Art doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Every artist, no matter the medium, is inspired by another artist’s work. Sometimes, though, they cross the line from inspiration to emulation. Surprisingly, some of the most memorable hit songs in recent history have led to plagiarism accusations and lawsuits.
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The songs below were all hits upon release. Most people have heard all of these tunes at least once in their lives. Some of the artists in the list settled plagiarism lawsuits over their songs out of court. Others fought their cases to the very end.
[RELATED: 5 Dumbest Music Lawsuits That Ever Went to Court]
1. “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr.
Anyone who is old enough to remember Ray Parker Jr.’s theme from Ghostbusters. It’s just as iconic as the 1984 movie. It spent three weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. The song also drew a plagiarism allegation from the camp of Huey Lewis and the News.
According to MPR News, Lewis accused Parker of ripping off the melody of “I Need a New Drug” for “Ghostbusters.” Lewis sued him and they settled out of court in 1985.
2. “The Old Man Down the Road” by John Fogerty
John Fogerty is one of the only artists who can say he was accused of plagiarizing his own song. Fantasy Records sued, asserting that he ripped off “Run Through the Jungle” for his song “The Old Man Down the Road.”
According to Louder, Fogerty signed the rights to the songs he wrote with Creedence Clearwater Revival over to Fantasy in the mid-1970s. Then, in 1985, he released Centerfield, which contained a couple of fairly obvious digs at his former label head. The song “Zanz Kant Danz” earned him a $144 million lawsuit from Fantasy head Saul Zaentz. They settled out of court. Then, Fantasy brought a plagiarism suit against him for “The Old Man Down the Road.”
Fogerty fought the case all the way to the Supreme Court. There, he convinced the jury that the two songs sound the same because he wrote and sang both of them. It was a long legal battle, but he came out on top.
3. “Down Under” by Men At Work
Men at Work released “Down Under” in 1983, and it was a huge hit. Then, in 2007, Larrikin Music Publishing accused them of plagiarizing the Australian folk song “Kookaburra” with the flute parts of their Grammy-winning hit.
According to ABC News, an Australian federal judge found in favor of Larriikin in 2010. However, the judge asserted that “There is a sufficient degree of objective similarity between the bars of ‘Kookaburra’ which are heard in ‘Down Under’ to amount to a reproduction,” of part of the song.
4. “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash
“Folsom Prison Blues” is one of the most iconic songs in country music history and one of Johnny Cash’s biggest hits. It also brought allegations that he plagiarized the song “Crescent City Blues” by Gordon Jenkins. He pulled heavily from Jenkins’ lyrics, including the opening lines.
Jenkins sued Cash for plagiarism, and the Man in Black settled out of court.
Featured Image by ITV/Shutterstock
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