Yeah, everyone’s standing on the shoulders of somebody else - also The Beatles... Keith Richards once expressed it like this: “If you’re a musician everything you’ve heard comes out in what you’re playing”
Keith Richards will be the first to tell you who the originators of Rock and Roll were. You and UA-cam can push lies and delete comments all day. It won't change the facts.
@starsright4872 You HAVE to use someone else's work. You weren't born knowing it all, without hearing from other people. For example, how did somebody like Churchill write a book on the U.S. Civil War when he was not there and witnessing it?!!
@starsright4872 Churchill didn't do that. I've read his huge book. Every sentence would have required a footnote; there are hardly any at all. He writes as if the reader is to believe that he was THERE, with firsthand knowledge of the American Civil War.
Many of these accusations are quite a stretch. For one thing, guitar riffs don't count. How many blues guitar riffs are played the same in countless songs. Eric Clapton would be deemed a major stealer.. He and so many other historic blues artists aren't accused of such at all. Jazz players cop others' melodies constantly. Like Jazz, Rock and Pop music are generally free form styles. Country music uses very similar melodies over and over again..
Riffs do count, anything that gives you a start to a song is pure gold. Artists look for inspiration even from others especially if they suffer from "writer's block."
@@anthonyxuereb792 I'm far from an expert on this, but it seems to me that riffs are used without legal action all the time. For example, while Chuck Berry successfully sued the Beach Boys for ripping off "Sweet Little Sixteen" in their song "Surfin' USA", the Beach Boys also started "Fun, Fun, Fun" with the exact same extended guitar riff Chuck Berry used in "Johnny B. Goode" with, as far as I know, not even the suggestion of plagiarism for that. This is a curious thing form me. Anyone got any more in depth info on it?
@@pickleballer1729 I'm not an expert either, I guess a lot depends on the originator and if they just shrug it off or decide it's worth the litigation.
@@anthonyxuereb792 If riffs do count then MANY blues & rock guitarists (black and white) are in a lot of trouble for theft. John's is significantly different and if you played the guitar you would know that.
7 white 5 black. I'm no mathmagician? But it adds up to 12. On a piano when you have the use of 10 fingers, 1000's of chords are possible. Not so on a guitar.
In fact, Chuck once heard a song that sounded suspiciously like one of his own, got irate, and tried to sue... himself! To be totally fair, it was a cover he heard, and it had been "tampered with" in Chuck own words, and frankly, he couldn't quite place the original, just that it vaguely complied with another one of his songs.
I can't agree that "all art is derivative." There are a very few pieces of music that seemed to have originated in outer space, that is, completely original. Many of Willie Dixon's Blues songs, "lifted," polished and re-arranged by such noteworthy bands as Led Zeppelin, the Yardbirds, and Cream were unlike anything ever heard before. Arthur Lee of "Love" was a great influence on Jimi Hendrix, and much of his music was way ahead of its time. And speaking of Jimi, where in hell did "Little Wing" come from? Every top name guitar player has done a cover, but none have attained its originality. Hendrix did a lot of covers himself, but a song like "One Rainy Wish" only comes along once in a generation. Except that I can point out a dozen that are equally original.
Many years ago my first and really only guitar mentor told me that every song is a rip-off of some piece written by a classical composer centuries earlier. Come Together is an interesting story. John maintained he made the Rock and Roll album as a tribute to songs he liked and that he had always wanted to record to them. That may be true on some level but he never did mention the project was a way to pacify Chuck Berry's music publishers. It was their lawyers, not Chuck's, who went after John. Then Lennon had a freak out when Phil Spector disappeared with the master tapes and it looked like he was going to miss the release deadline he had agreed on to keep the matter out of the courtroom. It took him close to a year to locate that maniac and get the tapes back. From what I understand Harry Nielson helped John produce the final product. It was right around the same time they were working on Walls and Bridges. Just like it took John a bit of time to learn Allan Klein was a crook, it took that kerffufle for him to realize what a whacked-out head case Spector was. Paul had them both pegged as bad news. Maybe that was why John insisted on working with them as long as he did.
Boy are you off on John Lennon's rock and roll album he literally was ordered to record songs in order to repay royalties for copying riffs snd a few words fm the Chuck Berry song to use as part of his Come Together creation.. I am so glad that John made the rock and roll album but it was done for legal reasons a monetary reasons and of course for his love of rock and roll
@@JeddorianJalapeno You might want to re-rad my post, I said he recorded it to satisfy Berry's publishers. I said he never mentioned that as the reason.
@@JeddorianJalapeno It's interesting to read details, but it would be easier to follow if y'all cited your sources, instead of just claiming to be right. That's true for all You Tube posts. Too many sourceless squabbles.
There is influence and there is a rip-off. And kings of the rip-off are undoubtedly Led Zeppelin. Page in particular took credit for whole songs especially in their first four albums Dazed and Confused (Jake Holmes), Whole Lotta Lovin' (Willie Dixon). Every music publisher crawled all over the Beatles catalogue and if they had been guilty of plagiarism they'd have been done, and they rarely were accused e.g. Come Together. Copyright is about the melody and lyrics, not a bassline, rhythm or guitar lick.
And you defend the Beatles even though Paul happily admits he complete stole bass lines for his songs because you can't copyright bass lines. People like you are such phonies.
Absolutely wrong. Led Zeppelin used several traditional motives from blues which were usually used everywhere, but some businessmen were angry because they had no chances to rob Zeppelin as others, so they did in court by judiciary robbery. These motives were not of Willie Dixon or.... but was old and usual, only they recorded them. And none of that blues stars have no penny from this judiciary robberies.
@@stickman1742 You attempt to use of one example right at the start of their recording career to try and taint an entire career, you have no idea what you're talking about. Copyright is based on the melody and lyrics. Based on your strange opinion every blues song with a shuffle bassline is "plagiarism". It isn't, and if it was the publishers would sue. It's that simple. Did Bruce Foxton "ripp-off " McCartney on The Jam's "Start"? No, it was an affectionate influence. However as I also said Jimmy Page (a seasoned session player) created Led Zeppelin's career on other people's songs...and taking credit for writing them. Dazed and Confused, Whole Lotta Love, Gallows Pole, Black Mountain Side etc etc. Whereas The Beatles and Stones covered songs and gave the writers full credit and promoted black music wherever they went.
Do you realize how many songs have similar bass lines and the same chord progressions? That's why you can't copyright bass lines and chord progressions? If you looked long and hard enough I'm sure you can find a similar bass line to that before Berry even used it. All musicians 'rip off' each other to a certain degree. Most likely you don't play or aren't very advanced at playing a musical instrument...otherwise you'd understand. Like he said 'Copyright is about the melody and lyrics, not a bassline, rhythm or guitar lick' @@stickman1742
That's not relevant. A song consists of a lyric and a tune. Harmony and rhythm are generic to a particular idiom, not specific to an individual composition or performance. There are many thousands of songs that use the 12-bar blues form, or the Andalusian cadence for example. You could copy the chord forms that Keith Richards typically uses, and produce something that sounds generally Stonesy, and call it your own. That is not the same as writing new lyrics to "Brown Sugar" and claiming the copyright.
This criterion of finding similarities is absolutely ridiculous, three seconds of similar can be found in any song in the world if placed next to each other
John didn't even finger pick Dear Prudence or Julia like Donovan showed him but John modified it to fit his songs. Search it out for yourself and listen carefully. The author of this video is just after views. No integrity!
Update: I was wrong about the song writing credit on the Let it Bleed album for Love In Vain. I checked my dusty old original copy of the album and it credited Woody Payne as others have noted which was a pseudonym for Robert Johnson. Not J/R. Sorry about the misinformation. ****The Stones claimed they wrote the song Love In Vain on the Let it Bleed album which they stole note for note and word for word from blues great Robert Johnson. At the time no one controlled Johnson's copyrights so the Stones claimed it. I have an early copy of Let It Bleed and it only says Jagger/Richard for the credit. In this case the Stones song wasn't inspired or influenced by Johnson but out right stolen from him. Years later the Johnson family sued and got his credit re-instated.****
You must have a bad copy of Let It Bleed, because from the first editions in 1969 Love in Vain was attributed to Woody Payne, which was one of Robert Johnson's aliases. The Rolling Stones never claimed to have written it, but they believed it was in the public domain and there were no royalties to pay.
@@tagadabrothersbandI was expecting someone might question what I wrote as when I was writing my original comment I was questioning my own memory as I haven't looked at the disc label in quite while but I do remember being shocked when I saw the song writing credit on my old worn out copy. I'll check my copy again but I'm pretty sure it said Jagger/Richard. When I get back into town let you know what I see. Hopefully not early Alzheimer's for me. Thanks for the heads up!
