Famous titles that are “inspired by” or “by”, there are many. Here are some examples which, in the eyes of some, constitute plagiarism. Radio-TV columnist and comedian Alex Jaffray has made a specialty of spotting these borrowings and making amusing and informative video clips on social networks.
“Highway To Hell”, AC/DC
This guitar riff became legendary and propelled AC/CD to the top. It is of course “Highway To Hell”, released in 1979. 100% AC/DC? Not really. Angus Young and his people were clearly very inspired by a song by the group Free: “All Right Now”. And for good reason, before they were known, the Australians made a cover of it that they commonly played in the bars where they performed.
“The Barn”, ZZ Top
Signature song of the ZZ Top Texans released in 1973, “La Grange” draws its roots from the 1940s and the repertoire of John Lee Hooker: “Boogie Chillen'” (1948) and the adaptation that the bluesman made of it in 1962 under the title “Boom Boom”. That didn’t stop ZZ Top’s song from gaining recognition. It is included in the soundtrack of many films, including Armagedon, Sheriff, scare me et Zero Tolerance. But also in video games (The Getaway: High Speed II, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Nascar The Game: 2à11), series, etc.
“Every Breath You Take”, The Police
Excerpt from Synchronicity (1983), the last album by The Police, and a global hit by the trio Sting, Andy Summers and Steward Copeland which earned them the Grammy Award for song of the year, “Every Breath You Take” is a little marvel of composition. Here’s what Sting said: “I woke up in the middle of the night with this line in my head, sat down at the piano and wrote it in half an hour. The tune itself is classic, a collection of hundreds of others, but the lyrics are interesting. It sounds like a soothing love song. I didn’t realize at the time how sinister she was.”
Ed Sheeran wins plagiarism case in higher court
An inspired marvel, however. The chord sequence is the same as that of the famous “Stand By Me” by Ben E King, emphasizes Alex Jaffray in one of his videos. We will add that the bass line also seems to have been significantly inspired by another title, “Too Many Teardrops” by Nick Low, a song released in 1982, a year before “Every Breath You Take”. So, plagiarism or not plagiarism? You be the judge.
“Ghostbusters”, Ray Parker Jr.
The main theme of the hit film of the same name, the song “Ghostbuster” propelled its creator to the top of the charts in 1984. Not bad for a song released in just two days. It was even nominated for the Oscars in the Best Original Song category, without winning the precious statuette. It’s hard to go unnoticed with such success. Huey Lewis (of Huey Lewis and the News) winced when he heard the song. It sounded extremely similar to one of his songs, “I Want a New Drug” released the year before. He took the matter to court and it resulted in a financial settlement. Since then, neither Huey Lewis nor Ray Parker Jr. have wanted to talk about the case.
“Creep”, Radiohead
“Creep” is the title that paved the way to success for Radiohead. That of troubles too. While the band did not want this song released, as guitarist Jonny Greenwood intentionally attempted to “sabotage” the recording with supposedly unpleasant guitar sounds, their record company left them no choice. This is how we end up with a story of plagiarism on our backs. Indeed, “Creep” has very audible similarities to “The Air That I Breathe”, a 1972 track written for The Hollies by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood. The rights generated by the song have since been shared.
To make matters worse, Radiohead attacked Lana Del Rey for plagiarizing… “Creep”. It was in 2018. In question, “Get Free”, an extract from his album Lust For Life whose title is also a carbon copy of that of Iggy Pop’s record released in 1977!
“Harder Better Faster Stronger”, Daft Punk
Rather than plagiarism, we must talk about borrowing when we talk about this Daft Punk hit. Firstly because the music is based on a sample of Edwin Birdsong (“Cola Bottle Baby”), an American singer and producer you have probably never heard of, and not music inspired by. Then because the title of the song is a borrowing from a famous television series theme song. Listen carefully again to that of The man who was worth three billion. Yes, you are there, you heard correctly: “Better, Stronger, Faster”! At least in the English version.
In the borrowing department, Daft Punk also did family recycling. Their hit “One More Time” is based on the same chords as “More Spell On You”, a disco song performed by Eddie Johns, who you probably haven’t heard of more than Edwin Birdsong. It turns out that this title and this artist were produced by Daniel Vanguarde, father Thomas Bangalter, one of the two Daft Punk. For the record, Daniel Vanguarde also produced Ottawan, worked with Ringo, Sheila and Joe Dassin. He was the lyricist of the Compagnie Créole
