In the modern world of music production and songwriting, it might surprise you to know that not every hit song is completely original. Even with a team of professionals helping you, any song is at risk for accidental plagiarism. Whether they're the best new artists or rock and roll legends, no one is immune to overlapping ideas. These musicians were all accused of stealing parts of their hit songs from other artists.
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams is one of the most successful musicians and songwriters of the era, but how much of it was really his own imagination? He's not immune to controversy, especially since his 2014 hit song "Happy" was reportedly stolen. The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 86th Academy Awards. The song lost to "Let It Go" from the movie Frozen.
Stolen From Marvin Gaye
Apparently, the Gaye family of the late Marvin Gaye claims that the song was a rip-off of "Ain't That Peculiar" by the singer. Williams claimed that as a musician, he was heavily influenced by Gaye in many aspects of his process, so it's possible that there was some unconscious stolen content. However, the Gaye family has not pursued the case legally, so not much came from this.
Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke
In 2016, Robin Thicke and Pharrell collaborated on the controversial hit "Blurred Lines." Though the song got the artists into some hot water due to the upsetting lyrics and accompanying music video, the real legal battle came when it was revealed that the song sounded quite a lot like another popular hit. Like Pharrell's earlier problems, it sounded quite a lot like "Got to Give It Up" by Marvin Gaye.
Stolen From Marvin Gaye
Pharrell admitted to the song inspiring Blurred Lines, and what ensued was a long court battle over the rights. The duo paid the Gaye family about $7.4 million in financial losses, and the family also collected 50 percent of the royalty profits from the problematic song. One lawyer commented "[The ruling] sets a horrible precedent for music and creativity going forward."
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin was one of the most successful bands of the 1970s and became rock legends for their incredible musical abilities, but maybe their songwriting skills weren't as impressive. Their famous hit single from 1971, "Stairway to Heaven" was allegedly plagiarized. The opening of the song is a shameless copycat of the rock band Spirit's song, "Taurus".
Stolen From Spirit
The song battle didn't die out. IN fact, the bands went to court over the rights to the instrumental cut in 2016. In the end, the jury decided that while similar, the songs did not violate copyright infringement laws. In March of 2017, the verdict was finally appealed. This song has become the most famous from the group, earning them over $560 million in profits.
Lady Gaga
She might have a pretty good "Poker Face", but her "Bad Romance" isn't the only hot water Gaga has been caught in recently. Her hit song from 2011, "Born This Way," got her into a lot of legal trouble when it was discovered that the song bore striking similarities to another pop diva's top track. It was apparently a blatant rip-off of the 1989 song "Express Yourself" by the Queen of Pop.
Stolen From Madonna
Lady Gaga was the most perplexed by this, because she claimed she didn't hear any similarity. She dismissed the claims entirely but did play along with the accusation during one segment on Saturday Night Live. Fans took issue with the song at first but calmed down over time. Hey, fans! Don't hate on Lady Gaga, after all, she was just simply born this way!
Katy Perry
Katy Perry's popularity has certainly risen and fallen over the years. One of her best eras was when she released the pop anthem "Roar" in 2013. While the radio listeners loved the song, not everyone was so keen on the new pop hit. Fans were actually the ones to call out the singer's positive title and lyrics as being strikingly similar to another pop artist of the year, Sara Bareilles' "Brave".
Stolen From Sara Bareilles
Since the songs were about similar themes and had similar lyric styles, fans wondered what was the truth. However, Bareilles was the one to speak up first about the rumor. "I don’t feel like anything was taken from me artistically," responded Bareilles "I’ve known Katy a long time. We are friends, and she and I spoke about it. I look at it as two female artists who are releasing a message of empowerment."
Vanilla Ice
Ice, Ice, oh no baby. In 1990, the one-hit-wonder Vanilla Ice released the song Ice Ice Baby to a captivated audience. What ensued was one of the biggest pop hits from the 90s. It's known as one of the most famous songs of all time, but he never claimed to be completely original. You might have noticed this before, but the bass line is the exact same as "Under Pressure" from Queen and David Bowie in 1986.
