• From: BELGIUM
  • Registered: 2007-01-27
  • Posts: 3,403

Topic: PLAGIARISM & HOW MANY ARTISTS ARE SINNERS

I think this can be an interesting topic, like RAPPERS using samples, but to be more specific, I had based this topic on some interessant cases.

- One of the most popular songs, always ending in the top-5 of best songs, is the falous "stiarways to heaven" by led zeppelin. Search for the group Spirit with there song TAURUS, you will not believe your ears when you hear the begin tune.

- George Harrisson with MY SWEET LORD, is supposed to be "stolen" from The Chiffons: SHE"S SO FINE, but personally I hear some similarities, but a real plagiarism incident, well concerning this song I have my doubts. You can go back in time, (I can be wrong about the time, that the rights stay in hands of the songwriter for 70 years), and compare the following songs: THE CANON by PACHELBEL, and the amazing fact that at least 2 songs I know are copies, but LEGAL. Rain and tears, Aphrodites child (demis roussos and vangelis) and try to sing this together with Ralph Mc Tell's : Let me take by the hand and lead you through the streets of Londen, you will have almost a perfect match.

Concerning PROCOL HARUM, the funniest thing I heard was in a live performance that he thanked their major songwriter: Johann Sebastian Bach. In this topic, you can write about influences, see also BLACK BETTY by Ram Jam and the original performed long ago, just with a guitar and tapping on the floor, or BOB DYLAN, starting with THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SON.

I prefer to know your opinion, using ACTUAL ARTISTS playing ACTUAL songs, even if they exist 40 years, using their names as composers, while in fact another one composed this song. You can change lyrics and not the melody, so you avoid more problems. IF YOU FIND PLAGIARISM, please let me know, because this is an important and useful TOPIC. Remember some are not aware of stealing someones idea, there are only 7 main chords.Also the famous hit MACARENA, was an existing tune, they picked up listening to a streetmusician.

Share all these things with me, but even more for CHORDIE and the future stars among us

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

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  • From: Nottingham, UK
  • Registered: 2006-08-08
  • Posts: 690

Re: PLAGIARISM & HOW MANY ARTISTS ARE SINNERS

Your right Phil, there isn't really such a thing as an original song. Everyone comes from a musical background and learnt other people's songs in order to master their instrument and hone their musical skills. Generations of our forefathers sang and played without thought of copyright. Folk songs were passed down from player to player and changes and additions made on the way. It's only in the 20thC that bourgoise ideas of authorship and orginality creep in, particularly at the advent of sheet music and recording.


Black Betty - Is a traditional work chant, all the guitar parts are created by recent artists.


<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Betty" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Betty</a>


Streets Of London - resembles Pachelbel but if look up the tabs for Canon you'll see it's really quite different.


Whiter Shade Of Pale - has similarities to Bach but is not a direct lift. Whole academic papers have been written on this.


Plagiarism is so rare as to be not worth worrying about. Usually in cases like Zeppelin's Lemon Song the court case comes after an artist has made a heap of money and a settlement comes because no one wants to waste endless years in court giving money to lawyers.


Most bizarre case is where Chuck Berry sued for some of 'Surfin USA's profits. Years later Brian Wilson found Chuck had been getting royalties for both music and lyrics, when he never wrote 'if everybody had an ocean'.

'The sound of the city seems to disappear'