One of the hardest aspects of creating a hit single is laying down a catchy melody and instrumental progression. It is no secret that some of the most popular bands in music history have recycled some of their melodies and used them in numerous songs. This may get a bit redundant, but the artist who owns the copyright to a progression can alter it in any way they please. Problems arise when a band samples another group’s music without their permission. Every year dozens of copyright infringement lawsuits are filed in the music industry.
In some cases it can be hard to determine if a song has been violated, while in others the rip-off is clear. Some acts in the music industry care more about copyright infringement then others. The well established and famous bands, such as The Beatles, Tom Petty and Simon and Garfunkel allow certain remakes of their songs, and consider the action as a sign of respect. This article will be documenting ten of the most obvious popular music rip-offs.
Original: Led Zeppelin: Going to California
Rip-Off: Pearl Jam: Given to Fly [View]
Going to California is a song released by Led Zeppelin, in 1971. The single has a folk sound and it is different from other tracks included on Led Zeppelin IV. It is a fan favorite, with Robert Plant on lead vocals, acoustic guitar by Jimmy Page and mandolin by John Paul Jones. The lyrics of the song are reportedly about Canadian singer Joni Mitchell, with whom Plant and Page were both infatuated. In 1998, American rock band Pearl Jam released their 5th studio album. The first and most successful single on the record is named Given to Fly. The song reached the Top 25 in many countries, and peaked at #12 in the UK. It closely follows the structure and melody used by Led Zeppelin in Going to California.
The acoustic guitar beat used in the song is similar to the work done by Jimmy Page. However, critics have also labeled the track as a subpar attempt to mirror Led Zeppelin. Fans of Pearl Jam have named the single as one of the band’s most significant. When asked about the similarities of the two songs, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready stated “It’s probably some sort of rip off of it I’m sure…Whether it’s conscious or unconscious, but that was definitely one of the songs I was listening to.” It seems that the members of Led Zeppelin have taken the sample as a sign of respect. At a 2005 benefit concert, Pearl Jam and Robert Plant performed Given to Fly and then segued into Going to California.
Original: Queen and David Bowie: Under Pressure
Rip-Off: Vanilla Ice: Ice Ice Baby [View]
In 1981, the band Queen and David Bowie recorded a #1 hit single named Under Pressure. The song marked Bowie’s first musical collaboration with another vocalist. The tune evolved from a jam session that Bowie had with Queen in Montreux, Switzerland. The singles primary songwriter is Freddie Mercury and the famous bassline was developed by Queen’s bassist, John Deacon. Some online magazines have even labeled Under Pressure’s bassline as the best in popular music history. Sadly, Queen and David Bowie never preformed the song live together as Freddie Mercury passed away in 1991.
American rapper Vanilla Ice hit the scene in the late 1980s, with a single titled Ice Ice Baby. Vanilla took advantage of the questionable musical personas of the time, and put together a melody that people loved. Ice Ice Baby was influential in the history of music, and the song became the first hip hop single to top the US chart. It gained attention from people all over the world, and became a #1 hit in the UK, Ireland, Australia, The Netherlands and Italy. Something about the song is catchy, and it is partly due to the fact that the hook samples the bassline of Under Pressure.
Vanilla wrote his own lyrics, but used one of the most famous beats in the world for his song. Originally, Queen and David Bowie were given no credit or royalties by Vanilla Ice, but after the song became an international success the situation was brought to the attention of Bowie, and he was not happy. Vanilla Ice claimed that the two melodies were slightly different because he had added an additional note to the tune, but he was ultimately forced to pay Queen and David Bowie for sampling their work. Freddie Mercury and David Bowie were also given songwriting credit for the sample.
Original: Huey Lewis and the News: I Want a New Drug
Rip-Off: Ray Parker Jr.: Ghostbusters [View]
Huey Lewis and the News is an American band that had a number of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s. The group’s most successful album was titled Sports, and was released in 1983. The record spawned four Top 10 hits in the United States, including the single I Want a New Drug. I Want a New Drug is a tune written by Huey Lewis. The song quickly became a popular dance hit and radio favorite.
In 1984, movie producers approached Huey Lewis and asked him to develop the musical theme for the film, Ghostbusters. Huey declined the offer because he was working on the soundtrack for the movie Back to the Future, which ended up giving him a #1 hit single with the song The Power of Love. The work on Ghostbusters was, instead, given to singer Ray Parker Jr., who developed the film’s famous theme. The Ghostbusters theme became a hit single in 1984, reaching the top of the US singles chart for three weeks. The song peaked at #2 in the UK, and is performed in the key of B major.
After Huey Lewis heard the Ghostbusters theme he immediately sued Ray Parker Jr. for copyright infringement, claiming that the song’s melody was stolen from I Want a New Drug. Huey was primarily concerned with the guitar riff that runs throughout the Ghostbusters’s song. In 1985, the two parties settled out of court, and Huey Lewis was given compensation from Ray Parker Jr. and the Ghostbusters franchise. The guidelines in the deal prohibited either side from discussing the issue, but in 2001 Huey Lewis commented on the payment he received from Ray Parker Jr. in a VH1 interview. Parker subsequently sued Lewis for breaching confidentiality and the lawsuit is ongoing.
Original: The Beatles: Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Rip-Off: The Offspring: Why Don’t You Get a Job? [View]
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da is a song that was released by The Beatles on their 1968 self-titled album. The tune was written primarily by Paul McCartney, around the time that highlife and reggae were beginning to become popular in Britain. George Harrison was quoted as writing “We all know ob-la-di-bla-da, but can you show me where you are.” The pace of the song is very familiar and it is in the key of B flat. In 1998, the American punk rock band The Offspring released their multi-platinum album titled Americana. The 11th track on the record is named Why Don’t You Get a Job. The melody and rhythm of the song is identical to The Beatles hit Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. Why Don’t You Get a Job also samples elements of the Simon and Garfunkel hit Cecilia.
The song became an international hit single for The Offspring, reaching the Top 10 all over the world and peaking at #2 in the UK. I could find no indication that the band offered The Beatles or Simon and Garfunkel any monetary compensation for using their work. Instead, the song is viewed as a tribute to Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. It is not the first time that musicians have used samples from Beatles songs. In 1975, the Scottish rock band Nazareth released a song and album titled Hair of the Dog. The title track instantly drew many comparisons to the Beatle hit Day Tripper. In 1996, the American band Sublime released their self-titled album. The record was a major hit and spawned the single What I Got, which became one of the biggest selling records of 1997. What I Got has been noted for carrying a melody that is almost identical to The Beatles song Lady Madonna.