Stolen From Queen and David Bowie
Vanilla Ice adamantly refused these claims, but even he couldn't hide the similarity. When threatened with legal action, the singer finally admitted to the inspiration. He finally agreed to list David Bowie and Queen as co-writers on his hit song. The music legends were co-credited with the one-hit-wonder and received full songwriting rights. They really had to stop, collaborate, and listen...
Sam Smith
Sam Smith impressed everyone with the instantaneous classic "Stay With Me" but the soulful pop singer might have ripped off another star on their way to the top of the charts. Despite the claims that Sam Smith had never heard the song before, the star's single was often compared to "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1989.
Stolen From Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty said that "All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen." Both parties agreed to compromise and list Tom Petty as a co-writer on the song. Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne were both credited. Petty later commented, "Let me say, I have never had any hard feelings toward Sam." Tom Petty passed away in 2017, three years after Sam's song premiered.
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips might not be a number one hit generator but the band certainly has a following. Their 2002 song "Fight Test" became a surprise big hit and skyrocketed the already popular band to extreme stardom. However, it propelled another star into fame many years prior. The song has been likened to the 1970 song "Father and Son" by Cat Stevens.
Stolen From Cat Stevens
The song underwent a legal suit due to the nearly copied melody. To appease both parties, the song split the rights to publishing with Cat Stevens, who is today known as Yusuf Islam. Wayne Coyne, the frontman for the Flaming Lips band, admitted that the songs were remarkably close but it was never his intention to rip off the incredibly successful tune.
Avril Lavigne
Hey hey, you, you, I don't like your hit song, "Girlfriend"! Avril Lavigne was one of the most famous singers of the 2000s, and this single became one of her biggest songs. However, it wasn't exactly original, as the song was accused of being a rip off of the 1979 single by the Rubinoos, "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend." It has also been accused of ripping off "Mickey" by Toni Basil.
Stolen From The Rubinoos
The pop-punk princess was under fire for the song stealing, and this one got taken to the courts. She lost the songwriting credits to the Rubinoos, and the old band gained newfound fame. Clearly something went wrong because the singer lost relevancy. "Girlfriend" was her last wildly successful single, though she did have a "Hello Kitty" song that flopped.
Ray Parker Jr.
Who you gonna call? The real songwriters! In 1995, the Ghostbusters theme song hit pop culture with a force, and everyone was singing this spooky track. The scariest part of all though was the impending lawsuit. Ray Parker Jr. was hailed for his creative songwriting, but maybe Huey Lewis & The News deserves the praise, as it sounds quite a lot like "I Want a New Drug."
Stolen From Huey Lewis & The News
The 1984 theme was accused of copyright infringement and Columbia Pictures agreed to a settlement out of court. When Lewis accidentally publicized the details of the agreement, Parker sued him for breaking confidentiality. Lewis brought it up during a taping of VH1's Behind the Music. Though the song might be stolen, it seems both artists have some legal issues to work on.
Coldplay
Coldplay is one of the biggest bands of the modern era. The band has had countless top tracks like "Yellow" or "Fix You" but none have become quite as popular as their big hit, Viva La Vida. While the world listened to this tune, not everyone was such a big fan. Guitarist Joe Satriani claimed that the pop-rock band stole from his 2004 instrumental song "If I Could Fly."
Stolen From Joe Satriani
"I spent so long writing the song, thinking about it, loving it, nursing it and then finally recording it. Then somebody comes along and plays the exact same song and calls it their own," said Satriani. Coldplay said that they'd never heard of the performer's song. It took less than a year to figure everything out. Reportedly, Coldplay didn't have to pay Joe or change their songwriting credits.
Rod Stewart
Though it might not look it these days, at one point Rod Stewart was singing "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" to widespread appeal. The man is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Legend due to his longstanding career success, but did he really earn his place at the top? Brazilian musician Jorge Ben Jor was positive that the saucy pop song was a rip off of his tune from 1972, "Taj Mahal."
