A Plagiaristic Playlist

Introduction

There are many songs that borrow from others, some acknowledge their source, and some don’t. Some are deliberate and some are accidental. These are some that I have noticed over my life and you may agree with me or disagree with me, some are obvious and some are a little harder to discern but hopefully, you will enjoy all of them. All of the songs are excellent it;s up to you whether or not you agree with me, but hopefully, this will spur some commentary.

Remember there are 11 notes on the normal scale used in western music, although these are combined in innumerable chords and like the twenty-six letters of the western alphabet can be combined in any order to create melodies. The melodies are based on repetition and pop songs often use three or four chords, sometimes more, sometimes less so it is not surprising that two people can create a similar-sounding piece of music without having heard the other.

Many rock and roll songs use a C, Am, F, G or an A, D, E structure so again accusations of plagiarism, especially in these days of digital examination are highly likely to occur.

Then we hit the issue of sampling but that is a whole other universe, The Avalanche's “Since I Left You” album contained so many samples that the prosecutors just gave up. It does contain some amazing music and is part of my collection.

So without further ado, I will give you a few examples to listen to

1: “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison vs “He’s So Fine” by The Chiffons

Below is what happened in this case, I will leave you to decide, but while I deplore deliberate plagiarism I hope I am not seen as a plagiarist for including these three paragraphs from this source:

“Three years after the release of “My Sweet Lord”, Bright Tunes Music sued Harrison, claiming the song was too similar to the Chiffons’ 1963 hit “He’s So Fine.” It took five years for a ruling but more than 20 years to reach a final resolution. According to Harrison, he wrote the song while playing with the group Delaney and Bonnie in Denmark. He also claimed the song came from Edwin Hawkins Singers' "Oh Happy Day," not "He's So Fine."

A fallout between Harrison and his manager Allen Klein, who switched sides during the proceedings likely hurt his case’s chances. The two songs shared a pair of notes “G-E-D” and “G-A-C-A-C.” “My Sweet Lord” repeated the first set 4 times and the second set three times. Since Harrison couldn’t identify any other songs that used this pattern, the court ruled that “the two songs are virtually identical."

The judge felt Harrison never intentionally copied the song but found him guilty of "subconscious plagiarism." He went on to say,” It is perfectly obvious to the listener that in musical terms, the two songs are virtually identical." In the end, the case cost Harrison $587,000 and not the $1.6 million that it could have, had Allen Klein’s company not bought Bright Tunes in 1978 for $587,000. Essentially, another judge ruled that Klein shouldn’t profit from the judgment. The joys of legalese.”

2: “You Need Love” by Muddy Waters vs “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were very bad for lifting old blues songs and not crediting their sources. This is probably one of their more blatant examples.

3: "I Can Only Give Give You Everything" by Them vs "Devil's Haircut" by Beck

The monstrous rff on "Devils's Haircut" is stunning but when I heard "I Can Only Give You Everything" by The Troggs (A cover of the original by Them) I thought Beck had ripped off the original but on the album "Odelay" the original composers (Phil Coulter and Tommy Scott) are credited so all is good in the case of this all is fine.

As long as the orifinal composers are acknowledged and recompensed all should be fine.

4: "How Sweet To Be An Idiot" by Neil Innes vs "Whatever" by Oasis

This may a classic case of "subconscious plagiarism", Oasis had never knowingly heard the song but when they heard Innes' song they agreed to credit him as a composer. They are both superb songs.

Below are the two songs mashed together for comparison.

5: "10538 Overture" by The Electric Light Orchestra vs "The Changing Man" by Paul Weller

Really this is the stunning descending intro which is repeated throughout both songs and is probably the most identifiable part of the song. I don't know if anything was made of this as both parties are very successful in their own right and don't need to waste their time and money on legal challenges.

Until the singing starts you don't know which song you are listening to.

6: We Ain t Got Nothin Yet - Blues Magoos vs Black Night by Deep Purple

Until the other day when I reviewed the Elektra Nuggets compilation I had never heard this song, it came up on Youtube after "Psychotic Reaction" by The Count Five and the riff has been entirely lifted and uncredited by Deep Purple and I thought it was one of their finest riffs but now I know it was written by Ron Gilbert, Ralph Scala and Mike Esposito.

The Vox Continental organ riff was closely based on guitarist James Burton's riff to Ricky Nelson's 1962 rock recording of the old George Gershwin standard "Summertime", which also inspired Deep Purple's 1970 hit song "Black Night".

7: Children Of The Grave - Black Sabbath vs Call Me - Blondie

When I heard "Call Me" I immediately thought they had been listening to "Master Of Reality" by Black Sabbath, the rhythms of the two songs are almost identical.

Conclusion

These are just a few examples of artists borrowing either deliberately or accidentally from others. Have a listen and see what you think.