Some plagiarism cases are complicated, but here's one that is cut and dry--Vanilla Ice, without question, used the bass riff from "Under Pressure" in his hit "Ice Ice Baby."
When David Bowie and Queen inevitably found out about this, they threatened legal action. The case was settled out of court, and both Bowie and the members of Queen got writing credits on "Ice Ice Baby"--which I'm sure was a "highlight" of their careers.
One might say that the line between copyright infringment and fair use was "blurred" in the lawsuit between the estate of Marvin Gaye and the creators of the hit "Blurred Lines."
There's no denying that there are elements of the song that bear striking resemblances to Gaye's song "Got to Give It Up." But that being said, Gaye has been dead for decades--all of this lawsuit money goes to his family, who most definitely did not write "Got to Give It Up". I'd be okay with this settlement if all the money was going directly to Marvin Gaye's ghost.
This is genuinely the most perplexing entry on this list. In the 90s, some people started noticing that there were riff similarities between Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Boston's "More Than a Feeling."
While the opening riff to the Nirvana song and the chorus of "More Than a Feeling" might sound a little similar, this one is really stretching it. I think it's a case of people looking too hard for plagiarism where there is none.
Even if you hate Coldplay, it's hard to make a case that their hit "Viva La Vida" plagiarizes Joe Satriani's "If I Could Fly." But that's exactly what Satriani did, and he even managed to settle out of court.
The opening string riff in "Viva La Vida" bears a passing resemblance to the intro of "If I Could Fly", but only a lawyer would have the gall to classify it as intentional or malicious.
Miley Cyrus is no stranger to public trouble, but in 2013, she found herself in unusual territory--a copyright infringement lawsuit.
Jamaican musician Flourgon claimed that Cyrus's hit "We Can't Stop" took "about 50%" from his 1998 song "We Run Things." In a way, Flourgon might have a point--she straight up lifts the line "We run things/ things don't run we" from his song. Beyond that, though, the musical similarities fizzle out. That line might be worth something, but it's definitely not worth the $300 million Flourgon is looking for.
When it wasn't being accused of satanic backmasking, Led Zeppelin's hit "Stairway to Heaven" was being accused of plagiarism! Rock band Spirit accused the band of ripping off their song "Taurus"--and it wasn't the only bit of copyright trouble Led Zeppelin found themselves in.
Thankfully in 2016, a jury found that the similarities between the songs did not constitute infringement. The two songs definitely share some material but calling it plagiarism would be stretching it.
Childish Gambino had a moment in 2018 with his viral hit, "This is America." It might have been thoughtful, challenging music, but it might also have been plagiarized from New York rapper Jase Harley.
Childish Gambino's manager got mighty defensive about the allegations when they were brought up, which makes the whole thing look even more suspicious. To his credit, Harley had no beef with the song. He said, "I feel extremely humbled to be recognized and labeled as one of the original inspirations for one of the most important pieces of music and visual art of our time."
This one is a rare instance where a band absolutely plagiarized a song--and admitted as much. After their hit "Surfin' USA" rose to prominence, the Beach Boys admitted that it was pretty much all stolen from Chuck Berry's "Sweet Sixteen."
When you compare the songs, it's amazing that the Beach Boys didn't think anyone would notice--the resemblance is uncanny. But they ended up doing the right thing and giving Berry a songwriting credit on every release of the song from then on.
Poor Ray Parker Jr. only ever really had any fame for writing the Ghostbusters theme song, despite having a decades-long music career. Then, Huey Lewis tried to take that away from him by claiming that Parker plagiarized his song, "I Want a New Drug."
The opening of both songs sound vaguely similar, but just barely so. But Parker still decided to settle with Lewis out of court, which means we may never know just what the hell Huey Lewis was thinking when he filed suit.
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has always said he hates their super-famous hit, "Creep", and now we might know why. It's been nothing but a legal headache for the band.
