In the sequel of the most famous Rock & Roll plagiarism list, we find many songs that could surprise us, since we would have never imagined that they were plagiarized.
- Johnny Cash, Folsom Prison Blues: In 1955, Johnny Cash released the single Folsom Prison Blues, which was included in his debut album, With His Hot and Blue Guitar.
Years later, he was forced to pay $75,000 to composer Gordon Jenkins for copying the lyrics and melody of his Crescent City Blues song. Johnny changed the lyrics a bit in his song, however, the initial line is the same as Jenkins’.
- The Beatles, I Feel Fine: As incredible as it may seem, The Beatles are also part of the extensive list of plagiarism of Rock & Roll, this time with their song I Feel Fine.
The riff of the track is almost the same as Bobby Parker’s composition Watch your Step from 1961. Years later, George Harrison said in an interview that this riff was an “influence” on the band’s song.
- Bee Gees, How Deep Is Your Love: At the end of 1977, The Bee Gees reached the top of the Billboard charts with the song How Deep Is Your Love, however, six years earlier, Ronald Selle had composed a song quite similar.
The case was taken to court and at first, the jury ruled in Selle’s favor, then the judge allowed the band a trial despite the sentence and ruled in favor of the group.
- Vanilla Ice, Ice Ice Baby: Vanilla Ice reached number 1 in Billboard’s Hot 100 thanks to the song Ice Ice Baby, however, it was extremely similar to the 1981 composition by Queen and David Bowie, Under Pressure. At first, the artist denied the similarity between the songs, but later paid both royalties to avoid going to court.
- Oasis, Cigaretts&Alcohol: If we talk about shameless plagiarism, this can be among the first ones.
In 1994, Oasis released their first album, Definitely Maybe which contained the song Cigarettes & Alcohol. The riff is practically identical to T Rex’s Get it on (Bang a Gong) from 1971. Some consider Oasis to be the most prolific music thieves of all time.
By the way, the song Cream by singer Prince, also has a “certain resemblance” to the song by T Rex.
- The Beatles, Come Together: One of the band’s most famous and iconic songs, was plagiarized from Chuck Berry’s You Can’t Catch Me.
While he sang: “Here come a flat-top, he was movin’ up with me” Lennon said: “Here come ol’ flat-top, he come groovin’ up slowly”. Later, they would explain that they slowed down a bit and made the bass riff harder.
An out-of-court settlement was reached in which Lennon would include three Berry songs on his next albums.
A version of Ya Ya with Julian Lennon, was included in 1974 Walls and Bridges, You Can’t Catch Me and another version of Ya Ya, in 1975 Rock ‘n’ Roll, but Angel Baby, remained unreleased until after his death.
Morris Levy, Chuck Berry’s publicist, sued Lennon again for breach of contract, winning $6,795, Lennon, in turn, responded with another lawsuit and later, Levy released an album of Lennon material using tapes he had in his possession, winning $84,912.96. The album was called Roots.
Many songs have been copied over time and it would be impossible to include them all in one list, so this is just a small sample of Rock & Roll’s most famous plagiarism.
About Zoryham
Zoryham is a Political Scientist who has been a freelance writer and radio broadcaster for several years. Her niches include Music, Wellness, Healthy Lifestyle, Yoga, Personal Development, Animals and Product Reviews. When Zoryham is not writing, you can find her listening to a Rolling Stones album, her favorite band.
