiful in my way" to "I'm on the right track baby I was born this way". Now sing the following lines from Express Yourself "So if you want it right now" to "Express what he's got oh baby ready or not". The melody is virtually identical for 8 measures. Madonna and Stephen bray could rightfully sue and win.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | February 11, 2016 6:55 PM |
[quote] Actually, you're right about the verses, [R14].
Yeah, because of the tempo, it's not readily apparent. I remember I was in high school, working at Tower Records when Dayne's album came out, and every time it was played in the store, a few minutes later I'd find myself singing Frey's song in my head and then it became clear.
I'm guessing if Frey felt there was an issue, he'd have sued, but it sure sounds similar to me. Then again, I hear musical notes, melodies, etc. from songs in nearly everything (which is odd, as I don't read music and I'm not a musician). The tone of my microwave starting up sounds exactly like the first note of I Can't Tell You Why, the tempo of my alarm clock chime sounds like the beginning of Rock of Ages by Def Leppard, other appliances sound like other songs... I might have some kind of mental defect.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | February 11, 2016 6:57 PM |
I have been reading the biography of music manager Allen Klein who handled, among others, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and last night I read about the My Sweet Lord/He's So Fine ruling. I had no idea the case dragged on for 20 years. I thought it had been settled far earlier than that.
FWIW, I've never thought the songwriters had a case there. My Sweet Lord sounds very little like He's So Fine. (And I think Blurred Lines absolutely DID rip off Got to Give it Up.)
What I'm more curious about are the earliest instances of sampling and how rap artists thought they were going to get away with outright theft of a song and neither credit nor compensate the original artist and writer. And apparently until Gilbert O'Sullivan sued Biz Markie, they were getting away with it.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | February 11, 2016 7:03 PM |
Sam Smith's Stay with me/ Tom Petty's I won't back down
by Anonymous | reply 25 | February 11, 2016 7:10 PM |
Hotel California was a ripoff of Jethro Tull's We Used To Know. The Eagles had toured with Tull. Evidently Frey,Felder and Henley were influenced by them someway.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | February 11, 2016 7:13 PM |
The Beach Boys took the melody of Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" note for note to write "Surfin' USA." Chuck sued them in court and won, and now he has a credit as co-writer.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | February 11, 2016 7:14 PM |
Rod Stewart's "Forever Young" is a pathetic ripoff of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young". At least change the title of the song.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | February 11, 2016 7:16 PM |
Chuck Berry himself is guilty of plagiarism. The opening of "Johnny B. Goode" was taken note for note from a Louis Jordan song called "Ain't That Just Like A Woman." The Beach Boys copied that same intro for "Fun Fun Fun."
by Anonymous | reply 29 | February 11, 2016 7:18 PM |
Billy Joel's "Piano Man" tried so hard to channel Dylan's "Tambourine Man". Not even close. That's like having an Etch-A-Sketch imitate Picasso.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | February 11, 2016 7:18 PM |
Stairway to Heaven was influenced by certain songs. However a great influence on that song was July by Terry Reid. Jimmy Page had asked him to be Led Zep's original singer. Judging from the homage(on Stairway) Page kept on listening to him for years afterwards.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | February 11, 2016 7:19 PM |
Of course Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" was copied from Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business".
by Anonymous | reply 33 | February 11, 2016 7:20 PM |
[quote] Rod Stewart's "Forever Young" is a pathetic ripoff of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young". At least change the title of the song.
Rod acknowledges this and actually went to Dylan before he recorded the song to ask permission. Dylan said yes- for a cut of the publishing.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | February 11, 2016 7:20 PM |
[quote] Billy Joel's "Piano Man" tried so hard to channel Dylan's "Tambourine Man". Not even close. That's like having an Etch-A-Sketch imitate Picasso.
Poor analogy. Billy Joel is a better singer and musician and not tied to any homophobic religious cults like the overrated Dylan and his Jew for Jesus schtick. And as for Dylan, the authorship of many of his songs is a matter of debate.
by Anonymous | reply 35 | February 11, 2016 7:23 PM |
R20
Radiohead were forced to credit The Hollies as co-writers of self-loathing classic “Creep” due to fairly slight chord similarities with 1973 track “The Air That I Breathe.”
by Anonymous | reply 36 | February 11, 2016 7:24 PM |
So Dylan's authorship is in doubt? Now that is really interesting. If Billy Joel could come within light years of "Blind Willie McTell', "Abandoned Love" or "Changing of the Guards"I might think you have a point. Dylan's catalog is about a thousand excellent songs. Your attempt to portray him as homophobic and anti-semitic just goes to show how weak your argument is. How do you explain his close working relationship with Allen Ginsberg? I won't waste any more time arguing with you. If you choose to deprecate a truly historic artist in favor of a hack - that's your problem.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | February 11, 2016 7:45 PM |
[quote]If you choose to deprecate a truly historic artist in favor of a hack - that's your problem.