Non sense copy the greatest song, by the best acoustic-guitar player of the world til 2024... Mr Robert Leroy Johnson. Ron, e Keith together can't sound like one Robert Playin the song. If you take care Robert sings too at the same time he plays like 3 guitar players...
Jagger had the same attitude of the British in the 18th Century, "we take what we want". That's why there were so many British colonies established around the world. They always had that sense of entitlement (until they were thrown out)
@@tagadabrothersband Update: I was wrong about the song writing credit on the Let it Bleed album for Love In Vain. I checked my dusty old original copy of the album and it credited Woody Payne as you have noted which was a pseudonym for Robert Johnson. Not J/R. Sorry about the misinformation.
Enjoyable, thank you. These things always interest me. One point you made (as an aside) is that Chuck Berry chased up the Beach Boys for plagiarising 'Sweet Little Sixteen' with 'Surfin' USA.' But they gave him a co-credit right from the off.
The Beatles should have given Chuck Berry writing credit on come together from the very beginning that just shows you that sometimes even the most smartest and talented people can make mistakes
@@spellerlittlewing when I say they made a mistake I mean they should know better than to hurt others come together is one of my favorite Beatles songs but Chuck Berry's name should have been on the writing credit thought it's about 95 John Lennon come together is also one of the best records The Beatles ever made because if you listen to it today it sounds like it could have been produced today
Only a stylistic similarity. Completely different notes. Absolutely no grounds for plagiarism. Like saying it's a fast rock'n'roll song therefore I've ripped off Chuck Berry.
There’s a genre called blues and it has about 7 songs. Everything else is just covers and interpretations. And it’s responsible for more of modern music than anyone understands.
Sting said in a very old guitar world mag interview that there’s really only 2 melodys( for music in general) but there’s endless variations and ways to disguise it.
As an Artist who has been plagarized, I say "acknowledge the source, and give fair attribution". If it's 10% of a song, pay 10% writer's credit. Immitation isn't flattery, it's Copyright Infringement.
Borrowing a small part of another's work is a compliment because great melody and rhythm cannot be purged from the brain. (You're welcome @texasstadium)
Nobody noticed that the first melodic line of Let's spend the night together " Don't worry about what's on your mind" is identical to the Beatles' I'm happy just to dance with you "If somebody tries to take my place.." because the latter is not an iconic fab four tune.
It's sad Pee Wee Crayton wasn't acknowledged by The Beatles. One of the very first guitarists to play a Stratocaster and "Do Unto Others" one of the first recordings of a Strat.
@youtubeillegallydeletesacc1525 so tell me, maestro. Who did he steal the basslines from for classic Beatles songs that weren't R&R based? Who originally wrote the bassline for a day in the life, or with a little help, or taxman or something? You sound a little ridiculous tbh.
If you take any melodic phrase, any short rhythmic pattern, or any chord progression, you’ll be able to find something identical (or nearly identical) elsewhere in music. It’s all been done before. And there’s NOTHING wrong with it. Building on what came before, expanding it, twisting it, deconstructing it, whatever the case may be, is how art works. Yes, ripping off an entire melody and claiming you wrote it yourself if wrong, but incorporating elements of things you’ve heard before is how musical genres grow and evolve.
The "My Sweet Lord" case was, in my opinion, the WORST case for the following reason: George put a different Intro; chorus lines very different than "He's So Fine", instrumentation completely different and the strumming guitar centered it all. He's So Fine did not have any similar instrumentation. There are only so many chords to work with and Huey Lewis and the News successfully sued Ghostbusters singer( I can't remember his name) because there were FEWER chords and the timing of the singing lyrics were almost exact. My Sweet Lord, IF the Chiffons were correct ( which they were not), was DRASTICALLY improved as a song in its entirety, and also in my not-so-humble opinion George Harrison did NOT get a fair trial. How? Were there 12 Musicologists on the Jury? If not, there should have been a mistrial. George Harrison got hosed because he was a Beatle and a multi-millionaire. You're Welcome. Next case.
I would say as a juror or judge to the Plaintiff" Can you guarantee that every note of every song you published is completely original?" If they say "yes" Then it's time for the lawyers to start taking apart all of their songs, note by note. Likely they would get sued later if they did not drop their lawsuit.
But at the end of the day : 'On 19 February 1981, it was declared that Harrison would pay Klein's ABKCO $587,000 US in return for complete ownership of Chiffon’s song.'
George was an amazing artist but I hear very similar notes in those songs. I hope Johann Sebastian Bach doesn't come back to this world because they also borrowed a lot from him as an inspiration, and Beethoven, and others. I had an experience regarding the Beatles Music: I stopped listening to their music for a long time then I came back and I could hear a classical but in a rudimentary way in their songs. A music expert told me that was perfectly normal because they, The Beatles were the classical of those days.
The first time I heard My Sweet Lord I could hear I'm going for "Oh Happy Day" and as it turns out that's exactly what he was doing well unconsciously using He's So Fine as a template
Yeah, My Sweet Lord has a similar uplifting feeling to Oh Happy Day. He's So Fine is just a pleasant wee pop song that has similar notes, but My Sweet Lord is way better on every level.
George Harrison emulated the Byrds' guitar riff from their version of The Bells of Rhymney (written by Pete Seeger) for If I Needed Someone. Harrison admitted as much. Also, the melody for Harrison's Savoy Truffle was basically nicked from Lulu and the Luvers' song Chocolate Ice (1966), a song which Harrison reviewed for a music magazine or TV show back in the 60s. During the review, Harrison claimed he did not care for the song. There's also a UA-camr out there who showed that a bit of the melody, or at least a bit of the vocal phrasing, of My While Guitar Gently Weeps is very similar to a Jay and the Americans' song released a year or two before Harrison's song.
The Byrds were hugely influenced by The Beatles when they Beatleised their sobgs and even took their sound from George Harrison's use of a 12 string Rickenbacker. Influence goes both ways
@@Slydeil...nope, sorry. That was the other way around. It was the Beatles who were influenced by the Byrds. We've got Harrison on tape actually saying this way back when. He called it the Byrd's "jangley thing" that they had going on. This is exactly what influenced 'If I Needed Someone' and others.
@@MJEvermore853 "During 1963, just one year before he co-founded the Byrds in Los Angeles, McGuinn was working as a studio musician in New York, recording with Judy Collins and Simon & Garfunkel. At the same time, he was hearing about the Beatles (whose first American appearances would come in February 1964) and wondering how Beatlemania might affect folk music. When he saw George Harrison play a 12-string Rickenbacker in the film A Hard Days Night, it inspired McGuinn to buy the same instrument. By the time Doug Weston gave McGuinn a job at The Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles, he had begun to include Beatles' songs in his act. He gave rock style treatments to traditional folk tunes and thereby caught the attention of another folkie Beatles fan, Gene Clark, who joined forces with McGuinn in July 1964. Together they formed the beginning of what was to become the Byrds"
@@MJEvermore853 And another "When the Beatles had come out, the folk boom had already peaked," McGuinn notes. "The people who had been into it were getting kind of burned out. It just wasn't very gratifying, and it had become so commercial that it had lost its meaning for a lot of people. So the Beatles kind of re-energized it for me. I thought it was natural to put the Beatles' beat and the energy of the Beatles into folk music. And in fact, I heard folk chord changes in the Beatles' music when I listened to their early stuff like 'She Loves You' and 'I Want To Hold Your Hand.' I could hear the passing chords that we always use in folk music: the G-Em-Am-B kind of stuff. So I really think the Beatles invented folk-rock. They just didn't know it."
There is a natural limitation with what anyone can do with 6 strings and 12 notes, and The Beatles produced well mover 230 songs in their time, 27 Number 1 hits (in the U.K ) 13 Albums, had over 400 Books written about them, unlimited MSM coverage with Films, interviews, and almost infinite photographs, Singles, EP's, memorabilia, and an endless souvenir production that started from their earliest day's in 1963, i was a schoolboy at their musical domination, and a newspaper delivery boy throughout the mid to late 60's until the day i left School in 1969 , yes those were the Heady day's of the 60's. and i was so fortunate to have been born in that time period, the other legend being Muhammad Ali the greatest Boxer of all time.🙂
Paul McCartney once said, "We were the biggest nickers around" when it came to borrowing musical ideas. I never knew what he meant because I never heard a Beatles song that reminded me of another song. What he meant was, they didn't take whole songs, just pieces here and there. On the other hand, when I first heard "He's So Fine" I thought it was an obvious ripoff of "My Sweet Lord". Then I learned HSF came out in 1963. Oops. I'm surprised nobody noticed the similarity when George was recording it. It was a number one hit, so it's not obscure.
Paul has admitted to stealing entire bass lines. They stole a lot, not surprising as pretty much all groups. I love how it makes many pathetic Beatles fans angry. They just can't stand reality. Hero worship is so pathetic.
