Top 20 Songs That Led to HUGE Lawsuits
#20: “Folsom Prison Blues”
Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash bared his soul for the world to see on many of his greatest hits. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t get a little help along the way at times. On his legendary single “Folsom Prison Blues,” Cash took heavy influence from a then-recent album by Gordon Jenkins, especially the track “Crescent City Blues.” It’s an unmistakable lift that should’ve been credited. In the early ‘70s, Jenkins made the decision to sue Cash for a slice of the pie. He ended up paying Jenkins a sum of $75,000, while also inserting his songwriter credit on all subsequent releases.
#19: “Pretty Woman”
2 Live Crew
An interesting question was raised when 2 Live Crew released a song titled “Pretty Woman” in 1989. Can a parody of a song be considered plagiarism? Well 2 Live Crew supposedly contacted Roy Orbison’s record label to ask for permission to parody his legendary hit “Oh, Pretty Woman.” The label rejected them, but the group took the rebellious path and recorded their parody anyway. The lawsuit that followed led to some interesting outcomes, namely that parody should be considered “fair use.” And we’re inclined to agree. Could you imagine if someone like Weird Al Yankovic had to answer for all of his parodies? That’s not a world we want to live in.
#18: “Ghostbusters”
Ray Parker Jr.
The story of Ray Parker Jr. and the “Ghostbusters” theme song is a messy tale. After being tasked with writing a tune for the film with barely any time to work, Parker managed to produce the goods in a big way. The problem? Well, as much as the tune was insanely catchy and the perfect fit, it also borrowed heavily from another famous song. Huey Lewis and the News had recently released “I Want A New Drug,” which is clearly the inspiration for Parker’s song. Eventually, the case resulted in Lewis receiving an undisclosed payout, while agreeing to a confidentiality agreement. Unfortunately for him, after he spoke about the suit on VH1’s “Behind the Music,” Lewis had to pay Parker $30,000.
#17: “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”
Rod Stewart
This one is far too blatant to defend. Rod Stewart managed to strike gold on the charts once again with his insanely catchy disco pivot “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”. But when it emerged that he had totally ripped off Brazilian legend Jorge Ben Jor, he didn’t even try to fight it. As it turned out, Stewart had visited Rio around the time he wrote his song and subconsciously plagiarised Ben’s “Taj Mahal.” When Ben filed a lawsuit against Stewart, there was very little conflict. The case was settled amicably out of court and in favour of Ben. To this day, it remains one of the most clear-cut cases of plagiarism in music history.
#16: “Bitter Sweet Symphony”
The Verve
Imagine writing one of the most beloved songs of the 1990s, your band’s biggest ever hit, and not receiving royalties. Well, the improper sampling of the orchestral version of The Rolling Stones’ “The Last Time” left Britpop icons The Verve with a real mess on their hands. They were given clearance to sample a small portion of the track for “Bittersweet Symphony,” but ended up exceeding it. Not only did the courts side with the Stones, but full songwriting credit went to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, entitling them to all royalties the tune earned. However, in 2019, in a show of good faith that was very warmly received, Jagger and Richards gave the rights back to Richard Ashcroft and The Verve.
#15: “Shallow”
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
Does a star like Lady Gaga need to go digging through obscure Soundcloud artists for song ideas? Well, when her hit song “Shallow” was released as part of the 2018 movie “A Star Is Born,” she got an unexpected accusation and a threat that it would cost her millions. Steve Ronsen claimed that Gaga had stolen key elements from his song “Almost,” and that he had consulted musicologists to prove it. Whatever happened behind the scenes in this undisclosed saga did not work in his favour. He was described as someone who was looking to make money off other artists’ successes. In reality, the songs were simply using similar musical ideas to arrive at different points. A coincidence, nothing more.
#14: “Creep”
Radiohead
When Radiohead released “Creep” and it became a huge hit, it changed everything for them. So much so, that they got so sick and tired of playing it. However, Thom Yorke and company were forced to think about “Creep” a whole lot more when they were dragged into a lawsuit by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazelwood. The song was accused of being highly derivative of The Hollies' “The Air That I Breathe,” with the courts ruling that Radiohead had indeed borrowed a little too much. Hammond and Hazelwood are now listed as co-writers on the track and are entitled to half of all of the royalties the song earns.