Original: R. Kelly: Ignition (Remix)
Rip-Off: Akon: Don’t Matter [View]
In 2002 R&B singer R. Kelly released a single titled Ignition. The track was a remix of a previous Kelly song and it quickly became a hit single. The tune was written and produced by R. Kelly, and reached the top of the charts in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. It became R. Kelly’s second #1 single in the UK, after his 1997 release I Believe I Can Fly. The bassline and melody used in the song is catchy and it became a popular choice for dance mixes.
This was recognized by fellow musician Akon, who sampled the melody of Ignition for his 2007 single Don’t Matter. Akon decided to borrow the progression from Kelly and scored a major hit. Don’t Matter reached the top of the singles chart in the US, Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. The song also uses parts of Bob Marley’s 1979 classic Zimbabwe during the chorus. No details documenting a contract between the two parties were released and it is unclear whether R. Kelly was compensated for the infringement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpAcQrt8-SE
Original: The Chiffons: He’s So Fine
Rip-Off: George Harrison: My Sweet Lord [View]
He’s So Fine is a hit single performed by the female group The Chiffons. The song topped the US singles chart for four weeks in the spring of 1963. It was written by Ronald Mack and produced by Bright Tunes Corporation. He’s So Fine is one of the most recognizable songs released during the 1960s, and is routinely included on Golden Oldies CDs. In 1970, George Harrison released his first solo album titled All Things Must Pass. The record was the first triple album and featured three separate LPs. My Sweet Lord is a song that was included on the record.
The lyrics of the tune are primarily about Hindu God Krishna, and the single became the first song by a solo Beatle to reach #1 on the UK and US singles chart. Following the release of My Sweet Lord, people began to notice that the song’s melody had similarities with The Chiffons hit He’s So Fine. In February of 1971, Bright Tunes Music filed suit against George Harrison, alleging musical plagiarism. The case went to court and the trial became a highly talked about, and reported, issue. The Bright Tunes Music v. Harrisongs Music case is one of the biggest plagiarism trials in the history of music.
During the trial, George Harrison’s royalty payments for his song were halted, and he was ultimately found to have “subconsciously” copied The Chiffons single. He was ordered to surrender his money earned from My Sweet Lord and give away a percentage of the dollars he made off All Things Must Pass. The loss of money did not faze the legendary Beatle, and George Harrison would eventually buy the rights to He’s So Fine. He also recorded a song about the court case named This Song. After George Harrison died from cancer, in 2001, My Sweet Lord was reissued in the UK. The song reached #1 for the second time, matching a mark held only by Queen’s hit Bohemian Rhapsody.
Original: The Supremes: You Can’t Hurry Love
Rip-Off: Iggy Pop: Lust for Life; and Jet: Are You Gonna Be My Girl [View]
Lust for Life is a 1977 song performed by Iggy Pop. The single was featured on the album of the same name. The song was co-written by Iggy Pop and David Bowie. In the 1970s, the track saw some chart success around the world, peaking at #3 in the Dutch Top 40. The song is recognized for a legendary live performance made by Iggy Pop in 1977, on the Dutch pop TV show Toppop. During the act, a shirtless Iggy wrecked the stage. Lust for Life has appeared in many films, most notably the 1996 movie Trainspotting.
In 2003, the Australian rock band Jet released their debut album titled Get Born. The first single on the record was named Are You Gonna Be My Girl, and the song became a hit for the band. However, it soon was evident that the tune was similar to Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life. In fact the two songs share the same famous drumbeat. However, the beat was not original to Lust for Life, and came from the Supremes hit You Can’t Hurry Love. For this reason, Iggy Pop and David Bowie did not receive any royalties from Jet. No documents have been released indicating if Jet or Iggy Pop were forced to pay Motown for sampling their famous melody.
Originals: Public Enemy: Security of the First World; and A Poem by Ingrid Chavez
Rip-Off: Madonna: Justify My Love [View]
I couldn’t put this list together without mentioning the thieving ways of pop icon Madonna. Madonna has been sued dozens of times in her musical career. She has been accused of stealing lyrics, melodies, videos and a number of other forms of popular expression. Unlike many bands on this list, Madonna has been accused of stealing entire songs from lesser known musical artists. In 1990, Madonna released the single Justify My Love. The song was a departure from her early work and included breathy spoken passages over heavy dance beats. It just so happened that this was the same style as Prince protégé, Ingrid Chavez, who claims that Madonna stole her song and changed only one line of the music. During the early 1990s, Chavez worked closely with American singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz, who is credited with co-writing Justify My Love.
In 1991, Chavez sued Kravitz and Madonna, claiming that the entire lyrics for the song Justify My Love were written by her. She won the suit and was awarded a multi-million dollar settlement and co-writing credit on the track. The intro melody used in Justify My Love is sampled from the Public Enemy instrumental, Security of the First World. Public Enemy’s song is used as the backing for the entire track. Madonna has received criticism for not compensating Public Enemy for sampling their single. The list of songs and lyrics that Madonna has stolen is extensive. In 1990, she borrowed the melody and theme from the song Deep in Vogue by Malcolm McLaren for her 1990 single Vogue. Over the years Madonna has been accused of stealing many famous phrases, including “Like a Virgin” and “Express Yourself, Don’t Repress Yourself.”
Original: J.J. Fad: Supersonic
Rip-Off: Fergie: Fergalicious [View]
J. J. Fad was a female rap group that earned some success in the late 1980s. The group had only one hit single named Supersonic, but they have been recognized for expanding the popularity of hip hop music. J.J. Fad is most well known for their 1987 album titled Supersonic, which was released under Ruthless Records. The record was produced by Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, Arabian Prince and Eazy-E. The album contains ten songs, with one side representing pop music and the other hip hop. The single Supersonic did well on the US singles chart and helped make J.J. Fad the first female rap group to earn a Grammy nomination. In 2006, American singer Fergie released her debut solo album titled The Dutchess. The record was extremely successful and spawned five hit singles. Fergalicious is a song that was released as the second single from the album. It was produced by, and features, Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am.
Like many other Black Eyed Peas singles, Fergalicious has been accused of sampling other people’s work. In fact Fergalicious uses the same melody and beat as the song Supersonic, but in this case Ruthless Records owner Tamika Wright is said to have been compensated for the sample. However, it seems that NWA member Arabian Prince was not recognized for his work on the single. He has since sued Fergie’s label, claiming that the pop star owes him for 20% of the royalties from the song. Mik Lezan has stated that the label has refused to pay him for the singles chart success. Fergalicious also uses heavy samples from the song Give It All You Got by Afro-Rican, Night Train by James Brown, and It’s More Fun to Compute by Kraftwerk. Afro-Rican was given written credit on her CD, but was never asked if his song could be sampled or given monetary compensation, so he has also sued Fergie.