I could say the same about you and the rest of Dylan's psychotic, gullible sycophants. Bob Dylan was a horrible singer at every point in his career (he couldn't hit the high notes on "Just The Way You Are" if you kicked him in the crotch, never mind sustain them) and a mediocre musician on a good day. And his songs are not well-written. But what is the worst aspect of his success is that because of him, every lame folkie with an axe to grind was seen as some kind of prophet. They were all false prophets designed to bring down the anti-war movement, and it worked.
[quote]Dylan's catalog is about a thousand excellent songs.
You're off by about a thousand. He was nothing but a huckster and a tool of the establishment. What kind of "rebel" becomes a born-again Christian to save his career? A fraudulent one, that's who.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | February 11, 2016 8:12 PM |
When you argue with a fool, you just have two fools arguing.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | February 11, 2016 8:45 PM |
Ask Joni Mitchell what she thinks of Bob Dylan:
by Anonymous | reply 40 | February 11, 2016 8:47 PM |
I don't get r32 's post; how is that plagiarism/ripoff/lawsuit-worthy?
by Anonymous | reply 41 | February 11, 2016 8:51 PM |
The entire structure of The Offsprings' "Why Don't You Get A Job" is "Obladi, Oblada":
by Anonymous | reply 43 | February 11, 2016 8:54 PM |
Funny you should mention that, r22.
My computer boot-up mechanism sounds like the "Woo-hoos" from Weezer's "Buddy Holly!"
by Anonymous | reply 45 | February 11, 2016 10:40 PM |
I was going to mention that one, r43!
by Anonymous | reply 46 | February 11, 2016 10:41 PM |
[quote] My computer boot-up mechanism sounds like the "Woo-hoos" from Weezer's "Buddy Holly!"
Ha! A kindred spirit!!
Something else in my house sounds like I Love Your Smile by Shanice, and yet another thing sounds like Lonely Nights by Captain & Tennille.
It's hell when I travel.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | February 11, 2016 10:43 PM |
Remember that hip hop started on the street, r24.
No one was listening and no one was making money. They were just experiments in discos, on the street and with little or no distribution or promotion. Bootlegs were passed around small groups. Many of these people didn't know copyright law, didn't make it big and didn't try to.
It's only when songs make money in a widespread, professionally distributed way that people noticed, and those that didn't get permission got sued.
Sugar Hill Gang actually recorded a cover of Chic's "Good Times" with their own session musicians for "Rapper's Delight," in the hopes of avoiding a copyright infringement lawsuit.
But they still got sued for stealing another artist's lyrics and had to "Give It Up," as Marvin Gaye's family might say to Pharrell Williams.
by Anonymous | reply 48 | February 11, 2016 11:01 PM |
Girls, girls! Dylan and Joel are both pretty!
And flawed.
by Anonymous | reply 49 | February 11, 2016 11:15 PM |
Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" ripped off Spirit's "Taurus."
George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" ripped off "He's So Fine" recorded by The Chiffons.
Len's "Steal My Sunshine" ripped off Andrea True Connection's "More More More."
Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" ripped off Waren Zevon's "Werewolves of London."
Little River Band's "Reminiscing" ripped off the theme song from "I Love Lucy."
by Anonymous | reply 50 | February 11, 2016 11:15 PM |
[quote] Sugar Hill Gang actually recorded a cover of Chic's "Good Times" with their own session musicians for "Rapper's Delight," in the hopes of avoiding a copyright infringement lawsuit.
A great example of plagiarism. But I was thinking samples, actual recording snippets. And yes, you're right that it started on the streets and in the clubs, but Biz Markie's song surely wasn't the first that had been commercially successful (in fact I know it wasn't). I was just surprised that the number of songs with illegal (for lack of a better word) samples had been commercially successful with no lawsuits or CAD orders.
by Anonymous | reply 51 | February 11, 2016 11:20 PM |
r50, Len's "Steal My Sunshine" SAMPLED "More More More," and they probably had permission.
