Great Rip-Offs

[Zombie]

This thread is about GREAT rip-offs.

What rip-offs do you love?

Pop song, movie, play, book, honest (acknowledging the source), dishonest (plagiarism), intentional or unintentional - doesn’t matter. But not music sampling - that’s just nicking sounds  

This is a UK 1970s Top 20 hit “If I Had You” by The Korgis. It used Variation 18 of Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini 

 

 

 

 

 

[Former Member]

Howard Jones covered Steely Dan’s I.G.Y., but Howard’s clueless fans think he wrote it, does that count?
;–)

[Zombie]

Hahaha

more importantly was the cover any good?

[Bill W]

The song "All By Myself" by Eric Carmen in 1976 was based on a theme from Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto #2.   

[Former Member]

2 hours ago, Zombie said:

Hahaha

more importantly was the cover any good?

I like it, but I think I’m older than most HoJo fans and enjoyed the original too.

[Former Member]

Barry Manilow wrote Could It Be Magic. It was unintentionally based on Chopin’s Prelude in C Minor, Opus 28, Number 20, but he has acknowledged the fact. It was recorded by Donna Summer.

Ironically, Barry didn’t write I Write the Songs – Bruce Johnson of the Beach Boys did.
;–)

[Zombie]

 

In 1971 George Harrison was the first ex-Beatle to have a monster hit - on both sides of the Pond - with “My Sweet Lord” 

 

He was then hit with a law suit for plagiarism by the copyright owners of the 1963 US Number One hit “He’s So Fine”

 

You don’t need to be a musicologist to hear the MUSIC is essentially the same. It doesn’t matter that the SOUND is so different (arrangement, production, middle eight and lyrics). Truth is George gave us a much finer , more beautiful and all-time-great song.

The legal action was very messy and dragged on for over 20 years. George was found guilty of “subconscious” plagiarism and significant copyright costs were awarded against him.  

In response George said he had been inspired by a quite different song: the out-of-copyright Christian hymn "Oh, Happy Day”, written in the 18th century by English clergyman Philip Doddridge, as performed in the late 1960s’ fantastic all-time-great arrangement “Oh Happy Day” by Edward Hawkins

Edit to add:

The source of the music used by Edwin Hawkins is a little more complicated than I said above -

“Edwin Hawkins’ gospel style arrangement of the hymn "Oh, Happy Day" has a long pedigree. It began as a hymn written in the mid-18th century ("O happy day, that fixed my choice") by English clergyman Philip Doddridge (based on Acts 8:35) set to an earlier melody (1704) by J. A. Freylinghausen. By the mid-19th century it had been given a new melody by Edward F. Rimbault, who also added a chorus, and was commonly used for baptismal or confirmation ceremonies in the UK and USA. The 20th century saw its adaptation from 3/4 to 4/4 time and this new arrangement by Hawkins, which contains only the repeated Rimbault refrain, with all of the original verses being omitted.” (Wiki2)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Sweet_Lord

 

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2019 by Zombie