In fact, the Black Eyed Peas and Fergie have been accused of copyright infringement on many occasions. Musical artists and performers from all over the world have accused the band of stealing their work. In 2009, Fergie was sued by the record label of the group Groundation. Court papers claim that the group felt that her song Voodoo Doll was a clear rip-off of their single, Each One Teach One. DJ Adam Freeland claimed that the band stole the beat from his song Mancry for their hit single, Party All the Time. Many people have also drawn comparisons between the melody and hook line in the Black Eyed Peas hit Where is the Love and the earlier released song by Natalie Imbruglia titled Torn.
Original: Chuck Berry: Sweet Little Sixteen
Rip-Off: The Beach Boys: Surfin’ USA [View]
Chuck Berry is one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. In 1955, Berry released his first hit single titled Maybellene. The track became the first Top 10 rock record performed by an African American, and it propelled Chuck Berry to fame. The song was modeled after the traditional fiddle tune Ida Red, and Berry has received some criticism over the years for not giving singer Bob Wills enough credit. However, that is a different story and this entry will be discussing Berry’s 1958 hit Sweet Little Sixteen.
Sweet Little Sixteen is a Chuck Berry original song that reached #2 on the American singles chart. It chronicles the lives of rock and roll fans, specifically a girl who has just turned sixteen and is obsessed with rock performers. The tune has a catchy melody, which has become one of the most recognizable in music history. Seeing how, in 1963, The Beach Boys released a hit single titled Surfin’ USA that used the same melody, rhythm and lyrics as Berry’s Sweet Little Sixteen.
Most entries on this list copyrighted one aspect of a hit single, but The Beach Boys stole Berry’s entire tune. Surfin’ USA went on to become The Beach Boys first hit single, reaching the Top 10 in the US, Canada, Australia and Sweden. In 1963, the band made no attempt to credit Chuck Berry for any aspect of Surfin’ USA, and Brian Wilson was listed as the sole composer. It was a controversial time in American history and the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing. For this reason, many record executives looked past The Beach Boys obvious infringement. However, Chuck Berry confronted the group and Murry Wilson gave him the copyrighted rights for writing Surfin’ USA. This is a right that Chuck Berry still holds today.
Interesting list.
someone should make a list (if it doesn't exist already) of best covers in music.
My vote goes to All along the watchtower by Jimmi Hendrix originally by bob Dylan.
Here you go:
http://listverse.com/2008/11/16/top-10-cover-song…
It's a wonderful list, though All Along the Watchtower isn't on there. That is a great song with a lot of great covers though.
Yup that's it lol
I've read the list and I'm totally appalled that all along the watchtower isn't there.
Bob Dylan quote: "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way… Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."
thats cool .
There should be a part 2 of this list.
which list?
the one youre commenting on (todays) or that covers list youre talking about in this thread? i actually think youre right, but for very different reasons for each list.
I checked the list and I cannot believe that anyone could even think about claiming that Joe Strummer's version of Redemption Song outshines the original. It's not even close to equalling Marley's version, not even close.
There is a cover list on listverse somewhere. It's something along the lines of "Covers that are better than the original"
there's also a 10 most original cover bands list. http://listverse.com/2008/12/12/top-10-most-origi…
thats a decent list too — other than i would have taken one of em off, and made the detroit cobras #2 or #1 — i could go on and on about how badass rachael nagy is, but im in the middle of making a list that the cobras are pretty high up on, so i'll spare yall………
Dylan, upon hearing Jimi’s cover, is said to have stated, “THAT’S how it should sound!” and in fact “covered” his version in live performances.
Honorable mention:
Original : If I Could Fly – Joe Satriani
Rip-Off: Viva la Vida – Coldplay
I don't get why people don't just give credit where credit is due. It doesn't make you a bad musician if you are influenced and sample other people's music. In fact, it can be hard to do it well, so you might as well just come out and say you tried. And with music being such a widely popular form of media, it's foolish to think someone won't catch it.
I was going to mention that too. I have a feeling that will become the spam comment of the list. 100 comments later, everyone is gonna say "Joe Satriani/Coldplay!" and not one will realize it had already been stated
Yeah. Just being the most recent in popular culture, I thought it deserved to be mentioned. I wish people would read the comments before posting so they know what not to say.
not a fan of coldplay. i have a friend that loves them, but i just couldnt get into them. and b/c i don't enjoy their music that much, i tend to tune out stories about them at times.
sooo….. allow me to be a break in the comments to follow – which ianz has predicted, by saying:
what? i love satch's version of that — how could gwenith paltrow's babydaddy (whatever his name is) have thought he would be able to pull that off (and dont start thinking of tori amos covering raining blood by slayer, or teen spirit by nirvana, and saying tunes can transcend genres, cause i know they can — i just dont see it here) .
i have heard a few of coldplay's songs (hell, i even sorta "saw" them in concert — but i was working and not paying much attention)
– im kinda stunned to tell you the truth — i gotta go look that up …
wait what??!!! tori amos covered raining blood ?
dude——where the hell have you been?
she put out a cd that was nothing but covers (mostly anyway) — i dont think smells like teen spirit was on that one……
ok—-what i did was took that cd and burned my own off some of her b-sides—-so, i cant remember which ones were on her cd and which i found elsewhere, but "angie" (stones), nirvana's "teen spirrit", zepplin's "thank you" and "what is and what shoulkd never be", "raining blood" , "purple rain", lovesong (cure), "stan" by eminem, '97 bonnie& clyde (eminem too), whole lotta love (zep), wrapped around your finger&synchronicity (police), zep's "lemon song", a shel silverstein poem, floyd's "see emily play", "tiny dancer", somewhere over the rainbow, landslide (f.mac), the fragile (nine inch), and a tool song (although i cant remember which one right now)…..are ****some**** of the songs.
her "raining blood" is badass, but the zep covers are the bomb (and angie too)
Roman cavalry choirs my ass. Every time I hear that crap I want to open up someone’s brain with a spork.
What about the fact that Foreigner Suite by Cat Stevens used the exact same melody before both of them?
I've heard that before. Definitely not the same exact melody. Very different feel to the music also. The comparison is weak at best.
Well did you hear the last two minutes of it where the melody actually is perfectly spot on?
The rhythm is different. I'll give you the first….two notes. But otherwise, like I said before, I can hear the similarity, but I have an issue with calling it a perfect match.
very good list. especially ghostbusters…
wow, flo rida is the worse for this.
A chord progression can't be copyrighted.
Thank you Davern.
Obladi Oblada life goes on BLAH even life is Under Pressure. . .
Nice list by the way now we know how artists today became famous.
how about greenday's boulevard of broken dreams and oasis wonderwall… thats sounds catchy isnt it?