Very different than plagiarism -- I love Len.
by Anonymous | reply 52 | February 11, 2016 11:26 PM |
Wow, I'm really disgusted by some beloved musicians on this thread.
by Anonymous | reply 53 | February 11, 2016 11:30 PM |
Lady Gaga's "Americano" is basically "Sway," as popularized by Dean Martin, Shaft, etc.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | February 11, 2016 11:45 PM |
The chorus to Madonna's Papa Don't Preach was completely stolen from the chorus of Sam Harris's Sugar Don't Bite...
by Anonymous | reply 55 | February 11, 2016 11:49 PM |
Led Zeppelin has had multiple suits. I knew about "Whole Lotta Love," but not the others.
by Anonymous | reply 56 | February 11, 2016 11:52 PM |
Brian McKnight's Anytime totally ripped off Me'shell Ndegeocello's Outside Your Door.
Exhibit A...
by Anonymous | reply 57 | February 12, 2016 12:00 AM |
George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" is He's So Fine by that girl group
by Anonymous | reply 59 | February 12, 2016 12:03 AM |
[quote] George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" is He's So Fine by that girl group
Really? Thanks. It hadn't sunk in the five other times it was mentioned above.
by Anonymous | reply 60 | February 12, 2016 12:04 AM |
...borrowed heavily from Janet Jackson's "I Get Lonely"
by Anonymous | reply 62 | February 12, 2016 12:06 AM |
Don't forget Gaga's, Alejandro ripping off Ace of Base!
by Anonymous | reply 63 | February 12, 2016 12:08 AM |
Speaking of appliances that sound like songs, my ringtone sounds like the opening of Sophie B. Hawkins's As I Lay Me Down.
by Anonymous | reply 64 | February 12, 2016 12:09 AM |
Erotic City by Prince was melodically influenced by Laid Back's White Horse.
by Anonymous | reply 65 | February 12, 2016 12:11 AM |
[quote] Speaking of appliances that sound like songs, my ringtone sounds like the opening of Sophie B. Hawkins's As I Lay Me Down.
Mine sounds like "Tempted" by Squeeze, and my hold music is the audio from the trailer for Foxy Brown
by Anonymous | reply 66 | February 12, 2016 12:13 AM |
The tempo of Madonna's Material Girl was ripped from The Jackson's Can You Feel It
by Anonymous | reply 67 | February 12, 2016 12:15 AM |
Des'Ree's Feel So High and Janet's Got 'til It's Gone are similar. Des'Ree ended up suing for royalties (as she also did with Beyoncé's reworking of another of her songs). This artist sings a mashup of Feel So High and Got 'til It's Gone...
by Anonymous | reply 68 | February 12, 2016 12:19 AM |
America's song, "My Country T'is of Thee" is a direct copy of the melody of Great Britain's national anthem, "God Save The Queen".
by Anonymous | reply 69 | February 12, 2016 12:20 AM |
[quote] America's song, "My Country T'is of Thee" is a direct copy of the melody of Great Britain's national anthem, "God Save The Queen".
Doesn't surprise me. I always hated that Horse With No Name.
by Anonymous | reply 70 | February 12, 2016 12:23 AM |
How could Des'Ree sue Janet for Got Til It's Gone?????
by Anonymous | reply 71 | February 12, 2016 12:23 AM |
[quote]America's song, "My Country T'is of Thee" is a direct copy of the melody of Great Britain's national anthem, "God Save The Queen".
And the melody of The Star Spangled Banner, the US national anthem, is lifted directly from an old English drinking song called To Anacreon in Heaven. But these uses don't count as plagiarism because the use of the earlier melodies was openly acknowledged from the beginning; it's not plagiarism if you attribute the original source and don't claim the work as your own.
by Anonymous | reply 72 | February 12, 2016 12:44 AM |
"Lord" Andrew Lloyd Webber is the king of plagiarism; the title song for his "Phantom" sequel "Love Never Dies" is a direct ripoff of Adolph Deutsch's main theme to "The Apartment":
"Love Never Dies":
by Anonymous | reply 73 | February 12, 2016 12:47 AM |
Public domain songs don't count, r69.