@@stickman1742You're right, bro, but honestly, it goes much deeper and broader than just Beatles fans. We gotta be honest about the entire musical narrative of this country.
It's Only Love, from the 1965 album HELP! Written by John Lennon, credited as Lennon-McCartney. Lennon is the only vocalist here. George Martin was the producer. Listen to the lines, "It's only love and that is all Why should I feel the way I do? It's only love and that is all"... These words are sung twice in the song with the same melody. Now, listen to He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss). The 1962 song was sung by The Crystals, written by Gerry Goffin-Carole King and produced by Phil Spector. There's an extraordinary story about how this song came about. Research it. Now, listen to the lines, "He couldn't stand to hear me say That I'd been with someone new" ******* "If he didn't care for me I could have never made him mad" ******* "And then he took me in his arms With all the tenderness there is" ******* Obviously, John Lennon paid close attention to this song when it was released as a 45 RPM single in 1962. Also, he and Paul were great admirers of Gerry Goffin and Carole King. I've been a huge fan of The Crystals for most of my 69 years in this world. Decades ago, the first time I heard It's Only Love, I knew there was something about it that sounded so familiar...
Some of these examples are spot on, some are exaggerated. There is no doubt that "cross-pollination" occurs in music, but outright plagiarism isn't that common with hit songs. With the amount of "influence" the Beatles had they could have sued others over and over but didn't. I just enjoy the magnificent wealth of music they created and don't worry about much else.
I am a classically trained musician. That a musicologist claimed that Yesterday shared similarities with Besame Mucho is ridiculous. Yes, both songs begin with three repetitions of the tonic note (something shared with countless songs), but there the similarity ends. The genius of Yesterday is the way McCartney went into the melodic minor scale for the words "love was such an easy game to play." Paul's melody is magic! By the way, you can get a musicologist to say anything you pay him to say.
Since there are only 12 notes in our musical scale, it's amazing that anything new can be written that hasn't been written before. You can argue that most songs are copies. The great thing about the Beatles is the NO TWO SONGS SOUND ALIKE although they all use 12 basic notes.
Part of the Merry Christmas (War Is Over) melody was taken from an old folk song. The important thing is, Lennon transformed it by adding his own magic dust and turning it into a classic Christmas song.
The video doesn't mention one that John freely admitted to. The guitar intro to "Sun King" was directly inspired by Fleetwood Mac's instrumental hit "Albatross." It was no secret. John was trying for that same feel.
When I first heard Albatross I thought it plagiarised 1959's Sleepwalk by Santo and Johnny. Still think they are remarkably similar in tempo and instrumentation.
I know, Right?! Thinking Ringo ripped off some poor Neanderthol's drum riffs all tjhose years, but then again, Ringo once was a Caveman, so, It's all relevant.
So I'm at the start of this video talking about the song Revolution...I knew the Chuck Berry thing, and thought I had heard about all the "hey guys, I came up with that song..." stories, but I do not know the Revolution one...and I'm 62 years old and got my first Beatles album when I was 5...so this is going to be interesting to me, for sure. Thanks for posting this one, and hope all you folks at Music Box USA are doing great.
God Bless America / God Save The King John Brown,s Body/ Battle Hymn Of The Republic It is also been believed I Saw Her Standing There is a faster pace of When The Saints Come Marching In...perhaps a few changes in the notes
The vast majority of songs mentioned here are not even close to plagiarism. IMO, it's surprising that with their large output they didn't have to "borrow" more.
I've been writing songs for years and the biggest problem is coming up with something that doesn't sound like something else. But you can't be aware of every single song that's ever been written so you are bound to end up with something that's a rip off without even knowing it.
Not only is everything stolen, but artists come to the same things at the same time, Whoever publishes first wins, not who creates first, Lastly, if you decide to commit to being a successful artist, and you are not willing to do anything to make it, You have given up before you have started. Its a job everybody wants.
There's a lot of grasping for the proverbial straws here. One similar phrase from another lesser-known tune does not sink to the level of crass plagiarism. Given the enormous body of western pop music from the 40s on through today, how could there not be similarities? A similarity does not a rip-off make!
You're quite wrong! There are endless combinations in music. For every time you put one note on the sheet there are 12 notes that can follow in at least 3 octaves. If you compose a 3 minute song you can ad up... 12 times 12 x 12 x 12 etc. On top of that each note (or break) has a duration. You combine that with harmonies or "chords" if you like. A song or any piece of music also has a story or a point unless it's what's called 'absolute music' (and that's typically very boring). Today there is no actual music industry like the one there was back then. Most lyrics now at days is pure nonsense that can be interpreted in a million ways. Songs from back then mostly had a meaning. Sadly, most socalled "singersongwriters" today don't really write songs. Billie Joe from Green Day (like them or not) once expressed it in an interview I heard: Any great song can be played with an acoustic guitar alone. He's almost right there. If what you're dealing with is an actual song or actual tune of any kind (even in classical music) you can always sit down with one instrument that provide the harmonics / chords (guitar, piano, accordeon, banjo etc.) and then hum the melody. If that's not possible or if it doesn't work well with only one instrument it has absolutely nothing to do with a song. You might call it composition but it has nothing to do with a song or a melody. Like you point out, most stuff that comes out of the radio today is very monotone. Lyrics often consist of 3 or 4 lines that doesn't mean anything. You can choose to like it, (I don't). It's not songs. But trust me, you can still write trillions of amazing songs. It's just that no one does. The business is about something else.
Most of these are ridiculous. They find a few words shared or a string of notes that are similar, and say they are ripped off. If this is true, then every song by every person is pretty much ripped off from someone that came before them.
You want them to be ridiculous because you worship at the Beatles Shrine. They do nothing wrong in your book. And when they did get caught with their pants down, you slag it off as if were nothing. Fact of the matter is, 1962 to 1966, they didn't write the songs or even play on them. They used studio musicians like every other manufactured band from that era did. It's not a secret. Even Lennon admitted that fact in 1975 interview.
And are we to believe the Beatles had heard ALL those songs that are being compared to theirs? I doubt that. It comes down to…there are only so many notes. After hundreds of thousands of songs have been written, some bits and pieces are going to sound like others. It’s unavoidable. You may think something sounds familiar, but then again, you may not. If you don’t consciously recognize something being from another song, then you won’t know that you need to change up anything. That’s just the way it is. It doesn’t always mean the “borrowing” was done intentionally or inappropriately. There are many factors that go into proving such a thing, so it’s very hard to prove it was intentional.
Let's see: "Johannes Brahms, Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn, op.56" - this indication means that the theme of the variations is not by Brahms himself, but what Brahms had developed on the basis of Haydns' few bars, that's the real deal of this opus. And that's why it's author is Brahms, not Haydn. On the other hand, a music genre whose single manifestations don't offer much more than a melodic idea (or merely a whiff of it) consisting only of a few bars has to suspiciously watch over each and every melodic move that's used in any given product, especially when said product turns or turned out to be profitable.
It was easier in their day, to think that something you heard as a kid on some obscure import single, was forgotten forever. You could lift something and have a decent chance of it never being found out. But that's not true anymore. Now everything every recorded has been dilligently catalogued... which is good for the original artists.
Every artist borrows, uses and injects stuff into their own music. It's impossible not to. We don't live in a vacuum. Case and point; Ed Sheeran's recent copyright lawsuit and defense. Creativity takes place on many levels and should not be stifled by copy law.
Did you know Mozart and Beethoven got their break by coping standards .. the way to get noticed is to cover the oldies in a way that is more loved .. in classical circles it is called variations .. the most standout example in Jimi Hendrix's cover of Bob Dylan's All Along The Watchtower..
I am always inspired by other artist's work. It is the reason why I became a musician in the first place. If the Beatles took some of my lyrics, and produced a really bad song, perhaps they should be able to sue me! Stealing a melody is much different than building on a few words, written by someone who has already failed to use those same words, to make an impact on the world. The music, the recording, and the production values, make a song what it is. We can use that same music, over and over again, without getting sued, simply because we change the sounds of the instruments being played. People never sue, over unsuccessful songs. The "melody" is the most proprietary part of any song, and it is easily recognizable, in genuine cases of plagiarism. Everything outside of that is just sour grapes.
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" It certainly wasn't uncommon for artists to do this then, though today, the songs are so one-dimensional that it doesn't even make a difference. "My Sweet Lord" was the best example of showing respect while inadvertently ripping off a song. But Harrison made up for it all by paying a large sum for infringement AND writing "This Song," which makes a parody of the entire incident in nearly every line! I love the line that Eric Idle screams out in the background "Could this be "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch??? Nahhh, sounds like "Rescue Me!!!