#13: “Rodeo”
Lil Nas X & Cardi B
Lil Nas X and Cardi B’s “Rodeo” earned the two of them a boatload of money when it first dropped in 2019. But there was a problem. The Atlanta-based duo PuertoReefa & Sakrite Duexe claimed that their song “Broad Day” was being ripped off by “Rodeo.” According to them, their track had been circulating around the Atlanta hip-hop scene before Lil Nas X released his composition. In their eyes, the chord progression and instrumental feel had been ripped right off of their song. However, the courts did not agree with their claims; and eventually, the case was dismissed.
#12: “Uptown Funk”
Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars
“Uptown Funk” was one of the highest-selling songs of the 2010s and a major career peak for Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson. However, there’s no denying the similarities between the hook and The Gap Band’s classic funk song, “Oops Upside Your Head.” Were Mars and Ronson merely paying tribute to the past with their song? Well, no matter what the intention was, The Gap Band successfully filed a copyright claim. And you don’t need to be a musicologist to hear the similarities. Mars and Ronson were forced to add new songwriting credits to the track, and The Gap Band now receive 17% of royalties generated by the song.
#11: “Stairway To Heaven”
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin have had quite a few plagiarism controversies in their day. While songs like “Dazed and Confused” and “Whole Lotta Love” are among the most famous offenders, we’re looking at the most famous lift of all, “Stairway To Heaven.” Spirit had actually played on several of the same line-ups as Zeppelin in the late ‘60s. Jimmy Page was even a fan of the band. So when their track “Taurus” was released, many people believed that the guitarist’s love for borrowing musical ideas led to him ripping them off. “Stairway To Heaven’s” intro is damn-near identical to “Taurus.” And though the courts ruled in Zeppelin’s favour in 2016, we can’t say it was a convincing verdict.
#10: “Dark Horse”
Katy Perry
Katy Perry, with her hit single “Dark Horse,” was accused by Christian rapper Flame of using the same beats and instrumentals featured on his 2008 song “Joyful Noise.” Though the rapper initially won the suit and was awarded 2.8 million dollars for copyright infringement, the ruling was reversed in 2020. In the original ruling, Perry was accused of copying an 8 note ostinato, which is a continually repeated musical rhythm or lyric. A judge in 2020 found that the sequence was not all original or rare, and thus gave the case to Perry. It is a little difficult to hear the similarity between the two tunes, but that might just be to the untrained ear.
#9: “Shakermaker”
Oasis
Oasis didn’t always just fight amongst themselves as a band. They also had some legal issues to sort out. The 1994 single “Shakermaker” may sound familiar. Oasis was sued by 1970s band The New Seekers, the band responsible for “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing,” made popular by Coca-Cola commercials. The Seekers won and were awarded half a million dollars for unlawful use of their song. Originally, “Shakermaker” was supposed to open with the exact same lyric as The New Seekers song, but Oasis had to change it due to copyright. But they wouldn’t notice the melody, right? Well, they did. When asked about his thoughts on the case, Noel Gallagher said, “Now we all drink Pepsi.”
#8: “Carry On”
Lil Nas X
Lil Nas X grew to extreme popularity in the past few years. Unfortunately, with great popularity comes great lawsuits. His 2018 hit single “Carry On” borrowed a little too much from Bobby Caldwell’s 1982 song of the same title, and Nas was slapped with a 25 million dollar lawsuit. Basically – and this can easily be heard when comparing both tunes – he borrowed from the 1982 song without permission. The claim is divided into 2 suits: Nas for unlawful use and Sony Music for punitive damages, citing the label as not properly verifying its artists’ songs in the pursuit of fortune. The results of the case haven’t been publicized, but we can’t assume it’ll end in Nas’s favor.
#7: “We Can’t Stop”
Miley Cyrus
Sometimes, the plaintiffs get a little greedy. Miley Cyrus’s 2013 single “We Can’t Stop” sounded familiar to Jamaican songwriter Flourgon. He claimed Cyrus’s song bears a resemblance to his 1988 song “We Run Things” in general, as well as borrows from his lyrics. So, Flourgon sued for a massive amount of 300 million dollars. The suit was settled in early 2020. However, the details haven’t been released to the public. The main lyric borrowed was “we run things, things no run we,” which Cyrus sang as “we run things, things don’t run we.” It’s a fairly specific phrase. Other details are scarce, but it’s nice to see the little guy come out triumphant sometimes.