Tons of folk tunes were re-written with different lyrics prior to the recording industry and copyrights.
by Anonymous | reply 75 | February 12, 2016 4:39 PM |
As long as it wasn't done intentionally r53
by Anonymous | reply 76 | February 12, 2016 8:15 PM |
I Wear My Sunglasses at Night
by Anonymous | reply 77 | February 12, 2016 10:44 PM |
The only sing I like by Oldplay is ripped from guitarist Joe Satriani. That's why I like it.
by Anonymous | reply 78 | February 12, 2016 11:41 PM |
The verse in Madonna's "Oh Father" is a slowed down "I Want to Live in America."
by Anonymous | reply 79 | February 12, 2016 11:50 PM |
More
by Anonymous | reply 80 | February 13, 2016 11:31 PM |
So who has not plagiarized ?
by Anonymous | reply 81 | February 14, 2016 4:47 AM |
"Make Em Laugh" from "Singing In The Rain" has the exact same melody as Cole Porter's "Be A Clown". Porter never sued.
by Anonymous | reply 82 | February 14, 2016 5:13 AM |
I think Led Zeppelin have the longest history of plagiarizing songs.
by Anonymous | reply 83 | February 14, 2016 5:39 AM |
[bold]8 songs that hit No 1
Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke
Vivi la Vida - Coldplay
Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice
Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jr.
My Sweet Lord - George Harrison
Come Together - Beatles
Do Ya think I'm sexy ? - Rod Stewart
How deep is your love - Bee Gees
by Anonymous | reply 84 | February 14, 2016 6:05 AM |
Part of George Harrison's defence in the claim by the writers of He's So Fine was that both HSF and My Sweet Lord were essentially rip-offs of the old gospel song Oh Happy Day, and he's right.
by Anonymous | reply 85 | February 15, 2016 1:52 AM |
Conn's commercials all steal from Journey's "Don't Stop Believing"
by Anonymous | reply 86 | February 15, 2016 2:16 AM |
In light of its Grammy win, we'd be remiss to forget that "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson is really just "Oops Upside Your Head" by the Gap Band!
by Anonymous | reply 87 | February 16, 2016 11:31 PM |
Lady Gaga really is the worst offender.
You can literally sing Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" over "Fashion of His Love."
by Anonymous | reply 88 | February 23, 2016 1:27 AM |
I remember some radio deejay going on about Styx copying Led Zep.
by Anonymous | reply 89 | February 23, 2016 1:38 AM |
For which songs, r89?
by Anonymous | reply 90 | February 23, 2016 5:22 PM |
I think it was Styx's Sweet Madame Blue vs Zep's Baba I'm Gonna Leave You
by Anonymous | reply 91 | February 24, 2016 12:54 PM |
Led Zeppelin own this thread.
by Anonymous | reply 93 | March 7, 2016 11:08 PM |
"Sax" is a blatant rip-off of "Uptown Funk" (which, as has already been pointed out, is itself a rip-off of "Oops Upside Your Head"):
by Anonymous | reply 94 | March 7, 2016 11:10 PM |
I just listened to "Mr. Tambourine Man" by both Dylan and the Byrds, and I did not hear "Piano Man."
As for Gaga channeling Whitney, isn't that a sampling of "I Wanna Be with Somebody"?
by Anonymous | reply 95 | March 7, 2016 11:14 PM |
R94, I like that better than Uptown Funk, actually.
by Anonymous | reply 96 | March 7, 2016 11:18 PM |
"Express Yourself" is also a rip off, ironically. Of two songs..."respect Yourself" originally done by the Staple singers, and "Express Yourself" by Charles Wright. Madonna's bothered a few melodies in her time.
by Anonymous | reply 98 | June 17, 2016 4:21 AM |
If I'm not mistaken R69, All the members of America were army brats in the UK and all had English moms.
Without make-work for lawyers, this thread wouldn't exist.
Thanks R21, for making sense.
All the Zep haters can squeeze my lemon. You're intensely boring. Fuck off already.
by Anonymous | reply 99 | June 17, 2016 5:14 AM |
This one pisses me off: cheating-website Ashley Madison's radio jingle is a blatant ripoff of Schoolhouse Rock's "Adverb" song
by Anonymous | reply 100 | June 17, 2016 8:24 PM |
The bass line from Oasis' "Waiting for the Rapture" is a complete ripoff of the riff from The Doors' "Five to One".
by Anonymous | reply 101 | June 17, 2016 8:42 PM |
When I saw the thread title on thought it said "Playgirl songs"....and I thought , YAY, i love seeing pics of hot Playgirl models!