They did covers and admitted they borrowed from earlier American music. Rock always borrowed and blended from Swing , RnB, Doo Wop and Rockabilly, church hymns, Nobody ever mentions that Chuck Berry "ripped off" Sister Rosetta Tharpe's gospel guitar sound
Very informative and referenced video. The only slight variation is that for “Yesterday,” Nat King Cole was DEFINITELY not the first to do this song. German duet composers created it called “Mutterlein” in 1952. Frankie Laine recorded in ‘52- then Nat King Cole recorded in ‘53. The music for “Yesterday” was inspired by an Italian song recorded in the late 1800’s called “Piccere.”
This is really stupid. McCartney had the melody of Yesterday for about year before he found words. It was "Scrambled Eggs" at first. Also, any songwriter knows you're going to rewrite a melody or riff from someone else. Finding a choir song that has two chords out of Hey Jude is just stupid. Every song on the internet has another song on the internet with some of the same phrases, riffs, melodies.
A lot of your examples are nothing more than normal same-era influences. For example, if you just focus on bands and musicians from the 50s, it feels like everybody was doing the same thing. The riffs sound similar, the chord progression, everything. That riff for Revolution that you say sounds like Pee Wee Crayton? Well, it also sounds a lot like Chuck Berry's Johnny B Goode. Everybody was doing stuff like that, it's hardly a 'rip off'. And the same is true in other eras. The Offspring's 'Self Esteem' riff is NOT a rip off of Smells Like Teen Spirit, even though they sound pretty similar. And how many riffs sound similar between Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam? These things just happen naturally. Musicians are inspired by each other and they borrow ideas, give them their own personality and make it their own. On a more interesting subject - how are you avoiding getting strikes from UA-cam for making a music channel that actually plays the music they discuss? Because I was thinking of doing something similar.
“Good artists copy; great artists steal.” This quote is attributed to Pablo Picasso. However, there is the dispute as to whether Picasso actually said it, or did it come from someone else?
As interested in this clip as I am, I couldn't watch it all as it shows a deep ignorance of songwriting and record production. Pointing out these similarities in songs is like saying any portrait of a woman after Mona Lisa is a rip off of Leonardo's work.
I really hope you realize the scope and magnitude of the statement you just made. The amount of time and effort it takes the W.S. system to go about censoring the truth from reaching the masses is staggering. The depth and range of their tentacles are both unavoidable.
The article claimed "ripped off songs" which is NOT true in the slightest. No songs pointed out sounded the same. There may be several bars of a song that are used but so what? I mean, the Vanilla Ice vs Queen (Ice Ice Baby and Under Pressure) was a direct rip-off! That ine was to obvious!! I do really question the Huey Lewis vs Ray Parker Jr controversy about using the same bassline. Who gives a rat's butt!!! The two songs didnt even sound the same, but thats just me. There are plenty of songs that use the same bassline or chordal strctures. But, even soundtrack composers have borrowed themes from each other AND freely admit it. In all, I thought was a stupid article, but interesting at the same time.
John Lennon ripped off Don't look back in anger when he wrote imagine. The piano of imagine is a blatant copy of the opening chords to the oasis song. 👎
With the exception of the first two, which are well known and acknowledged, these are all dumb. it takes more than 3 or 4 notes in a row to constitute "rip off".
While we were recording our fourth album for Bell Records at A&R Studios in 1970, we would often have conversations about music with Phil Ramone who would check in on our sessions when we was not overseeing Paul McCartney's sessions for RAM, which was being recorded across the hall. One afternoon, Orpheus lead singer and guitarist Bruce Arnold mentioned the similarity of The Beatles' 1967 Fan Club recording "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)", which he had recently heard on a radio show to Fats Domino's 1956 hit single "I'm in Love Again". Ramone had never heard "Christmas Time..." but mentioned it to Paul when they were discussing piano players later that week. Paul reportedly said "how you know about that track?" and confirmed that like "Come Together", John had started with a nearly identical arrangement before Paul suggested it be altered. He added "that was John being lazy".
I assume there are programs that can tell if your song is similar to another these days after you write it.Way back when i would have been paranoid that every song i wrote was a song i thought i came up with,but i accidentally stole from someone else.
Yeah, everyone’s standing on the shoulders of somebody else - also The Beatles...
Keith Richards once expressed it like this:
“If you’re a musician everything you’ve heard comes out in what you’re playing”
Nailed it
Nonsense. You people use the "everybody experience" in everything to explain your backhanded ways. Own your thievery.
Own your thievery. UA-cam DO NOT VIOLATE MY FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH BY DELETING MY COMMENT!
Big lie.
Keith Richards will be the first to tell you who the originators of Rock and Roll were. You and UA-cam can push lies and delete comments all day. It won't change the facts.
With only 12 notes and a limited number of chords that work together, how is it avoidable. I thank God we got all those amazing songs.
Think you mean "how is it avoidable?".
@@heisenberg69You should look up "rhetorical."
The answer is in the genius of a producer named George Martin. He could take anything pinched or otherwise and make it unique.
@starsright4872 You HAVE to use someone else's work. You weren't born knowing it all, without hearing from other people. For example, how did somebody like Churchill write a book on the U.S. Civil War when he was not there and witnessing it?!!
@starsright4872 Churchill didn't do that. I've read his huge book. Every sentence would have required a footnote; there are hardly any at all. He writes as if the reader is to believe that he was THERE, with firsthand knowledge of the American Civil War.
Many of these accusations are quite a stretch. For one thing, guitar riffs don't count. How many blues guitar riffs are played the same in countless songs. Eric Clapton would be deemed a major stealer.. He and so many other historic blues artists aren't accused of such at all. Jazz players cop others' melodies constantly. Like Jazz, Rock and Pop music are generally free form styles. Country music uses very similar melodies over and over again..
Riffs do count, anything that gives you a start to a song is pure gold. Artists look for inspiration even from others especially if they suffer from "writer's block."
Yep! Dust My Broom is one of the most ripped-off blues riffs in history! 😃
@@anthonyxuereb792 I'm far from an expert on this, but it seems to me that riffs are used without legal action all the time. For example, while Chuck Berry successfully sued the Beach Boys for ripping off "Sweet Little Sixteen" in their song "Surfin' USA", the Beach Boys also started "Fun, Fun, Fun" with the exact same extended guitar riff Chuck Berry used in "Johnny B. Goode" with, as far as I know, not even the suggestion of plagiarism for that. This is a curious thing form me. Anyone got any more in depth info on it?
@@pickleballer1729 I'm not an expert either, I guess a lot depends on the originator and if they just shrug it off or decide it's worth the litigation.
@@anthonyxuereb792 If riffs do count then MANY blues & rock guitarists (black and white) are in a lot of trouble for theft.
John's is significantly different and if you played the guitar you would know that.
My singer/songwriter ex-boss, when i told him his latest song sounded like (insert random song here), would say, "There's only 12 bloody notes!"
Lies...
Exist more than 100 notes. 😀
7 white 5 black. I'm no mathmagician? But it adds up to 12. On a piano when you have the use of 10 fingers, 1000's of chords are possible. Not so on a guitar.
@@MARACUTAIA239 Do you mean playing in an Octave up or down? Because a full key piano has 88 keys. Yet still only 12 notes.
Abcdefg . 7 notes.
@@paulbradley705 forgot about sharp notes? A a# b c c# d d# e f f# g g#. 12 notes
Chuck Berry almost plagiarised himself. Some of his songs sound so much alike you can’t tell them apart.
Funny, but true.
And his piano-player is uncredited for a lot of assistance he gave to Berry.
Lol. That's so true.
In fact, Chuck once heard a song that sounded suspiciously like one of his own, got irate, and tried to sue... himself! To be totally fair, it was a cover he heard, and it had been "tampered with" in Chuck own words, and frankly, he couldn't quite place the original, just that it vaguely complied with another one of his songs.
Exactly, if his cousin Marvin berry hadn’t called him to make him listen to the new sound he might have never even been as big as he was
The Beatles seem to have taken a lot from the Rutles, as well.
they dont get it
@@loupasternak Some do.
😂
Leggie Mountbatten takes no prisoners
The pre-fab 4!
Some of these songs similarities are clutching at straws
Especially the "Yestersay" examples.
Totally agree.
Not really, not when you are desperate for inspiration, anything you may hear no matter how small may get you on your way to writing a song.
All art is derivative. Every idea has its influence.
But exist harmonics, and another techniques, you don't need to copy melodies
Some is a lot more derivative than others. That’s the whole issue
I can't agree that "all art is derivative." There are a very few pieces of music that seemed to have originated in outer space, that is, completely original. Many of Willie Dixon's Blues songs, "lifted," polished and re-arranged by such noteworthy bands as Led Zeppelin, the Yardbirds, and Cream were unlike anything ever heard before. Arthur Lee of "Love" was a great influence on Jimi Hendrix, and much of his music was way ahead of its time. And speaking of Jimi, where in hell did "Little Wing" come from? Every top name guitar player has done a cover, but none have attained its originality. Hendrix did a lot of covers himself, but a song like "One Rainy Wish" only comes along once in a generation. Except that I can point out a dozen that are equally original.
