Plagiarism—a gray area that nobody ever wants to be found in. That being said, some people do it deliberately and others do it by accident, as the line is often ambiguous. Particularly, when it comes to the ownership of intellectual property in the music business. Musicians often re-sample tracks and release re-imagined songs, though, this comes with dangerous territory. On the contrary, artists have accidentally committed plagiarism.
Purposeful or not, plagiarism has tainted and ended music careers, as well as made hits songs into cautionary tales. Some of the most notable songs from our generation and past ones have come under fire for the act. Here are three of the most notable ones.
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1. “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash
One of the songs that jumpstarted Cash’s career is nearly identical to “Crescent City Blues” by Gordon Jenkins. From the melody to many of the lyrics, Cash lifted elements of the tune to craft his hit song. However, he did take some creative liberties by changing lyrics to better fit the meaning he intended the song to have.
After the song became a hit in 1968, Jenkins filed a lawsuit against Cash for copyright infringement. Lasting for about three years, Cash paid Jenkins $75,000 and purchased all royalties from Jenkins; thus, making the song Cash’s for eternity.
For Chuck Berry fans, “Come Together” is not a Beatles hit; rather, it is a loose copy of Berry’s “You Can’t Catch Me.” The songs do share some musical similarities, however, the grounds Big Seven Music Corp sued John Lennon on were the lyrics—Here come ol’ flat-top, he come groovin’ up slowly. Which mimicked Berry’s—Here come a flat-top, he was movin’ up with me.
No financial settlement was reached. Instead, Lennon had to record three songs for Big Seven Music Corp in which they’d receive all rights and royalties. Lennon released two of the songs, though no one knows what happened to the third. The two songs Lennon released were “Ya Ya,” and a cover of Berry’s “You Can’t Catch Me.”
Adding another Beatle to the list, George Harrison was sued for copyright infringement for his No. 1 hit, “My Sweet Lord.” Six years after its release, Bright Tunes Music successfully won the suit because Harrison allegedly lifted the tune from “He’s So Fine,” by Ronald Mack.
In Harrison’s autobiography, I Me Mine, he wrote, “when I wrote the song, as it was more improvised and not so fixed.” Thus, the claim that Harrison accidentally lifted the tune seems to fit his version of the story. When it was all said and done Harrison admitted to being quite nervous to write new music for quite some time.
Photo by Steve Morley/Redferns
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