In the '90s, rock band The Hollies said that "Creep" plagiarized a chord progression they used in a song in the '70s. And Radiohead absolutely did that. The problem was that this chord progression was not particularly ingenious or unheard of already, which meant the Hollies didn't really have a foot to stand on. But that didn't stop Radiohead from cowering before their lawyers, offering songwriting credits and a cut of the royalties.
Katy Perry can't escape her Christian past, whether it's her zealous, evangelist parents or some random Christian rapper accusing her of plagiarism.
In 2018, a jury (and it's always a jury with these things) found that Perry's 2013 hit, "Dark Horse" plagiarized the song, "Joyful Noise" by Christian rapper Flame. The rapper might have positioned himself as a good, Christian underdog, but it's clear from court transcripts that his legal team kept their eye on the real prize--money.
The Doors and The Kinks were both major bands in their own right, and things got tricky between them when people started noticing riff similarities between The Doors' "Hello, I Love You" and The Kinks' "All Day and All of the Night."
While the record label for the Kinks wanted to sue the Doors, frontman Ray Davies convinced the parties to settle out of court.
Here's a case where a band was "plagiarizing" another and it was totally above board--until it wasn't. In 1997, The Verve released their single "Bitter Sweet Symphony", which featured a five-note riff from The Rolling Stones' "The Last Time."
However, The Verve was accused of using more than just those five notes, which voided their agreement. When they settled out of court, the band lost all royalties and Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were given songwriting credits.
I'd pick Tom Petty over Sam Smith any day, but Petty's claims that Smith's song "Stay With Me" borrowed elements from Petty's "I Won't Back Down" are just ridiculous.
There are some chord similarities in the chorus--but there are literally chord similarities everywhere in all of music. There are only so many combinations you can make. When all was said and done, Petty ended up with a songwriter credit (and probably a bunch of money, too).
We probably wouldn't have rock and roll as we know it without Bill Haley's '50s hit "Rock Around the Clock." And we probably wouldn't have that without Hank Williams Sr.'s "Move It On Over."
While it doesn't appear that Williams ever threatened a lawsuit, there are some interesting similarities between the two songs. However, people have also pointed out that Williams' "Move It On Over" also bears a striking resemblance to the 1929 song, "Going to Move to Alabama."
In addition to going after the writers of "Blurred Lines", the estate of Marvin Gaye is also looking for $100 million dollars from Ed Sheeran for his song, "Thinking Out Loud."
The company that owns the copyright to Gaye's song "Let's Get It On" claim that Sheeran's song contains "substantial similarities", and the case is currently awaiting a jury trial.
Def Leppard could absolutely take One Direction to court and win over their 2014 single "Midnight Memories". It bears quite a bit more than a passing resemblance to Leppard's hit "Pour Some Sugar On Me."
But the Def Leppard guys took the high road and didn't pursue legal action. It might be because they have big hearts, but it also might be because they're definitely not losing any fans to One Direction.
George Harrison did just fine for himself post-Beatles, and arguably his most famous solo career song is "My Sweet Lord." This paean to the Hindu god Krishna might not seem like it was swiped from a poppy girl group, but that's exactly how a judge ruled in a 1970s lawsuit.
In 1971, the record label for The Chiffons filed suit that Harrison's song infringed on the copyright of their 1963 song, "He's So Fine." They argued (and won) that the two songs shared similar chord progressions and other harmonic features. And Harrison even admitted that he "subconsciously" plagiarized the Chiffons' song. So it was pretty much nonsense from all sides in this lawsuit.
This is probably not Avril Lavigne's fault--mostly because I don't believe for a minute she's capable of writing her own songs--but her 2007 hit "Girlfriend" has some lyrics that are almost verbatim from the '70s song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" by the Rubinoos.
The case was settled out of court, but considering the fact that the lyrical similarities are undeniable, the Rubinoos probably made a pretty penny for all their troubles.
In a true twist of fate, Radiohead (who had already been sued for plagiarism over their song "Creep") threatened legal action against Lana Del Rey because her song "Get Free" also bore a suspicious similarity to "Creep."