That's a chord progression and can not be copyrighted and secondly, its not a very well known rip off the only person who noticed was Noel Gallagher who wrote the song and well, he can't really complain can he?
How about Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis? Copied a big chunk of John Lennon’s Imagine.
special mention: The Amen Break
Seriously though! I'd be lost as a drummer without it…. when in doubt, bust out the Amen Break.
these songs are very old
So is your act.
hellokitty.com
dude — hellokitty is "very old' according to his definition (only #5 and #1 on this list are older)
–it doesnt seem that would appeal to brock.
(a) — what the hell does that have to do with it?
(b) — how did you acquire such a strange definition of the words "very old"?
just curious
you are very old…
wow, so many more that could have been on this list…
M.C. Hammer – U Cant Touch This : ripped off Rick James – Superfreak.
Mariah Carey – Fantasy : ripped off Tom Tom Club – Genius Of Love
man, i could go on and on, there are bands who have made entire albums from using melodies and even samples from older songs (Utah Saints come to mind, and i am a fan!)
Alot of modern pop/RnB artists will use melodies from others but will credit them in the royalties department…
I remember the Vanilla Ice/ MC Hammer craze of a few years (decades) ago. These two really started the TREND as far as using an entire copied melody throughout the whole song.
As a side note, I remember reading in a magazine of the time, where MC Hammer was 'complaining' that Vanilla Ice was 'copying' him… mega lol.
But the weirdest 'copying' claim I remember from the 80's was Barry Manilow (yes, Mr Copacabana) claiming that Wham's 'Last Christmas' was a rip off of his "Can't Smile Without You"…
Actually Rick James gve MC Hammer the ok to use the sound and even helped contribute to MC Hammers hit song.
True, just a point of using someone else's music to compose and entire song as opposed to just using a few samples in the chorus.
(Rick James sold his soul as far as i'm concerned…)
DO NOT mention "Copacabana"!!! Damn you, now I can't get it out of my head in 6 months…
lol fendabenda, i'm so sorry dude, it took me my entire teenage years to shake that one off, now it's someone else's time to suffer …lol
by the way, have you heard "I Write The Songs" or "Can't Smile Without You" By Barry ???
rofl
Phil Collins did a song calles 'I wish it would rain down' that was the same as Pink Floyd's 'Wish you were here.
And I could never listen to Texas singing 'Say what you want' without remembering @*****ual Healing' by Marvin Gaye
There was a fairly big one this year on Men At Works -Land Down Under, ripping off the australian folk song Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree (Or something to that effect).
Personally i cant really hear it, but there ya go.
It's in the flute solo where you can hear it. The rest of the song is original. I think that it was not quite so obvious in the original recording but something that developed in their live performances. Wasn't the Australian Girl Guides that owned the rights to the Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree?
'Going to California' wasn't unlike all of the songs on IV; 'The Battle of Evermore' was in the same style. As far as I know it wasn't a single; the only Zeppelin single that I can think of is an edited verson of 'Whole Lotta Love,' and I think that was only released in Australia.
best list in a while. There could be a few follow ups to this . When that jet song "are you gonna be my girl" i got sick thinking of the stooges rip off . ***** Jet , iggy and the stooges rule.
With*
man — i had never heard this tune — *****, i had never even heard of this band jet– until i took my girlfriend to see no doubt (right around when this jet song came out).
jet was the opening band…….not impressed at all……they werent horrible, but it was no mystery why they were opening and not headlining, either.
having said that, i gotta tell ya
*(i know – im an ass — sorry man)*
—- if i had a choice of taking my girlfriend to see no doubt, or having your girlfriend drag me to twilight — its a no brainer
—- (come to think of it — i'd rather take your girlfriend to to a concert, than have my girlfriend drag me to twilight)
anyway — this stooges wannabe song was the 3rd song they played, and i immediately thought of iggy/stooges. in fact, i had to go home and clense my brain by listening to "fun house" over and over
agreed until that ***** from jet rolls bare chested through broken glass he shouldn't be allowed to play that song .
i figured out years ago that you and i have a lot in common, but you lost me on this one.
i'm cool with him rolling in broken glass. that might have even made the show a little more interesting (in a "what the ***** is going on", kind of weird g.g. allin kind of way), but i seriously doubt that would make that song any better. now, g.g. allin might have been able to pull it off, but thats another story.
and while we're on the subject, wasnt that one g.g.allin song called "suck my ass it smells" basically a ripoff of a minor threat song?..guilty of being white? aww. hell — cant remember….
and if youre curious and bored and try to look this up, just remember allin is nsfw, nsf.kids, not safe for anything…….i dont wanna hear anything about anyone trying to watch a g.g.allin video at work, and boss-man (or 9 year old son) walking in at the point that he breaks a bottle, cuts his arms and legs up and commences to beat the ***** out of a guy in the front row.
Yeh, Chuck Berry, no kidding. Speaking of The Beatles, what happened to My Sweet Lord / He's So Fine ?
The rest I find questionable. I don't see the similarity with Ob La Di at all.
In the Ob la di rip-off its once the song gets into it, and then its the music in the background and the timing of the song, very similar…
I think that Harrison had to pay The Chiffons songwriter/s.
Great list indeed! was so surprised.
The My Sweet Lord controversy raises the question: If such a song can be found to be a ripoff of
another that is so dissimilar, can there be anything truly original in music?
I think the Harrison case was a miscarriage of justice. At most, He's So Fine should have
received partial royalties.
"There is nothing new except what has been forgotten," – Marie Antoinette
As much as I loved George, I have to disagree with you. The melody is exactly the same, the chord progression is the same. Even the vocals answering the lead vocal are the same. I think the judgment was fair, that George had obviously heard the original, and did not intentionally lift it, but did so subconsciously. BTW, one component of winning a plagiarism suit is that you have to prove that the artist could have heard your song before. That’s why so many artists and labels will not accept unsolicited recordings – they open themselves up to a lawsuit.
Looking at that Security Of The First World video, it really did drive me crazy, the way that people compared that blundering idiot Bush to Hitler. Now the right-wing nutters are doing the exact same thing to Obama. And please, don`t believe all that bull*****, about how "Bush knew 9/11 was going to happen," or "Bush did it." HE DIDN`T. You telling me, that someone that retarded, could do something like that? Yeah right. And why the hell is there a picture of Idi Amin being carried on a throne?
Dude. Pssssssst. Duuuude. You’re losing it.
oh crap — have you finally gone crazy, dude?
i defer this to buckethead —
i actually know way more about the s1w than i should — but dont have time to get into it now……maybe later — but every one of your questions armadildo, has an answer that youre probably not thinking of…
easy music videos put random cool ***** in to make you think they are free thinking, revolutionary or avant guard .