Guess that demonstrates where MY mind's at.
And ya know what? What the hell....i'm gonna post em anyway!
by Anonymous | reply 103 | June 18, 2016 10:41 PM |
Green days 21 guns vs Mott the Hoople/Bowies all the young dudes
by Anonymous | reply 104 | June 18, 2016 10:41 PM |
"Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" ripped off Spirit's "Taurus.""
Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are currently in court dealing with a lawsuit over ripping off Spirit's "Taurus". Unfortunately, the man who composed it, Spirit guitarist, Randy California, drowned in Hawaii in the late 1990s.
Zeppelin have ripped off so many musicians, from black American bluesman, to folk musicians such as the late Bert Jansch to Jake Holmes, a New York based musician, they totally ripped of his song "Dazed and Confused". Jake later went on to write some hits for Streisand.
The sheer fact that Zep were so blatant about ripping off Jake Holmes is just mind boggling, especially as Holmes' LP featuring the song was out BEFORE Zep's first LP. How the hell could they claim they wrote the song?! Holmes LP listed he was the composer.
by Anonymous | reply 105 | June 19, 2016 6:50 AM |
I just heard Ani DiFranco's "Sorry I Am". Did Pink Floyd ever sue her?
by Anonymous | reply 106 | January 24, 2017 11:25 PM |
Fantasy by Earth,Wind and Fire has a very sped up Stairway to Heaven like hook.
by Anonymous | reply 107 | February 17, 2019 9:43 PM |
I think one of the plagiarists behind Book of Mormon must be behind this.
by Anonymous | reply 108 | February 17, 2019 9:56 PM |
[quote]Madonna's bothered a few melodies in her time.
You're telling ME.
by Anonymous | reply 109 | February 17, 2019 10:28 PM |
Was the Book of Mormon (the musical, not the religious "text" although I don't think the latter even treid to hide it) anything other than plagiarized songs?
by Anonymous | reply 110 | April 26, 2019 8:51 PM |
Andrew Lloyd Weber's "The Music of the Night" rips off "School days, school days, dear old golden rule days." Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldiers" rips off the theme song of "The Banana Splits."
by Anonymous | reply 111 | April 26, 2019 9:23 PM |
Michael Jackson was sued for plagiarism for his song “Will You Be There”. It’s similar to "I Cigni di Balaka“ by Italian artist Albano Carrisi.
by Anonymous | reply 112 | April 26, 2019 9:35 PM |
When you reach a certain age you come to the realization that music is just rehashed over and over and over again.
by Anonymous | reply 113 | April 26, 2019 9:40 PM |
Madonna - Ray Of Light. It's literally a complete ripoff.
by Anonymous | reply 114 | April 26, 2019 9:56 PM |
How are the current generations of Gen Z'rs and Millennial "singers" (I won't even call them musicians) not suing the ever loving shit out of each other - considering how much their music sounds all exactly them same!
by Anonymous | reply 115 | April 26, 2019 10:09 PM |
Blondie's Call Me and Black Sabbath's Children of the Grave
by Anonymous | reply 116 | April 26, 2019 11:32 PM |
Dear R113,
R21 already said that, and he said it better.
by Anonymous | reply 117 | April 27, 2019 2:19 AM |
R21 Musician? That is laughable. The music is identical for Blurred Lines and Got to Give it Up, lyrics are different though. Born This Way is absolutely nothing like Express Yourself but has been pointed out by many to be an exact copy beat for beat of Girls Generation [SNSD] song Be Happy. Gaga never changed anything except for the lyrics to match the song.
by Anonymous | reply 118 | June 26, 2019 12:15 PM |
Nirvana's "Come As You Are" riff is lifted right off of Killing Joke's single, "Eighties." It was more or less publicly acknowledged by both bands and their management teams through the 90's. There was a constant back-and-forth and supposed lawsuit but all that ever came of it was a press and attention boost for the already established Killing Joke, and even more notoriety for Nirvana. Later, David Ghrol ended up playing drums on one of Killing Jokes' later albums, in his Foo Fighter days.
by Anonymous | reply 119 | June 26, 2019 2:36 PM |