Stolen From Jorge Ben Jor
Ben Jor was confident that the melody and chorus were nearly identical to his song, and wanted compensation for the track. The two battled it out in court and a very long lawsuit. It eventually settled out of court, with a judge ruling in favor of Ben Jor. Stewart called it an act of "unconscious plagiarism." He hopefully has learned his lesson in songwriting practices.
George Harrison
Known for his songwriting abilities in The Beatles, George Harrison certainly had a few hits on his hands. He also has one of the most famous copyright infringement cases of the last 50 years. His first solo single, "My Sweet Lord" received mixed reviews from critics, but one very harsh review from The Chiffons, who claimed the song was stolen. Their 1963 song was remarkably similar.
Stolen From The Chiffons
Their song "He's So Fine" bore a striking resemblance to the George Harrison track. He was another victim of subconscious plagiarism, though he truly didn't believe he copied the music, at least not on purpose. Since it was proven that he had access to the song, he paid $1.6 million in damages to The Chiffons. He wasn't the only Beatles member to be accused...
The Beatles
Everyone wishes they could rip-off the Beatles' biggest hits, but did you know that the pop legends also stole some of their big hits? The iconic 1960s group was accused of stealing the sounds of "Come Together" from another famous face, Chuck Berry. Specifically, the song copied his 1956 rock track "You Can't Catch Me." Even worse, the lyrics are pretty similar.
Stolen From Chuck Berry
The Beatles were actually very familiar with the song, which didn't help their case. Speaking of cases, copyright owner Morris Levy had to settle their case out of court. The payment for this was John Lennon agreeing to create three additional songs. Not such a total loss after all. It really worked out well, and in the end, everyone managed to "Come Together" after all!
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber has had to say "Sorry" quite a lot over the span of his problematic time in the public eye, but hey, at least he got a number one song out of it. However, it was singer Casey Dienel who accused the singer of stealing the track. It apparently resembled the vocal loop found in her song from 2014, "Ring the Bell." Bieber was left wondering, is it too late now to say sorry?
Stolen From White Hinterland
Casey, who goes by the stage name White Hinterland, claimed that Bieber and his team didn't get the proper paperwork and licensing to use her work. She later dismissed the lawsuit, but stated: "Like most artists that sample music, Bieber could have licensed my song for use in 'Sorry,' but he chose not to contact me." Bieber never publicly commented on the suit.
Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson
The year was 2018. Everyone who was anyone was listening to "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson. The song was catchy, great for dancing, and fun for everyone. The only person who wasn't having fun with this radio favorite was The Gap Band from the early 80s. Turns out that Mars and Ronson really uptown funked them up after all...
Stolen From The Gap Band
Bruno Mars is famously influenced by the 1970s and 1980s, but he came a little too close to the genre when he stole the beats to 1979 single "Oops Upside Your Head" by The Gap Band. The song was clearly similar, and a lengthy lawsuit ensued due to the plagiarism. The Gap Band ending up with a seventeen percent share of the song profits from Mars and Ronson.
Michael Bolton
Love is a wonderful thing, but lawsuits certainly are not. Michael Bolton was the unfortunate culprit of another plagiarism lawsuit for copyright infringement. HIs 1991 single, "Love is a Wonderful Thing" took over the airwaves, but the song already existed! In fact, the original song even went by the same title. The Isley Brothers 1986 song was a total rip off.
Stolen From The Isley Brothers
At the end of the blatant plagiarism lawsuit, Bolton paid The Isley Brothers about $5.4 million in fines for the copyright faux pas. He continued to argue that he did not violate the law and even appealed his case all the way up to the Supreme Court, but ultimately, had to make the payments. His appeal was quickly denied and the singer never made quite the comeback he needed.
The Strokes
The Strokes were one of the biggest bands of the early 2000s rock scene. One of their most popular and most recognizable songs, Last Nite, was a little bit too recognizable for one singer. Tom Petty accused the band of stealing his song from 1976, "American Girl." Petty, ironically not petty at all, said: "The truth is, I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there."
Stolen From Tom Petty
Bands and artists have often accidentally stolen songs from Tom Petty, but the legend never really cared too much. He knew that a lot of rock elements tend to sound very similar. Though the fans of both artists were upset, Petty wasn't bothered at all. In fact, when asked about the Strokes, he said "Okay, good for you. It doesn’t bother me." A good song is a good song, no matter who sings it!