But i do have trouble believing some sand people in the dessert managed to be the first in history to bring a modern day solid concrete re-enforced steel building down by hitting it with a plane . Never mind doing it 3 times in one day .
Osama Bin Laden and al Qaeda did 9/11. It wasn`t the CIA, Mossad, Saddam Hussein, MI6 or anyone else. it was Osama Bin Laden. I know a lot of people still can`t believe that a guy who lives in a cave managed to do this, but he did. And please don`t believe these idiots like Alex Jones, or the guy who made that Loose Change documentary. While it`s true, that 9/11 was used as an excuse to invade Iraq, what isn`t true is that Bush knew about it or did it.
well i think it was Bert…..check this ***** out .
http://www.bertisevil.tv/
I don't even have to look – I know it was Burt.
How did Osama plant the devices that had to be used to bring down the 3 towers at near free fall speed? The planes could not have caused those collapses-not under the laws of physics in our universe.That’s like saying Kennedy was killed with a BB gun. Just not enough energy to do the job. Flatly Impossible. Build a model, poke a hole, pipe in jet fuel to keep it burning 24 hours, and you have a hot but UNMELTED INTACT FRAME which would support a new building. Trust me, I have melted TONS of steel and know full well the properties of the temperature/weight/density/time curve involved. The official conspiracy theory is the crackpot one!
Why do you have to bring politics up in a list about music?
Bashing Bush is like heroin addiction – Bush is long gone butt the addicts can't kick the habbit.
i was shock when i hear under pressure… i didn't realize it has the same tune with ice ice baby… but i prefer queen even if i'm dancing ice ice baby in my childhood years,,, vanilla ice doesnt deserve all its glory
there's this tune pearl jam does a lot ("yellow ledbetter") that takes from jimi hendrix, and then was taken from by kenny wayne sheppard.
some of the riffs sound similiar to "may this be love" (fr: are you experienced?). the whole intro and coda sound heavily like "little wing" (fr: axis: bold as love)
eddie vedder wrote the lyrics (the term "lyrics" is a stretch, though — you can't understand jack ***** he says) & music was written by the gutiarist (what's his face) and bassist (j. ament) — they both cite hendrix as an influence (esp "little wing") — this never appeared on a studio album of theirs — just grtst hits
about 5 years later, a blues cat named kenny wayne sheppard (on his album "ledbetter heights") had a tune called "when we cry" (? i think)…….. i heard this in a record store one day, and went up to the counter to ask the girl what cd she was playing that had the instrumental version of "yellow ledbetter".
sheppard's ledbetter reference has something to do with a place in shreveport, la — whereas pearl jam's reference has **either** to do with leadbelly (the old blues dude — huddy ledbetter) or that tongue twister "yellow belly, red better" said fast over and over.
hendrix…—-> pearl jam…—-> k.w.sheppard
was the first thing i thought of when i saw this list.
oh, Jimi! I went to Monterey. Jimi was astonishing.
The whole thing was astonishing. Nothing like it had ever happened before, and it would be a couple of years before Woodstock happened.
I was actually a bit too young to be at Monterey, but I was at Uni, so not under the same sort of control most girls my age were. By the time Woodstock came around I wasn't interested in going…I had been at the original, at Monterey, and saw no reason to go cross country to some farm to do do essentially the same thing, just bigger.
Good choice.
great set — i have this cd … and i have to say, 'like a rolling stone' was ok, but i do prefer dylan's version. however–the cover of kiling floor (howlin wolf) was great, and of course, the wild thing — set guitar on fire — epic. would have loved to have been there — (it was 11 years before i was born) but ive heard the whole thing many many times, and thought how cool it would have been to witness that. lucky girl.
I can be there again any time I please. I was a seminal event in my life.
To say that it was one of the most beautiful three days I have lived through is not overstating the situation in anyway.
No, Yellow Ledbetter has absolutely nothing to do with nothing. Have you heard that song? It sounds like Eddie's gargling a jar of Skippy peanut butter mixed with lead fishing weights.
Yes, there is a lyrics sheet to Yellow Ledbetter, but to me, it's all bull***** when you actually listen to the song.
And I quote –
'Onna deeda onaa voiceaah leddah, enda sim, I wonna leeevah gan. ' That's the first line from this song, studio version. I have a couple of their live performances, and it gets worse. I think Eddie just *****s with us by just blowing out elongated vowels with an occasional consonant just to follow along the baseline.
Saying this is taken from Jimi or Kenny is sort of inaccurate because he's really just 'scatting' as far as I can tell. If you throw in a slide whistle with an occasional kettle drum blast, he'd be ripping off a Three Stooges short. If you throw in a quart of ripple in a brown paper bag, they'd be ripping off a homeless bum ranting about the rape monkeys.
Just my opinion.
my doctor has shown me the lyrics sheeet for "yello ledbetter" a few times.
i can always get the 'e' at top … and the next couple (down to the chorus, anyway).
but even though i can read most of it with my right eye covered up, it's really hard to make out the last 3 lines of the song with both eyes together.
Good list. More honorable mentions include:
The Doors’ “Hello I Love You” allegedly lifted the riff from the Kinks’ “All Day and All Of The Night”. Whether Ray Davies actually sued the Doors or not is a matter of strong conjecture. I have read numerous accounts of this one, each one contradicting the previous.
I’ve also noted a strong similarity between Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” and Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”.
hello i love you "'s drums , was the same as sunshine of your love by cream
Whoa! I had no idea ‘don’t matter’ was a rip off of ‘ignition’.I’ve heard both songs and i just don’t hear it.Man….!!
the tune of the lyrics to don't matter in this section:
"Nobody wanna see us together, nobody thought we'd last forever
I feel I'm hopin' and prayin' things between us gon' get better
Men steady comin' after you, women steady comin' after me
Seems like e'rybody wanna go for self and don't wanna respect boundary"
is exactly the same as the tune of the ignition chorus!
I should be so lucky by Kylie was based on Paschelbel's Canon, and You spin me round by Dead or Alive was the same as the most famous melody from Wagner's Ring Cycle, as was the Star Wars theme tune
This is as good a time as any to encourage people to search for "Meatspin".
Pachelbels' Canon is also in the Vitamin C song 'Graduation', though I don't know if it's credited. I bet it's in a lot of pop songs.
'Basket Case' by Green Day and 'Hook' by Blues Traveler also use the chord progression from Pachelbel's Canon in D. Managed to make a college paper out of that info…
Good list, but there is one massive omission –
Afrika Bambaataa – Planet Rock
Which was, of course, ripped of from both Trans-Europe Express and Numbers by Kraftwerk.