#6: “My Sweet Lord”
George Harrison
There can’t be any doubt in anyone’s mind that one of the biggest bands in musical history and its members were sued on more than one occasion. Early in George Harrison’s solo career, he was sued by Bright Tunes Music Corporation concerning his song “My Sweet Lord.” The song musically resembles The Chiffons’ 1963 hit “He’s So Fine,” and this can be heard by the untrained ear. Harrison claimed to have drawn inspiration from “Oh Happy Day,” as had “He’s So Fine,” and that the former Beatle was aware of the Chiffons tune. Therefore, it was deemed that Harrison subconsciously borrowed from “He’s So Fine,” yet this doesn’t absolve one from copyright infringement. He was ordered to pay the label $1.6 million in 1976.
#5: “My Humps”
The Black Eyed Peas
This one is really down to record label politics. DJ Lynn Tolliver recorded his song “I Need a Freak” in 1983, and had the song registered with BMI as its songwriter. The song was subsequently lent out for use, despite Tolliver’s legal efforts to put a stop to it. The producer responsible for lending the track ignored Tolliver and continued, thus it was sampled by the Black Eyed Peas. The court case was riddled with the producer’s multiple versions of the story, but ultimately, Tolliver was awarded $1.2 million. This is one of those cases where the band was really not at fault.
#4: “Thinking Out Loud”
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran is no stranger to lawsuits. In the same year, he had two major suits going on, the first being his song “Photograph” accused of blatantly stealing, at some points note-for-note, from Matt Cardle’s song “Amazing.” The second was for a song from the same album, “Thinking Out Loud.” Sheeran was slapped with a multi-million-dollar lawsuit in 2018 for allegedly borrowing a little too heavily from Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On,” notably in the drum and bass rhythm arrangements. In March of 2021, Sheeran attempted to have the case dismissed, but his bid was rejected by a US District Judge, who stated that Sheeran must face the charges against him.
#3: “Ice Ice Baby”
Vanilla Ice
The results of this one might irk a few fans of the legendary band Queen. Back in 1990, Vanilla Ice had teens stopping, collaborating, and listening to his hit single “Ice Ice Baby.” However, anyone with any knowledge of classic rock recognized that bassline right away. It was ripped directly from Queen and David Bowie’s collaborative 1981 song, “Under Pressure.” Ice soon found himself being sued by both Queen and Bowie. Ice claimed that he avoided the suit by purchasing the rights to “Under Pressure.” However, a Queen spokesperson says that Ice’s statement isn’t entirely accurate, stating, “An arrangement was made whereby the publishing in the song was shared.”
#2: “Love is a Wonderful Thing”
Michael Bolton
In the early ‘90s, Michael Bolton found himself in hot water following the release of the hit single “Love is a Wonderful Thing.” It turned out that The Isley Brothers, best known for “It’s Your Thing” and “Shout,” had released a 45 rpm single of the same title back in 1964. Though Bolton and his manager claimed to have never heard the original song, that’s a little hard to believe when you compare the two singles. The Isley Brothers won their case and were awarded $5 million, which at the time was the highest payout for musical copyright infringement ever awarded. At least we can all agree that love is, in fact, a wonderful thing.
#1: “Blurred Lines”
Robin Thicke & Pharrell Williams
Remember 2013, when all you heard all year was this song? Well, Marvin Gaye’s family heard it too, and they weren’t too pleased. In 2013, Gaye’s family filed a lawsuit, claiming that the hit single copied from Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.” To the untrained ear, the opening of both songs is strikingly similar, as is the rhythm. Gaye’s family was triumphant and were awarded approximately $5 million, as well as half of all future royalties “Blurred Lines” accrues. One thing we can say from this and some of the other lawsuits featured in this list: don’t mess with Marvin Gaye’s music.
Did we miss out on any other famous music lawsuits? Let us know in the comments below.
