Why does that sound familiar? Oh, that's right! :



Chip

Paul McCartney's "Tiny Bubble" chorus on the album "Driving Rain" is similar to Harrison's "Piggies". You'd think that Macca would have the nous to stay away from Beatles material, but no.

As Frank Sisko mentioned in a Playground thread earlier this week (or maybe it was a WANderground thread), Joe Jackson's "Breaking Us In Two" has essentially the same melody as Badfinger's "Day After Day".

To me, Boston's "Don't Look Back" sounds like a more mechanical, less-flowing version of their own "Peace of Mind."
Chip

That's because it is.

I used to do a medley of REO Speedwagon tunes to prove they only wrote one song -- went like this:

"I can't fight this feeling anymore
I've forgotten what I started fighting for
I don't wanna sleep
I just wanna keep on loving you...
...But I believe it's time for me to fly..."

In the self-plagerism department: The first couple of lines in Prince's "1999" and The Bangles' "Manic Monday" (written by Prince under the name Christopher) are very similar musically.

Prince's (or Symbol's) "Cream" sounds a lot like "Bang a Gong." IIRC, Prince even steals a line from the T. Rex classic.
Chip

Recall that John Fogerty was sued by Fantasy Music for recycling the melody from "Run Through The Jungle" as "The Old Man Is Down the Road."

It was a landmark case, as the judge ruled that an artist has an inherent right to sound like him or herself.

Funny you should bring that up. IF I remember correctly (& that's a big IF) wasn't Saul Zentz the Fantasy executive involved in that lawsuit? I read yesterday that he is also currently involved in a lawsuit as a plaintiff against New Line films regarding Royalties from the Lord Of The Rings films. According to the article, there are several allegations (including from Peter Jackson & the Tolkein estate) of people getting cheated on royalties.

Kiss's song "Dreaming" off of Psycho Circus ripped off the guitar riff and structure for Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen". Kiss was sued by the publisher's of the song because of it.

The Grass Roots' "Let's Live For Today" rips off "I Count the Tears" by The Drifters.

The Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions tune "Can't Satisfy" rips off the Motown classic "This Old Heart of Mine," and in fact is credited to Holland-Dozier-Holland.

The Shin's "New Slang" sure borrows heavily from Herman's Hermits' "No Milk Today".

Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" = Chic's "Good Times"

Another lift by Weller ~ compare this obscure Northern Soul track ("So Is The Sun" by The World Column) to The Jam's "Trans Global Express":

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vETG8tVaY[/youtube]

I heard "So It Goes" by Nick Lowe on the local community radio station the other day. I had forgotten how much that song sounds like "Reeling In The Years" by Steely Dan.

I was listening to Plant & Krauss' "Raising Sand" and that guitar lick in "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson" sounds a whole lot like the Allmans' "Blue Sky"!

A lot of songs reference that "Hey, Baby" phrasing from (I think) Bruce Chanel's 1962 hit. Notably Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark," but there are others.

Never noticed this one until I read about it in a book last night, but David Bowie admits part of the melody for Starman was lifted from th Wizard Of Oz' Somewhere Over The Rainbow (think "There's a Star-maaaaan Waiting In the Sky" compared to "Somewherrrrrrre Over The Rainbow")!

Joe Jackson's "Memphis" is a direct rip-off of "Shotgun" by Jr. Walker.

Ian McLagan's organ bit on the second verse of The Small Faces' "Tin Soldier" steals the riff of The Who's "I Can't Explain."

Go to 1:27:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcKZoFRpZCI[/youtube]

The song, "Still Alive" by the Joe Jackson Band has some melodies that sound like or were inspired by Steely Dan's Barrytown.

"In the beginning we were there till the end of time
It isn't sinning to prepare for the kind of murder
That's not a crime"

I heard Aerosmith's "Angel" on the radio this morning, and the opening riff sounded just like a bad copy of J. Geils' "Love Stinks"!