Original: Tainted love by Soft Cell
Rip off: SOS by Rihanna
Actually, Soft Cell's version was a cover of Gloria Jones's version.
well done, Loller, my kids made that same mistake too. So i played 'em the Gloria Jones' version and they were hooked, not just because it was something old and cool, but also because it was a woman singing !!
That's called sampling. Not quite a rip-off, but I know what you mean.
what about that one tune being reused in falco and after the fire's der kommisar, paula abdul's cold hearted snake, rick james' superfreak, and mc hammer's dont touch that? xD
doesnt really count i think, but i keep hearing the same notes in all of those songs.
I don’t hear the similarity i mean….that came out weird
If you play the Akon song, at about 2:05 – lyrics start 'Got every right to wanna leave' – sounds a lot like the Ignition (remix) chorus, starts about 30 sec in.
Last Dance for Mary Jane – Tom Petty
Dahni California – Red Hot Chili Peppers
I was scrolling down to see if anyone posted this! Honerable mention.
I'm glad you put this one in, they were the first songs I thought of when I saw the title of this list.
Vainilla Ice had the permission to uhse Queen's samples, but he got sued anyways since he used the sample as a base
technically not a rip-off since in hip hop culture this is very common
the 'samples' issue is like, an entirely different story altogether. i was going to write something about the first aalbum from the beastie boys (liscensed to ill) which had like….15 samples (some of em as bases) — but my message got too complicated, so i erased it……..
that should be an entirely different list, i think
Going into stores stuffing ***** down your baggy pants, technically not a rip-off since in hip hop culture this is very common. WORST.EXCUSE.EVER.
There really is nothing new under the sun. Here's a semi-famous video by The Axis of Awesome that proves it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHBVnMf2t7w&fe…
100 songs, same 4 chords.
Ah you beat me to it!
slightly similar thing with http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2wJDnyd-ow
though the Axis of Awesome one is bloody fantastic
Or Jimmy Fallon's 80s medley… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtfxIjSU3Wo” rel=”nofollow”>.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtfxIjSU3Wo
This is a good list.
As I have jsut started getting into older music it is interesting to see how its been copied over the years…
Adding on to my comment,
a few I have found over the past year:
Girl Can't Help It – Little Richard has bits taken by the black eyed peas, don't remember which song, but you can hear the "Girl Can't help it" bit.
The Beatles 'Come together" is very similar to Chuck berry's "You can't catch me".
once me and my mate were jamming and a bit inebriated and for like along time we were riffing on this tune we thought we came up with and that sounded really cool. When the haze lifted we realized we were basically vamping on "come together " and writing some pretty terrible lyrics of our own for an hour …. dumb.
Pretty good list, I love music & music lists a hell of a lot.
These song are very old. This list isnt interesting. Your stupid.
Have you ever realized that people generally ripp off good material. Nobody plagiarizes from the annoying, boring, mindless.
Ps 1) the offsprings entry reminded me of their im pretty fly song. Good times. Good times
2) also i dont know why #1 entry reminded me lf the Scum line: “you steal white man’s car, you get white man’s stick”
Haven't you realised that your spelling and grammar is generally atrocious? Furthermore, the age of these songs have little bearing on the quality of this list. And, yes, people will always plagiarise, but why should they be allowed to take credit for what others have done?
amber, English is Arsnl's fourth or fifth language.
I'd like to see you do as well in a language you had only recently learned, and that after already having learning several others.
Engrish is MY third language… after Swedish and Finnish. Fourth and fifth are French and Italian… after that I lost count. I know some German, Latin and Japanese… but I've got a degree in English, so I'm embarrassed about my spelling sometimes…
Are you serious? Are you trying to say that Chuck Berry, Queen, David Bowie, The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin are annoying, boring, and mindless? Also, why are you using the intelligent insult "Your stupid." to the author of this list just because you didn't find it as interesting? Are you trying to say that if someone does something that you don't find "interesting" that it makes them any less intelligent than you?
Oh, and don't get me started about how these songs are "old." Just saying, a lot of the rip-offs aren't and just because it's old doesn't make it bad…
Hmm I'll try to resume my findings and I will try to extract a conclusion but it will be difficult.
I imagine that all artists are in search of fame, they want to influence the largest audience possible just like Oscar Wilde said: "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."
In 3 hours i've managed to collect -8 votes and brock in 6h has -10. I have 20% less votes than him but he had twice the time at his disposition and i managed to collect 2 fairly medium sized comments while he only gathered 1 comment of 4 words. I think that my brock rip off was more successful than brock himself.
So if we look for just fame we should plagiarize "the annoying, boring, mindless" as it pays off and we will be given more attention that the original. So all you fresh artists stop plagiarizing The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Queen or Chuck Berry and go after those annoying artists.
PS: i mention that i didnt not intervene in the voting process as i havent voted neither brock nor myself.
Author: Arsnl
Please just go away. Stop making the rest of us dumber for trying to sound like a functioning human being.
So you're saying that the list and the creator is stupid because the songs are old?
Yeah, that totally makes sense and makes your point valid.
Please, try not to be a walking talking contradiction of yourself.
ERRORS IN YOUR COMMENT: You’re (you are) stupid-not your. Rip-one p not two. Im-not a word. Did you mean I’m? Isnt-same thing. How can YOU call anyone stupid?
Just to nit-pick here: David Bowie did collaborate with Bing Crosby in 1977 for Crosby's Christmas Special. Besides that great list.
Truely original music is getting harder to come by these days – they've already found every chord, every rhythm and almost every melody, so now you can't start playing a few notes without someone saying – 'yeah, but that sounds a lot like…Mozart, or Dylan or the Beatles' or whatever. The newst genres of music are obviously progressive 'homage' rip offs of older material. Even white noise 'hissing' has been done to death in the Industrial Music genre. That's why they say music has begun to eat itself; as musicians rip and sample their way through the past. The market has been saturated. i.e We've heard it all before.
But before I give the impression this is a 'bad' thing, here are a few of my favourite music 'mash ups', largely by Go Home Productions – check his web site for free downloads:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyhxQddXGR4 – Rock in Black
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fv-cDaXi5A – Ghostbusting is Bad (MTV)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6tLFSmR42k – Wonderwall of Broken Dreams
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCTni8Zpm34 – Paperback Believer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNUTYHJrutw – Smells Like Rockin' Robin (funny)
BTW – I'm also off to see Utah Saints live next weekend. – Wa-hoo!
I've been saying that for some time now. There are only so many notes and the manner in which they can be played. Thanks for the links too, looking forward to them.
hey if you like this stuff, have you heard of GirlTalk? A little different from your average mash ups, but awesome stuff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_Talk_(musician) http://illegal-art.net/shop#release117
Yeah, I have a GirlTalk album somewhere on here, I'll have to dig it out. Thanks for the tip.