That's what culture thieves say.
You stole that thought.
Many years ago my first and really only guitar mentor told me that every song is a rip-off of some piece written by a classical composer centuries earlier. Come Together is an interesting story. John maintained he made the Rock and Roll album as a tribute to songs he liked and that he had always wanted to record to them. That may be true on some level but he never did mention the project was a way to pacify Chuck Berry's music publishers. It was their lawyers, not Chuck's, who went after John. Then Lennon had a freak out when Phil Spector disappeared with the master tapes and it looked like he was going to miss the release deadline he had agreed on to keep the matter out of the courtroom. It took him close to a year to locate that maniac and get the tapes back. From what I understand Harry Nielson helped John produce the final product. It was right around the same time they were working on Walls and Bridges. Just like it took John a bit of time to learn Allan Klein was a crook, it took that kerffufle for him to realize what a whacked-out head case Spector was. Paul had them both pegged as bad news. Maybe that was why John insisted on working with them as long as he did.
Boy are you off on John Lennon's rock and roll album he literally was ordered to record songs in order to repay royalties for copying riffs snd a few words fm the Chuck Berry song to use as part of his Come Together creation.. I am so glad that John made the rock and roll album but it was done for legal reasons a monetary reasons and of course for his love of rock and roll
@@JeddorianJalapeno You might want to re-rad my post, I said he recorded it to satisfy Berry's publishers. I said he never mentioned that as the reason.
@@JeddorianJalapeno It's interesting to read details, but it would be easier to follow if y'all cited your sources, instead of just claiming to be right. That's true for all You Tube posts. Too many sourceless squabbles.
There is influence and there is a rip-off. And kings of the rip-off are undoubtedly Led Zeppelin. Page in particular took credit for whole songs especially in their first four albums Dazed and Confused (Jake Holmes), Whole Lotta Lovin' (Willie Dixon).
Every music publisher crawled all over the Beatles catalogue and if they had been guilty of plagiarism they'd have been done, and they rarely were accused e.g. Come Together.
Copyright is about the melody and lyrics, not a bassline, rhythm or guitar lick.
Right on!
And you defend the Beatles even though Paul happily admits he complete stole bass lines for his songs because you can't copyright bass lines. People like you are such phonies.
Absolutely wrong. Led Zeppelin used several traditional motives from blues which were usually used everywhere, but some businessmen were angry because they had no chances to rob Zeppelin as others, so they did in court by judiciary robbery. These motives were not of Willie Dixon or.... but was old and usual, only they recorded them. And none of that blues stars have no penny from this judiciary robberies.
@@stickman1742 You attempt to use of one example right at the start of their recording career to try and taint an entire career, you have no idea what you're talking about.
Copyright is based on the melody and lyrics.
Based on your strange opinion every blues song with a shuffle bassline is "plagiarism". It isn't, and if it was the publishers would sue. It's that simple.
Did Bruce Foxton "ripp-off " McCartney on The Jam's "Start"? No, it was an affectionate influence.
However as I also said Jimmy Page (a seasoned session player) created Led Zeppelin's career on other people's songs...and taking credit for writing them. Dazed and Confused, Whole Lotta Love, Gallows Pole, Black Mountain Side etc etc.
Whereas The Beatles and Stones covered songs and gave the writers full credit and promoted black music wherever they went.
Do you realize how many songs have similar bass lines and the same chord progressions? That's why you can't copyright bass lines and chord progressions? If you looked long and hard enough I'm sure you can find a similar bass line to that before Berry even used it.
All musicians 'rip off' each other to a certain degree. Most likely you don't play or aren't very advanced at playing a musical instrument...otherwise you'd understand. Like he said 'Copyright is about the melody and lyrics, not a bassline, rhythm or guitar lick' @@stickman1742
I read somewhere Yesterday shares rhythmic and harmonic similarities to Do You Want to Know A Secret. Anyone else hear this?
I hear it man. That’s a very similar rhythm indeed. Interesting alright.
The only similarity is that both songs were accredited to Lennon & McCartney! Are they going to sue themselves? 😊😂
@@jimimevdon't laugh--a publishing company sued John Fogerty for writing a song that sounded too much like another song he wrote...!
You're hearing things 😂😂😂
That's not relevant. A song consists of a lyric and a tune. Harmony and rhythm are generic to a particular idiom, not specific to an individual composition or performance. There are many thousands of songs that use the 12-bar blues form, or the Andalusian cadence for example. You could copy the chord forms that Keith Richards typically uses, and produce something that sounds generally Stonesy, and call it your own. That is not the same as writing new lyrics to "Brown Sugar" and claiming the copyright.
This criterion of finding similarities is absolutely ridiculous, three seconds of similar can be found in any song in the world if placed next to each other
Dear Prudence and the Donovan song doesn’t make as much sense since Donovan literally taught John the finger picking pattern
John didn't even finger pick Dear Prudence or Julia like Donovan showed him but John modified it to fit his songs. Search it out for yourself and listen carefully. The author of this video is just after views. No integrity!
BTW, the picking technique is called Travis picking. A good example of it is Alice's Restaurant.
Try: Heather Macrae - Hands of the Clock 😊
@@wolfgangdevries127 Good find. Interesting
I think a lot of people have become obsessed by youtube comments. There's so much crap being put up there and they feel compelled to reply.
No I don't
@@frankowalker4662 Neither do I, or my wife.
@@frankowalker4662
I will hold off too, if you keep your promise.
I agree. It seems to be some sad painful compulsion. Just let the videos stand without adding inane ramblings.
Update: I was wrong about the song writing credit on the Let it Bleed album for Love In Vain. I checked my dusty old original copy of the album and it credited Woody Payne as others have noted which was a pseudonym for Robert Johnson. Not J/R. Sorry about the misinformation. ****The Stones claimed they wrote the song Love In Vain on the Let it Bleed album which they stole note for note and word for word from blues great Robert Johnson. At the time no one controlled Johnson's copyrights so the Stones claimed it. I have an early copy of Let It Bleed and it only says Jagger/Richard for the credit. In this case the Stones song wasn't inspired or influenced by Johnson but out right stolen from him. Years later the Johnson family sued and got his credit re-instated.****
You must have a bad copy of Let It Bleed, because from the first editions in 1969 Love in Vain was attributed to Woody Payne, which was one of Robert Johnson's aliases. The Rolling Stones never claimed to have written it, but they believed it was in the public domain and there were no royalties to pay.
@@tagadabrothersbandI was expecting someone might question what I wrote as when I was writing my original comment I was questioning my own memory as I haven't looked at the disc label in quite while but I do remember being shocked when I saw the song writing credit on my old worn out copy. I'll check my copy again but I'm pretty sure it said Jagger/Richard. When I get back into town let you know what I see. Hopefully not early Alzheimer's for me. Thanks for the heads up!
Non sense copy the greatest song, by the best acoustic-guitar player of the world til 2024...
Mr Robert Leroy Johnson.
Ron, e Keith together can't sound like one Robert Playin the song.
If you take care Robert sings too at the same time he plays like 3 guitar players...
Jagger had the same attitude of the British in the 18th Century, "we take what we want". That's why there were so many British colonies established around the world. They always had that sense of entitlement (until they were thrown out)
@@tagadabrothersband Update: I was wrong about the song writing credit on the Let it Bleed album for Love In Vain. I checked my dusty old original copy of the album and it credited Woody Payne as you have noted which was a pseudonym for Robert Johnson. Not J/R. Sorry about the misinformation.
Enjoyable, thank you. These things always interest me. One point you made (as an aside) is that Chuck Berry chased up the Beach Boys for plagiarising 'Sweet Little Sixteen' with 'Surfin' USA.' But they gave him a co-credit right from the off.
yes, i saw that in the sheet music of 'surfin usa' and i said chuck berry? then i really listened, got it.
I always thought Surfin' USA was meant to be a parody of Sweet Little Sixteen. I was a little kid and I figured that out. Everyone did
The Beatles should have given Chuck Berry writing credit on come together from the very beginning that just shows you that sometimes even the most smartest and talented people can make mistakes
It wasn’t a mistake they thought they could get away with it
@@spellerlittlewing when I say they made a mistake I mean they should know better than to hurt others come together is one of my favorite Beatles songs but Chuck Berry's name should have been on the writing credit thought it's about 95 John Lennon come together is also one of the best records The Beatles ever made because if you listen to it today it sounds like it could have been produced today
I'm surprised that "Sun King" and "Albatross" are not on here.
Only a stylistic similarity. Completely different notes. Absolutely no grounds for plagiarism. Like saying it's a fast rock'n'roll song therefore I've ripped off Chuck Berry.