The case was eventually settled out of court, and Radiohead said they didn't want to sue--probably because all those legal fees would cut into the money they managed to extort out of Del Rey.
Poor Oasis can't catch a break. They've had multiple plagiarism accusations, including their 1994 single, "Shakermaker."
It's very apparent that the duo used the melody from the 1970s song, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing." It was so apparent, in fact, that Oasis was forced to change the melody entirely.
Nirvana had a few plagiarism scandals during their time in the 90s--which included one of their biggest hits, "Come As You Are."
The song bore striking similarities to the 1980s hit, "Eighties" by Killing Joke. It was so similar, in fact, that Cobain and his record label debated releasing "Come As You Are" at all. While Killing Joke did complain about it, it doesn't seem they actually took Nirvana to court over it.
Elastica was a popular Britpop group from the '90s that found themselves the center of a plagiarism controversy. It all had to do with their 1994 single, "Connection."
The song featured a prominent synthesizer riff that mirrored the guitar riff in the 1977 song, "Three Girl Rhumba" by Wire. The case was settled out of court but Wire ended up getting credit on the Elastica single.
Coldplay has the distinction of being one of only a few bands who allegedly plagiarized one song from multiple sources. Not only did Joe Satriani give the band trouble with their hit "Viva La Vida", but so did Creaky Boards.
The lead singer for the group called out Coldplay by name when "Viva La Vida" was released, claiming striking similarities. However, the band accidentally proved their claim was false. The singer alleged that Coldplay frontman Chris Martin saw them perform and then wrote "Viva La Vida", but in reality, Coldplay's hit was written six months before Martin had seen the band.
Oasis just couldn't catch a break when it came to plagiarism accusations. But when it comes to their 1994 single, "Whatever", they absolutely deserved to be accused.
Musician Neil Innes sued the band due to similarities in a riff featured in "Whatever," as well as his 1973 song, "How Sweet to Be an Idiot." The charges stuck, and Oasis was forced to give Innes a writing credit.
Most of the songs on this list were accused of plagiarism because of musical similarities. However, the Beatles got in trouble for "Come Together" due to lyrical ones.
Several lines written by John Lennon were strikingly similar to lyrics in Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me." That initiated a lawsuit by Berry's record label, which led to a countersuit by Lennon, and the whole thing remained a mess even after his assassination.
In 2000, Green Day released their album Warning, which included a single of the same name. And it wasn't too long until listeners started to think that the riff prominently featured in the song sounds a little familiar.
And that's because the riff is very similar to the one found in The Kinks' 1968 song, "Picture Book." While the two riffs are indeed very similar, The Kinks have never pursued legal action against Green Day.
There are plenty of reasons for fans to be disappointed with Metallica--anyone remember their Napster hissy fit? They may have been accused of plagiarizing their hit, "Enter Sandman," but honestly, it's a stretch.
The iconic guitar riff from the song sounds slightly similar to a riff found in EXCEL's "Tapping Into the Emotional Void", but it comes nowhere near approaching plagiarism levels. Plus, EXCEL has never pursued legal action against Metallica. Still, some fans say it's a rip off.
Musician will.i.am has had several plagiarism accusations during his career. But probably the most blatant and obvious one was found in his 2013 song, "Let's Go."
This wasn't a case of parallel thinking or anything like that--will.i.am simply took a sample from "Rebound" by Russian DJ, Arty, that he didn't have permission to use. Once it was revealed that he didn't have permission to sample the track, the song was removed from the album.
If you're going to plagiarize a riff (which you shouldn't), hopefully, you'll steal from somebody as good-natured about it as Tom Petty. The Strokes found out firsthand that he's a pretty chill guy.
The opening riff to their song "Last Nite" is nearly identical to a riff found in Petty's song "American Girl." The rip off was so blatant that The Strokes even admitted to using it in an interview. Petty eventually found out, but thankfully, he just laughed it off--it's not like he needed money or songwriting credits from anyone!