The score for The Godfather was a rip-off of Eduardo De Filippo's 1958 comedy Fortunella. That's why The Godfather part I was ineligible for the Oscar for best original score. Weirdly enough the godfather part II won the Oscar for best score using the exact same theme….
cool list….
http://listverse.com/2010/08/22/top-15-most-evil-…
thank you for hades inhabitants each one; of them all.
The one that *****es me off the most is the Queen and David Bowie vs Under Pressure Vanilla Ice. There are some songs that it's ok to re-do, re-make, re-write or re-use….then there are classics that shouldn't be touched.
Now, I love The Beatles' Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da song, but just think The Offspring's version of Why Don’t You Get a Job? is hilarious!
Great list.
@oliveralbq – Iggy pop used to smash bottles on his head and roll in the broken glass on stage .He was hooligan man .Jet is more like a flaccid stool sample .
Just make sure you don't 'rip off' The Rolling Stones, or you will end up like 'The Verve'. On a side note, Keith Richards is a dick.
Also when 'urban' artists steal, it is called sampling.
That was more Ron Klein's doing, wasn't it?
On a side note, you are a dick.
On another side note, The Verve suck.
This reminded me of when Vanilla Ice appeared on Saturday Night Live. Right after he performed they went to the Weekend Update with Dennis Miller. Miller played the Queen, David Bowie riff from Under Pressure. He made Vanilla Ice look even more like an idiot – if that’s even possible. If I remember correctly Ice wore this ridiculous red white and blue sparkly outfit with those harem pants that he and Bobby Brown were so fond of at the time. This is what you call “tragically hip.”
this reminded me of when Jim Carrey sung "Ice Ice Baby" on In Living Color
Oh that was so funny. I remember when he was "dancing" and kicked his shoe into the crowd!
@bluesman87:: iggy pop…….along with richard hell, glenn.danzig/eerie.von misfits, minor threat, descendants, d.k.s, black flag, etc etc make up the soundtrack of my late elementary/early high school years. but like even a good soundtrack, there will be one standout badass tune….like if you listen to the pulp fiction soundtrk, its all good..then you get “if love was a red dress then hang me in rags”..and youre like…..holy *****……..iggy pop was my red dress….
@lifeschool:: thx for the links…..i was turned onto these mashups after telling a friend about the first time i saw eminem live, and he did the “my name is back in black” eminem vs. ac/dc tune for his encore. (i dont think that tune has anything to do with go home prod.) but he made me aware there were others out there……i did not know there was a prod. co. responsible for a lot of em…..ill check that when i get home..-&try to find a link to this too.cant do it on this weird mobile, though.
Smells Like Teen Spirit stealing the riff from More Than A Feeling by Boston and the bassline to Debaser by Pixies?
Led Zeppelin stealing every song ever? XD
ooh…
i've been waiting for someone to bring this example up —-
it *kinda* opena a can of worms up — but its a good discussion point, anyway
—"smells like teen spirit" does sound a little like "more than a feeling", i suppose…………….
—now, the chorus riffs in "more than a feeling" sound a little like "'louie louie", and one refrain sounds like a cream song
– "… feeling" is one of my favourite songs from that era, and there are parts where it reminds me of a tune by either j. walsh … or g frye? — one of 'em (the tune is something about " …blah blah garden'"
—those arent the only 3 songs it "sounds a little like" in places.
—now i move on to songs that "more than a feeling" sounds *alot* like……the main one that comes to mind is a tune called "telstar". this is an instrumental, and i dont have a clue who the composer is.
all i have to say, is that somehow, somewhere, brad delp and tom scholz heard this tune; willing or unwilling, consciously or subconsciously, on accident or on purpose, it seeped into their boston heads and made an impact.
—as for "smells like teen spirit"?
that song never reminded me of boston — it sounds very similiar to "godzilla" (blue Öyster cult), however. i even saw a show in birmingham, ala., where they played about a minute of "more than a feeling", and i still never put it together. it crossed my mind, though, that cobain/grohl had not ignored an influence from the pixies.
without getting too far into this, the power chords *F5–B♭5–A♭5–D♭5* syc 1/16, with a a I–IV–♭III–♭VI major chord progression…….which was a little weird, but similiar to like…3 of the 5 songs ive mentioned….
………………………………………….cont'd
because i've heard cobain make a reference to boston – in person – i cant help but wonder if he was high as *****, and just making ***** up. (im sure that isnt the case, but not really provable at this juncture). ive also heard him – in person – make a statement regarding the pixies, whic makes more sense, and iv seen an interview with dave grohl about an influence form "telstar" which is more akin to the boston song than the nirvana one.
this is a cool likt –but i do think several entries are stretching it a bit. a lot of what i see as stretching is in the world of sampling. other instances seem either forced or accidental. and, of course, some are blatent rip-offs, while others are credited covers. this list was probably a pain in the ass because it required the level of research usually found in blogball's or tylerb's lists.
Well he did outright admit it, and there are several live clips of him playing More Than A Feeling than immediately segueing into Smells Like Teen Spirit just because it was the same, or very similar, which was, in this case done on purpose, and therefore a ripoff.
oh yeah. no question. not only did i catch nirvana play a riff of 'more then a feeling', but i heard boston play a riff of teen spirit. — the argument isnt that they didnt rip it off, the argument is that there's way more in there.
—in an attempt t be clearer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYDCuOEG2pE
that essentially goes on to prove your point.
— my point was that it is more complicated than thanthe above. about 2 months after i saw them, and 3 months before his death, cobain gave this explaination for his pen of "smells like teen spirit"
interview with david fricke in rolling stone, 1994, jan29
———-""I was trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it. When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily that I should have been in that band— or at least a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard.""————–
and this redstar quote
———""The opening guitar part is a small variation on the main riff of Boston's "More Than A Feeling." This was noted by a Rolling Stone magazine writer years later, but not as an accusation of plagiarism. Influences and similarities like this are everywhere in Rock music.""———————————
after the link, after the interview, after the quote, i still think it sounds more like "godzilla".
and if you throw in the pixies' "trompe le monde" cd, and listen to "u-mass", then it becomes really clear there is more than one "influence".
…………………………………cont'd
so if your argument is still a blatent rip-off of boston, thats cool — thats why we all have our own opinions, but i wonder if you have ever thought of the situation as more of a pixies rip-off and a boston influence?
the difference between rip-off and influence is largely in intent, and it just seems like the intended sound was "u-mass" not "more than a feeling", no matter how many times he played the riff to concert goers.of course, this also gets into the amount in which musicians will ***** with fans — like jeff lynne (elo) did, with "don't bring me down"–which sounds like "don't bring me down,…bruce" but was really a nonsense syllable to fill in, *until* someone asked j.lynne the question of who bruce was. at this point he started saying "…..bruce" in concert and being vague about what it means.
i, personally, think you and i are both right, in small part. (i just like the discussion)
Yeah, but I think Nirvana deserve credit for making More Than A Feeling not suck. That's a near impossible task.