There’s a genre called blues and it has about 7 songs. Everything else is just covers and interpretations. And it’s responsible for more of modern music than anyone understands.
Sting said in a very old guitar world mag interview that there’s really only 2 melodys( for music in general) but there’s endless variations and ways to disguise it.
As an Artist who has been plagarized, I say "acknowledge the source, and give fair attribution". If it's 10% of a song, pay 10% writer's credit. Immitation isn't flattery, it's Copyright Infringement.
No one lives or works in a vacuum
Says the vacuum. 😂😂😂
RIP OFF is a very strong word , in fact it is click-- bait .
Borrowing a small part of another's work is a compliment because great melody and rhythm cannot be purged from the brain.
Borrowing a small part of another's work is a compliment because great melody and rhythm cannot be purged from the brain. (You're welcome @texasstadium)
"Borrowing," now, huh? That's what the code word of the day for THEFT is today? 😂😂😂
Crediting the original composer would be an even bigger compliment
Nobody noticed that the first
melodic line of Let's spend the
night together " Don't worry
about what's on your mind" is
identical to the Beatles' I'm happy just to dance with you
"If somebody tries to take my
place.." because the latter is not an iconic fab four tune.
"The amateur merely borrows, the master steals." Thomas Mann
Thomas talkin' horsey poop !
It's sad Pee Wee Crayton wasn't acknowledged by The Beatles. One of the very first guitarists to play a Stratocaster and "Do Unto Others" one of the first recordings of a Strat.
The bass line from "I Saw Her Standing There" is a satndard Boogie Woogie line used in many song.
Paul has admitted he stole bass lines completely because he could.
@@stickman1742He stole that particular bassline and admitted to doing so, but almost every other bassline McCartney played was his own creation.
A standard that he stole. I don't know what you people think, that these creations just come from OSMOSIS? 😂🤣
@@catherinewilson3880Until further investigation, and we find out they weren't.
@youtubeillegallydeletesacc1525 so tell me, maestro. Who did he steal the basslines from for classic Beatles songs that weren't R&R based? Who originally wrote the bassline for a day in the life, or with a little help, or taxman or something? You sound a little ridiculous tbh.
If you take any melodic phrase, any short rhythmic pattern, or any chord progression, you’ll be able to find something identical (or nearly identical) elsewhere in music. It’s all been done before. And there’s NOTHING wrong with it. Building on what came before, expanding it, twisting it, deconstructing it, whatever the case may be, is how art works. Yes, ripping off an entire melody and claiming you wrote it yourself if wrong, but incorporating elements of things you’ve heard before is how musical genres grow and evolve.
The "My Sweet Lord" case was, in my opinion, the WORST case for the following reason: George put a different Intro; chorus lines very different than "He's So Fine", instrumentation completely different and the strumming guitar centered it all. He's So Fine did not have any similar instrumentation. There are only so many chords to work with and Huey Lewis and the News successfully sued Ghostbusters singer( I can't remember his name) because there were FEWER chords and the timing of the singing lyrics were almost exact. My Sweet Lord, IF the Chiffons were correct ( which they were not), was DRASTICALLY improved as a song in its entirety, and also in my not-so-humble opinion George Harrison did NOT get a fair trial. How? Were there 12 Musicologists on the Jury? If not, there should have been a mistrial. George Harrison got hosed because he was a Beatle and a multi-millionaire. You're Welcome. Next case.
I would say as a juror or judge to the Plaintiff" Can you guarantee that every note of every song you published is completely original?" If they say "yes" Then it's time for the lawyers to start taking apart all of their songs, note by note. Likely they would get sued later if they did not drop their lawsuit.
But at the end of the day : 'On 19 February 1981, it was declared that Harrison would pay Klein's ABKCO $587,000 US in return for complete ownership of Chiffon’s song.'
I think it’s a total ripoff personally 🤷🏼♂️ he did improve it a lot, I just think is sooo similar
George was an amazing artist but I hear very similar notes in those songs. I hope Johann Sebastian Bach doesn't come back to this world because they also borrowed a lot from him as an inspiration, and Beethoven, and others. I had an experience regarding the Beatles Music: I stopped listening to their music for a long time then I came back and I could hear a classical but in a rudimentary way in their songs. A music expert told me that was perfectly normal because they, The Beatles were the classical of those days.
@@AntonioBarsanio How about "Whiter Shade of Pale"?
"Good composers borrow. Great composers steal" said someone famous..
Yeah, the world's greatest thief. 😂
"Good composers borrow. Great composers steal"
It's a great soundbite, a pithy quote, but really stupid when you really stop and think about it.
@@grimtraveller7923 Yeah, what would Stravinsky know about such matters.....
A paraphrase from Picasso about art
@@ohmicah
"Yeah, what would Stravinsky know about such matters....."
I don't know. What _would_ he know about such matters ?
The first time I heard My Sweet Lord I could hear I'm going for "Oh Happy Day" and as it turns out that's exactly what he was doing well unconsciously using He's So Fine as a template
DELANEY BRAMLETT says del was singing o lord n gh stole that.
And aren't we blessed that he did!
Yeah, My Sweet Lord has a similar uplifting feeling to Oh Happy Day. He's So Fine is just a pleasant wee pop song that has similar notes, but My Sweet Lord is way better on every level.
George Harrison emulated the Byrds' guitar riff from their version of The Bells of Rhymney (written by Pete Seeger) for If I Needed Someone. Harrison admitted as much. Also, the melody for Harrison's Savoy Truffle was basically nicked from Lulu and the Luvers' song Chocolate Ice (1966), a song which Harrison reviewed for a music magazine or TV show back in the 60s. During the review, Harrison claimed he did not care for the song. There's also a UA-camr out there who showed that a bit of the melody, or at least a bit of the vocal phrasing, of My While Guitar Gently Weeps is very similar to a Jay and the Americans' song released a year or two before Harrison's song.
The Byrds were hugely influenced by The Beatles when they Beatleised their sobgs and even took their sound from George Harrison's use of a 12 string Rickenbacker. Influence goes both ways
@@Slydeil...nope, sorry. That was the other way around. It was the Beatles who were influenced by the Byrds. We've got Harrison on tape actually saying this way back when. He called it the Byrd's "jangley thing" that they had going on.
This is exactly what influenced 'If I Needed Someone' and others.
@@MJEvermore853 "During 1963, just one year before he co-founded the Byrds in Los Angeles, McGuinn was working as a studio musician in New York, recording with Judy Collins and Simon & Garfunkel. At the same time, he was hearing about the Beatles (whose first American appearances would come in February 1964) and wondering how Beatlemania might affect folk music. When he saw George Harrison play a 12-string Rickenbacker in the film A Hard Days Night, it inspired McGuinn to buy the same instrument.
By the time Doug Weston gave McGuinn a job at The Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles, he had begun to include Beatles' songs in his act. He gave rock style treatments to traditional folk tunes and thereby caught the attention of another folkie Beatles fan, Gene Clark, who joined forces with McGuinn in July 1964. Together they formed the beginning of what was to become the Byrds"
@@MJEvermore853 And another
"When the Beatles had come out, the folk boom had already peaked," McGuinn notes. "The people who had been into it were getting kind of burned out. It just wasn't very gratifying, and it had become so commercial that it had lost its meaning for a lot of people. So the Beatles kind of re-energized it for me. I thought it was natural to put the Beatles' beat and the energy of the Beatles into folk music. And in fact, I heard folk chord changes in the Beatles' music when I listened to their early stuff like 'She Loves You' and 'I Want To Hold Your Hand.' I could hear the passing chords that we always use in folk music: the G-Em-Am-B kind of stuff. So I really think the Beatles invented folk-rock. They just didn't know it."
And your point?
Yesterday has almost the same chord progression as “ Perfume de Gardenia” composed by Rafael Hernandez
Batman theme & Taxman both released in ' 66 , quite similar.
And People Always Give Oasis A Hard Time For "Rippin Off" The Beatles When They Literally Did The Exact Same Thing From The Very Start 😂😂😂😂❤❤❤❤ x
There is a natural limitation with what anyone can do with 6 strings and 12 notes, and The Beatles produced well mover 230 songs in their time, 27 Number 1 hits (in the U.K ) 13 Albums, had over 400 Books written about them, unlimited MSM coverage with Films, interviews, and almost infinite photographs, Singles, EP's, memorabilia, and an endless souvenir production that started from their earliest day's in 1963, i was a schoolboy at their musical domination, and a newspaper delivery boy throughout the mid to late 60's until the day i left School in 1969 , yes those were the Heady day's of the 60's. and i was so fortunate to have been born in that time period, the other legend being Muhammad Ali the greatest Boxer of all time.🙂
I saw Muhammad Ali box, and he threw punches with not only his right, but also his left hand. He stole that from Rocky Marciano!