Well, I don’t see any similarities between any of these songs, except for the first one, Surfin’ USA – that one has the same tune.
If the others are really rip-offs, then you could say the same with ease about any other song in the world. If a song has only some elements from an older song, it shouldn’t be considered a rip off, IMO.
The great thing about Listverse is that even the deaf are allowed to comment.
yeah, but the fingerless think its a bunch of bull*****
Do you know who is the best guitar player in the world who has no fingertips? Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath. Who is the best jazz guitar player who has only 3 fingers in his left hand? Django
Seriously? Yeah some of them are kind of subtle but you can't hear the identical bass lines to ice ice baby and under pressure?
Funny how Madonna fans are constantly crying how pop stars today are copying her, when she was no better herself. Really irritating how people refuse to look out the mainstream for artists possibly copying others or even a few years before.
Really – I got stuck with three pairs of those nosecone brassieres – that EFFIN *****
Again, Madonna didn’t rip them off, she merely used the same sample they did. The author of this article needs to do better research.
Great list [as usual lol]
Surprised not to see The Verve on here [don't know if it was mentioned in the comments already]
Well that one was sampling, they just used it more than was expected.
Ah thanks for clearing that up
how about Weird Al Yankovic.. they have so many songs..
Yes, but Weird Al's versions weren't rip-offs, they were more like parodies. Fat (Bad), Like A Surgeon (Like A Virgin), etc were very funny, no denying.
Yankovic did a good job of getting permission for all the music. On one occasion, he was told that he had permission from Coolio to remake "Gangsta's Paradise" into "Amish Paradise" when he actually didn't, and Coolio wasn't too happy about that one
Weird Al always gets permission to do his songs. When he asked Mark Knopfler for permission to use "Money for Nothing", he agreed on the condition that only he could play the guitar on it. So yes, Mark Knopfler plays the guitar on a Weird Al song, haha.
Exactly when did outright premeditated theft become known as "sampling?"
When they got credit from the artists….
"Anybody Seen My Baby" by the Rolling Stones is similar to k.d. lang's "Constant Craving." The Stones gave her a songwriting credit to avoid trouble.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this one:
Original: Straight to Hell by The Clash
Rip-Off: Paper Planes by Diplo feat. M.I.A.
It's called sampling. Sampling is theft only if original artist is not credited
Agree with this one, was looking for it in the list.
I guess Eighties by Killing Joke and Come As You Are by Nivana aren't on here because Kurt never admitted it.
Great list though, I never knew The Offspring like…COMPLETELY ripped off The Beatles. That was really noticeable.
Thanks for bringing up the KJ Nirvana example. The riff is definitely a ripoff, although I think the melodies are different…
There is a difference between a rip-off and a cover. The rip-off claims to be an original work while the cover is usually done with permission or at least not claiming to be original. Hendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower" was done with the credit of the song going to B. Dylan. Covers may be unoriginal but they are not exactly rip-offs. Many songs are rehashes of traditional songs that are not copyrighted or th copyright has expired, Beethoven, or Folk music. "Greensleeves" is an example.
Yes, and sometimes the cover version becomes the hit, after the original has flopped. Do you know, for example, the original performers of "rock around the clock", "see you later, alligator", or "hound dog"? No, not Bill Haley or Elvis; respectively Sonny Dae & his Knights, Bobby Charles and Willa Mae Thornton.
Yeppers to both of you…covers are absolutely legit, and oddly usually more famous than the original.
As much as I love Dylan, whose version of "All Along the Watchtower" are you going to choose to listen to, given a choice?
Hendrix, of course.
Covers happen all the time, and there's nothing wrong with it. Many bands make their entire living doing nothing but covers.
Damn, I have a great Dylan story, but I'm not going to tell it.
Oh, do tell it, please. Pretty please?
@segues: ""Damn, I have a great Dylan story, but I'm not going to tell it. ""
aww…… why not?
i'll tell you one of mine
(i have 3 — well a couple good stories, and one magnificant quote)
i would say, e-mail it to me, but fenda wants to hear it too, and we're the majority now
as for "watchtower" as much as i like dylan, i dont really care for his version…..jimi wins
in fact, i'd rather listen to dave matthews' version than dylan's. but throw on like a rolling stone, or hurricane, or tangled up in blue — dylan is the man. the white stripes do covers of "isis" and "cup of coffee" and theyre good, but not dylan-level. —actually, jack white's "isis" probably wouldnt be inferior if dylan's wasnt so awesome.
You should also check out Dave Alvin's cover of Highway 61. Or The Neville Brothers version of God on Our Side – Hell anybody's cover has to be better than the Dylan original!
Hell anybody's cover has to be better than the Dylan original!
No way. Bob Dylan is awesome because he’s Bob Dylan, who is of course, awesome. There is no way you can rebut this bullet-proof logic, so don’t even try.
I love Dylan, but I'll take Susan Tedeschi's version of "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" any day.
The Jaws theme is basically the opening bars of the fourth movement of Dvorak's New World Symphony.
Between Angels and Insects by Papa Roach is a pretty blatant ripoff of the riff from Prowler by Iron Maiden. Its a fairly long riff and damn near identical.
Beach Boys Fun Fun Fun samples Chuck Berry's Johnny Be Good pretty closely as well. Perhaps Beach Boys had a thing for Chuck Berry
Every early rock musician had a thing for Chuck Berry.
A cover and a rip off are two enterly different things !! A cover is an interpretation of a song. A rip off is plagiarism!
zep is a great band but they easily stole a dozen of songs, they are one of music most notorious stealers
No offense but you know nothing of Rock and Roll.
Do you know anything about Jimmy Page?
Please read up – you'll find he is probably one of the most original guitarists in history – he had no need to copy anyone.
And that is about as politely as I can put it.
Actually, he stole quite a few riffs, mostly from old Blues songs. Black Dog is actually plagiarized from Oh Well by Fleetwood Mac, Stairway To Heaven was a Spirit song, and he took quite a bit from the Yardbirds…it's almost embarrassing.
i think its you who should check your facts before putting your foot in your mouth man, i know a lot about rocknroll and like stephen sigritz said page stole a lot of old blues riff and never given the credit to the originals artists
So many of the British bands ripped off the old bluesmen.
Nice list to start the week with
Argh, I JUST submitted a list to Jamie that included a blurb about Sweet Little Sixteen/Surfin USA. Not a as a stand-alone item, but an aside within an item. Crap. Oh well.