Paul McCartney once said, "We were the biggest nickers around" when it came to borrowing musical ideas. I never knew what he meant because I never heard a Beatles song that reminded me of another song. What he meant was, they didn't take whole songs, just pieces here and there.
On the other hand, when I first heard "He's So Fine" I thought it was an obvious ripoff of "My Sweet Lord". Then I learned HSF came out in 1963. Oops. I'm surprised nobody noticed the similarity when George was recording it. It was a number one hit, so it's not obscure.
Paul has admitted to stealing entire bass lines. They stole a lot, not surprising as pretty much all groups. I love how it makes many pathetic Beatles fans angry. They just can't stand reality. Hero worship is so pathetic.
@@stickman1742You're right, bro, but honestly, it goes much deeper and broader than just Beatles fans. We gotta be honest about the entire musical narrative of this country.
It's Only Love, from the 1965 album HELP! Written by John Lennon, credited as Lennon-McCartney. Lennon is the only vocalist here. George Martin was the producer. Listen to the lines,
"It's only love and that is all
Why should I feel the way I do?
It's only love and that is all"...
These words are sung twice in the song with the same melody.
Now, listen to He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss). The 1962 song was sung by The Crystals, written by Gerry Goffin-Carole King and produced by Phil Spector. There's an extraordinary story about how this song came about. Research it. Now, listen to the lines,
"He couldn't stand to hear me say
That I'd been with someone new"
*******
"If he didn't care for me
I could have never made him mad"
*******
"And then he took me in his arms
With all the tenderness there is"
*******
Obviously, John Lennon paid close attention to this song when it was released as a 45 RPM single in 1962. Also, he and Paul were great admirers of Gerry Goffin and Carole King.
I've been a huge fan of The Crystals for most of my 69 years in this world. Decades ago, the first time I heard It's Only Love, I knew there was something about it that sounded so familiar...
Some of these "rip-offs" are tenuous to say the least. Two notes or a word don't constitute plagiarism.
The Beatles were great music fans who absorbed all the music they loved and brilliantly processed it all to make something universal for all of us.
Some of these examples are spot on, some are exaggerated. There is no doubt that "cross-pollination" occurs in music, but outright plagiarism isn't that common with hit songs. With the amount of "influence" the Beatles had they could have sued others over and over but didn't. I just enjoy the magnificent wealth of music they created and don't worry about much else.
I am a classically trained musician. That a musicologist claimed that Yesterday shared similarities with Besame Mucho is ridiculous. Yes, both songs begin with three repetitions of the tonic note (something shared with countless songs), but there the similarity ends. The genius of Yesterday is the way McCartney went into the melodic minor scale for the words "love was such an easy game to play." Paul's melody is magic! By the way, you can get a musicologist to say anything you pay him to say.
Love the harmony work on that take of 'What You're Doing' at the end. Nice..
Since there are only 12 notes in our musical scale, it's amazing that anything new can be written that hasn't been written before. You can argue that most songs are copies. The great thing about the Beatles is the NO TWO SONGS SOUND ALIKE although they all use 12 basic notes.
I always thought that the song "Besame mucho" heavily influenced McCartney's Yesterday!
Part of the Merry Christmas (War Is Over) melody was taken from an old folk song. The important thing is, Lennon transformed it by adding his own magic dust and turning it into a classic Christmas song.
The video doesn't mention one that John freely admitted to. The guitar intro to "Sun King" was directly inspired by Fleetwood Mac's instrumental hit "Albatross." It was no secret. John was trying for that same feel.
When I first heard Albatross I thought it plagiarised 1959's Sleepwalk by Santo and Johnny. Still think they are remarkably similar in tempo and instrumentation.
“Watch your step” is the most cited song that the Beatles ripped off for at least a couple of songs especially I feel fine
I know, Right?! Thinking Ringo ripped off some poor Neanderthol's drum riffs all tjhose years, but then again, Ringo once was a Caveman, so, It's all relevant.
There's only 12 notes in all of music!
7 notes in the major and minor scales. In some scales like the blues only 5.
Wrong
@@gettinhungrig8806 nop, most of blues tunes like chuck berry, he uses dissonant chords, you don't know nothing about music.
Well, Nat King Cole says "yesterday" very clearly. So that's it.
So I'm at the start of this video talking about the song Revolution...I knew the Chuck Berry thing, and thought I had heard about all the "hey guys, I came up with that song..." stories, but I do not know the Revolution one...and I'm 62 years old and got my first Beatles album when I was 5...so this is going to be interesting to me, for sure. Thanks for posting this one, and hope all you folks at Music Box USA are doing great.
God Bless America / God Save The King
John Brown,s Body/ Battle Hymn Of The Republic
It is also been believed I Saw Her Standing There is a faster pace of When The Saints Come Marching In...perhaps a few changes in the notes
The vast majority of songs mentioned here are not even close to plagiarism. IMO, it's surprising that with their large output they didn't have to "borrow" more.
I've been writing songs for years and the biggest problem is coming up with something that doesn't sound like something else. But you can't be aware of every single song that's ever been written so you are bound to end up with something that's a rip off without even knowing it.
Not only is everything stolen, but artists come to the same things at the same time, Whoever publishes first wins, not who creates first, Lastly, if you decide to commit to being a successful artist, and you are not willing to do anything to make it, You have given up before you have started. Its a job everybody wants.
They distinctly titled the video "rip-off,". 😂😂😂 People are mad and embarrassed, so they're making excuses. It's hilarious.
There's a lot of grasping for the proverbial straws here. One similar phrase from another lesser-known tune does not sink to the level of crass plagiarism. Given the enormous body of western pop music from the 40s on through today, how could there not be similarities? A similarity does not a rip-off make!
All of music has been written. There's nothing left to compose but today's monotonous tripe. What we NEED are original lyricists.
You're quite wrong! There are endless combinations in music. For every time you put one note on the sheet there are 12 notes that can follow in at least 3 octaves. If you compose a 3 minute song you can ad up... 12 times 12 x 12 x 12 etc. On top of that each note (or break) has a duration. You combine that with harmonies or "chords" if you like. A song or any piece of music also has a story or a point unless it's what's called 'absolute music' (and that's typically very boring).
Today there is no actual music industry like the one there was back then.
Most lyrics now at days is pure nonsense that can be interpreted in a million ways. Songs from back then mostly had a meaning.
Sadly, most socalled "singersongwriters" today don't really write songs. Billie Joe from Green Day (like them or not) once expressed it in an interview I heard: Any great song can be played with an acoustic guitar alone. He's almost right there. If what you're dealing with is an actual song or actual tune of any kind (even in classical music) you can always sit down with one instrument that provide the harmonics / chords (guitar, piano, accordeon, banjo etc.) and then hum the melody. If that's not possible or if it doesn't work well with only one instrument it has absolutely nothing to do with a song. You might call it composition but it has nothing to do with a song or a melody. Like you point out, most stuff that comes out of the radio today is very monotone. Lyrics often consist of 3 or 4 lines that doesn't mean anything. You can choose to like it, (I don't). It's not songs.
But trust me, you can still write trillions of amazing songs. It's just that no one does. The business is about something else.
"All of music has been written" people who usually have never written any music
@@Assimandeli It's like saying "no more books can be written".
Most of these are ridiculous. They find a few words shared or a string of notes that are similar, and say they are ripped off. If this is true, then every song by every person is pretty much ripped off from someone that came before them.
You want them to be ridiculous because you worship at the Beatles Shrine. They do nothing wrong in your book. And when they did get caught with their pants down, you slag it off as if were nothing. Fact of the matter is, 1962 to 1966, they didn't write the songs or even play on them. They used studio musicians like every other manufactured band from that era did. It's not a secret. Even Lennon admitted that fact in 1975 interview.
@@apocalypsenow317
Total bs
@@apocalypsenow317saying that with a blur pfp
@@apocalypsenow317 Do you also believe the Earth is flat?
@@slaydesaid8741
I also get that vibe from him. If not flat earth then some other conspiracy theories
And are we to believe the Beatles had heard ALL those songs that are being compared to theirs? I doubt that. It comes down to…there are only so many notes. After hundreds of thousands of songs have been written, some bits and pieces are going to sound like others. It’s unavoidable.
You may think something sounds familiar, but then again, you may not. If you don’t consciously recognize something being from another song, then you won’t know that you need to change up anything. That’s just the way it is. It doesn’t always mean the “borrowing” was done intentionally or inappropriately. There are many factors that go into proving such a thing, so it’s very hard to prove it was intentional.
John Lennon himself had admitted to ripping off a couple of songs, especially “watch your step.”
In fact, John Lennon had been sued in court for similarities to songs like the Chuck Berry song…for come Together
To paraphrase Keith ‘older than God’ Richards ‘we all steal off those who come before us.
@@michaelrochester48 True. That was total B.S! One line from a song and making your own that sounds nothing like it.
I'm with Poco and his comment 100 percent. What you said is spot on.
Oh dear a sad person getting all hot and bothered about The Beatles allegedly ripping off other songs! Looks like the sky is going to fall in.
What a fantastic video have a wonderful day also happy st Patrick's day ❤😊
I m sure the original singers would take legal action against the Beatles for plagiarism. So how many were there?
All My Loving is the only example here that actually has a case
Let's see: "Johannes Brahms, Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn, op.56" - this indication means that the theme of the variations is not by Brahms himself, but what Brahms had developed on the basis of Haydns' few bars, that's the real deal of this opus. And that's why it's author is Brahms, not Haydn.
On the other hand, a music genre whose single manifestations don't offer much more than a melodic idea (or merely a whiff of it) consisting only of a few bars has to suspiciously watch over each and every melodic move that's used in any given product, especially when said product turns or turned out to be profitable.
It was easier in their day, to think that something you heard as a kid on some obscure import single, was forgotten forever. You could lift something and have a decent chance of it never being found out. But that's not true anymore. Now everything every recorded has been dilligently catalogued... which is good for the original artists.
Every artist borrows, uses and injects stuff into their own music. It's impossible not to. We don't live in a vacuum.
Case and point; Ed Sheeran's recent copyright lawsuit and defense.
Creativity takes place on many levels and should not be stifled by copy law.
Did you know Mozart and Beethoven got their break by coping standards .. the way to get noticed is to cover the oldies in a way that is more loved .. in classical circles it is called variations .. the most standout example in Jimi Hendrix's cover of Bob Dylan's All Along The Watchtower..
You can be sure Dylan (aka Zimmerman) got paid.
I am always inspired by other artist's work. It is the reason why I became a musician in the first place.
If the Beatles took some of my lyrics, and produced a really bad song, perhaps they should be able to sue me!
Stealing a melody is much different than building on a few words, written by someone who has already failed to use those same words, to make an impact on the world.
The music, the recording, and the production values, make a song what it is. We can use that same music, over and over again, without getting sued, simply because we change the sounds of the instruments being played.
People never sue, over unsuccessful songs.
The "melody" is the most proprietary part of any song, and it is easily recognizable, in genuine cases of plagiarism.
Everything outside of that is just sour grapes.
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" It certainly wasn't uncommon for artists to do this then, though today, the songs are so one-dimensional that it doesn't even make a difference. "My Sweet Lord" was the best example of showing respect while inadvertently ripping off a song. But Harrison made up for it all by paying a large sum for infringement AND writing "This Song," which makes a parody of the entire incident in nearly every line!
I love the line that Eric Idle screams out in the background "Could this be "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch??? Nahhh, sounds like "Rescue Me!!!
They did covers and admitted they borrowed from earlier American music. Rock always borrowed and blended from Swing , RnB, Doo Wop and Rockabilly, church hymns, Nobody ever mentions that Chuck Berry "ripped off" Sister Rosetta Tharpe's gospel guitar sound
oh ffs, most of these are a major stretch
There just being jealous the critics.
13 UA-cam Channels that rip off other UA-cam channels:
1. Music Box USA
etc
Very informative and referenced video. The only slight variation is that for “Yesterday,” Nat King Cole was DEFINITELY not the first to do this song. German duet composers created it called “Mutterlein” in 1952. Frankie Laine recorded in ‘52- then Nat King Cole recorded in ‘53. The music for “Yesterday” was inspired by an Italian song recorded in the late 1800’s called “Piccere.”
let's just say that any song containing the chords F, A,D, E and G are all rip-offs ===== of each other !!!
This is really stupid. McCartney had the melody of Yesterday for about year before he found words. It was "Scrambled Eggs" at first. Also, any songwriter knows you're going to rewrite a melody or riff from someone else. Finding a choir song that has two chords out of Hey Jude is just stupid. Every song on the internet has another song on the internet with some of the same phrases, riffs, melodies.
All songs are created from the same 12 notes folders going to be some musical overlapping with virtually any song that you write
A lot of your examples are nothing more than normal same-era influences. For example, if you just focus on bands and musicians from the 50s, it feels like everybody was doing the same thing. The riffs sound similar, the chord progression, everything.
That riff for Revolution that you say sounds like Pee Wee Crayton? Well, it also sounds a lot like Chuck Berry's Johnny B Goode. Everybody was doing stuff like that, it's hardly a 'rip off'.
And the same is true in other eras. The Offspring's 'Self Esteem' riff is NOT a rip off of Smells Like Teen Spirit, even though they sound pretty similar.
And how many riffs sound similar between Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam?
These things just happen naturally. Musicians are inspired by each other and they borrow ideas, give them their own personality and make it their own.
On a more interesting subject - how are you avoiding getting strikes from UA-cam for making a music channel that actually plays the music they discuss? Because I was thinking of doing something similar.
“Good artists copy; great artists steal.” This quote is attributed to Pablo Picasso. However, there is the dispute as to whether Picasso actually said it, or did it come from someone else?
He stole it from someone else & passed it off as his own work
As interested in this clip as I am, I couldn't watch it all as it shows a deep ignorance of songwriting and record production. Pointing out these similarities in songs is like saying any portrait of a woman after Mona Lisa is a rip off of Leonardo's work.
Rip off? Nope. Influenced? Sure.
The whole story of Rock 'n' Roll is a story of "Rip Off"
While the truth gets deleted and shadowbanned by the entire white supremacist system, including social media sites like this one.
I really hope you realize the scope and magnitude of the statement you just made. The amount of time and effort it takes the W.S. system to go about censoring the truth from reaching the masses is staggering. The depth and range of their tentacles are both unavoidable.
Rip off n roll
The article claimed "ripped off songs" which is NOT true in the slightest. No songs pointed out sounded the same. There may be several bars of a song that are used but so what? I mean, the Vanilla Ice vs Queen (Ice Ice Baby and Under Pressure) was a direct rip-off! That ine was to obvious!! I do really question the Huey Lewis vs Ray Parker Jr controversy about using the same bassline. Who gives a rat's butt!!! The two songs didnt even sound the same, but thats just me. There are plenty of songs that use the same bassline or chordal strctures. But, even soundtrack composers have borrowed themes from each other AND freely admit it. In all, I thought was a stupid article, but interesting at the same time.
Fats Domino also made a cover of lady Madonna in 1968, the last time he made the top 100 on the American charts
That's a cover. Big difference.
They don’t ’rip off’ other songs, they admitted themselves they borrowed from other songs. ‘Come Together’ being the exception.
There's over 1000 songs with the same chord progression in pop music
Then they all owe their thanks to the men in this video. And I'm not talking about the Beatles.
Many songs use melodies, wordings, or chord progressions from other songs. I don't know of anyone who hasn't done it at least a few times.
Using a guitar riff or bass line does not equate to plagiarism. If that were true we'd only have one blues song ever.
Whilst i agree that there are "similarities" in some parts. The songs and melodies are not the same. They convey different emotions
What? Nobody is supposed to influence anybody else? Songs can't sound similar? Very few of these examples are rip-offs.
old flat top--morris levy won a judgement for jon taking a few words from chuck b.
John Lennon’s first big solo hit, instant karma uses the first few notes from the cavern club classic they used to play, “some other guy.”
2 notes dimwit. Can't get sued for that. Not even part of the song, just the intro. A lttle tribute..homage..from John.
"Some other guy is gonna get you?"
ive always hated people that think they suddenly own the rights to their little chain of words or notes
John Lennon ripped off Don't look back in anger when he wrote imagine. The piano of imagine is a blatant copy of the opening chords to the oasis song. 👎
With the exception of the first two, which are well known and acknowledged, these are all dumb. it takes more than 3 or 4 notes in a row to constitute "rip off".
While we were recording our fourth album for Bell Records at A&R Studios in 1970, we would often have conversations about music with Phil Ramone who would check in on our sessions when we was not overseeing Paul McCartney's sessions for RAM, which was being recorded across the hall.
One afternoon, Orpheus lead singer and guitarist Bruce Arnold mentioned the similarity of The Beatles' 1967 Fan Club recording "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)", which he had recently heard on a radio show to Fats Domino's 1956 hit single "I'm in Love Again".
Ramone had never heard "Christmas Time..." but mentioned it to Paul when they were discussing piano players later that week. Paul reportedly said "how you know about that track?" and confirmed that like "Come Together", John had started with a nearly identical arrangement before Paul suggested it be altered. He added "that was John being lazy".
Zeppelin really ripped off others much more than the Beatles ever did.
Both great bands
I assume there are programs that can tell if your song is similar to another these days after you write it.Way back when i would have been paranoid that every song i wrote was a song i thought i came up with,but i accidentally stole from someone else.