Radiohead
Radiohead is one of the most famous alternative rock backs of all time, so it's surprising that their biggest hit could have been stolen from another source. Their 1992 hit, "Creep" was accused of stealing lyrics from a song by Albert written in 1972, "The Air That I Breathe." The singer believed the lines were a little too familiar, and legal action followed the recognition.
Stolen From Albert Hammond
While you might think this powerhouse group would be able to roll right over their competition, such was not the case. instead, they endured a lengthy court battle over the copyright claims. The songwriters of "The Air That I Breathe," Mike Hazelwood and Albert Hammond, walked away with a co-songwriting credit with Radiohead. They have split royalties from the song ever since.
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin has got themselves into trouble more than once for copyright infringement. They got into hot water again in 1969 with the release of their number one track "Whole Lotta Love." Apparently though, this song hit too close to home with blues musician Willie Dixon and recording artist Muddy Waters, who claimed it was a rip-off of their 1963 song "You Need Love."
Stolen From Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters
"I just thought, ‘Well, what am I going to sing?’ That was it, a nick," said Led Zeppelin member Robert Plant. The case was eventually settled out of court. Willie Dixon left the case with a full writing credit of the song. Robert Plant later remarked that he was happy to pay Dixon, and was just glad that the musicians were able to reach an agreement so quickly.
Nirvana
One of the rock legends gone too soon, Nirvana might be classified as the biggest band of the 90s. The late Kurt Cobain even admitted that he wasn't much of an original artist and that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was a pretty obvious rip-off of "More Than a Feeling." However, there was another popular artist who claimed the band stole their music: Killing Joke.
Stolen From Killing Joke
Killing Joke accused the band of stealing their song "The Eighties" for the song "Come As You Are." The main riff was the main issue and seen as too similar. No major legal action resulted from the song's similarities, but eventually, Dave Grohl played for Killing Joke's self-titled album. We can only assume the two musical artists overcame the legal troubles on the stage.
Elastica
Elastica was a short-lived but very popular band from the 1990s. Their 1992 single "Connection" was seen as a musical success story, but it had already been told by the band Wire in 1977 with the production of the song "Three Girl Rhumba." Both bands were a fan of each other's work, but maybe Elastica had unconsciously stolen the work of the group they so admired.
Stolen From Wire
While Wire admired the work of the band, they noticed a blatant connection between "Connection" and "Three Girl Rhumba" that couldn't be ignored. The case was settled out of court but the band also noticed that many of Elastica's songs sounded like Wire's. This detail complicated legal matters, as it was possible the bands just had similar styles. At the end of the day though, everything seemed fine.
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran has been hailed as one of the top songwriters of his generation, but his song "Photograph" doesn't exactly paint the same picture. The folk-pop singer-songwriter was accused of stealing by Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard, who wrote "Amazing" performed by English singer Matt Cardle. This accusation could topple Sheeran's entire empire...
Stolen From Matt Cardle
Sheeran was one of the most powerful artists at the time, but even he wasn't immune to the legal system. He pleaded guilty to "verbatim, note-for-note copying" Matt Cardle's song. He ultimately paid over $20 million in damages and copyright infringement to the trio. The song might have been stolen, but "Photograph" remains one of Sheeran's biggest songs to date.
Green Day
Green Day invented edgy punk-pop of the early 2000s, and they've got the eyeliner to prove it. They've put out songs like "Wake Me Up When September Ends" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" but one of their lesser-known songs, "Warning," was one that caused some trouble for the group behind the scenes. The 2000 track was likened to another song by a popular band...
Stolen From The Kinks
The song "Warning" sounds eerily like "Picture Book" by The Kinks from 1968. The song has been subjected to fan speculation for years, but no legal action has ever been taken. The only real argument is that the song's guitar riff sounds similar to the one in The Kinks' song. The resemblance between the songs is not a big issue for the 1960s rock group, but tread lightly Green Day!
Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus has gone through tons of musical style transitions, so it only makes sense that she'd stumble over the details a few times. Her big "bad girl image" debut began with the song "We Can't Stop" in 2013. The song isn't going to be playing the song at any shows coming soon, because one singer had some harsh demands after hearing the familiar-sounding track...
Stolen From Michael May
Michael May, also known by the stage name Flourgon, claimed that the song was almost 50% exactly of his song "We Run Things." In fact, he was so convinced that he demanded that Cyrus stop performing the song altogether and pay a $300 million fine. Miley agreed to both conditions, but the song remained available for streaming and the video remains posted. It just can't be stopped...
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood became country music's sweetheart after winning American Idol. From there, she put out countless hits like "Before He Cheats" and "Jesus Take the Wheel," but "Game On" was especially important, as it was her Sunday Night Football song. The humble country girl was shocked when it was revealed that this sports favorite was actually stolen from someone else...
Stolen From Heidi Merrill
Singer Heidi Merrill claimed the song was stolen from a song she had previously pitched to Carrie Underwood's songwriting team. The accusation caused quite a stir in the country community, as well as the football world since it was used in NFL and NBC programming. Since then, there has been no more info on the starlet's case of copyright infringement.
One Direction
The former boyband powerhouse took over the world as the celebrity crushes of every teen girl, but maybe they should have been crushing on 1980s rocker Def Leppard. The song "Midnight Memories" has been compared to Def Leppard's 1987 rock classic "Pour Some Sugar On Me." Apparently the songs were a little too close for comfort for some fans...
Stolen From Def Leppard
Though there was talk of bringing it to court, lawyers advised against it. There just wasn't similar enough of a song to justify a lengthy battle. It definitely couldn't be classified as total plagiarism. While this was the first time the British pop group was accused of stealing songs, it certainly wouldn't be the last. Guess they couldn't pour some sugar on their other songs...
One Direction (Again!)
One Direction certainly was living life to the fullest in their early years, which is why they put out the song "Live While We're Young." The 2012 era single was an instant success and came accompanied with a fun in the sun music video. However, The Clash didn't think it was so fun, as they accused the band of stealing their song "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" from 1982.
Stolen From The Clash
Paired side by side, it's hard not to hear the similarities. In fact, member Harry Styles even admitted that the familiarity was "kind of on purpose" and they drew major inspiration from bands of the era. The band never pursued any legal reparations for the music, but fans definitely weren't too happy, and the song never got as big as some of the other singles from One Direction.
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is a huge star and rock and roll legend, but he wouldn't have got that status without his anthemic "You Give Love a Bad Name" in 1986. The music defined a decade, but someone else had defined it first. The song reworked beats and melodies from a different track, "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)" by singer Bonnie Tyler, also in the year 1986.
Stolen From Bonnie Tyler
As it turns out, Bon Jovi and Bonnie tyler had the same songwriter. Desmond Child thought that the song would work better with Bon Jovi's voice, so he rewrote some pieces and gave it to the New Jersey star. He also worked with Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora to produce the track and made it into a number one tune. Bonnie was more than happy to help with the process!
The Beach Boys
What happens when everybody goes surfing, surfing the USA? Well, you might get the same song twice. One of the most well-known bands of all time, The Beach Boys, have crafted tracks like "Good Vibrations," "God Only Knows," "Wouldn't It Be Nice," and "Kokomo" as well as the iconic, and possibly stolen "Surfin USA." The fan-favorite wasn't an original tune...
Stolen From Chuck Berry
The group's summer hit listed Brian Wilson as the sole songwriter, but maybe Chuck Berry should have been included, as the song has been accused of plagiarizing Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" from 1958. Berry was later given a writing credit and royalties in publishing rights. "I just took 'Sweet Little Sixteen' and rewrote it into something of our own," Wilson admitted in 2015.
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin has more successful and unsuccessful plagiarism accusations than any other band. Among these potentially stolen tracks, there are Bring It On Home (stolen from 'Bring It On Home' by Willie Dixon), "The Lemon Song" (stolen from Howlin Wolf's "Killing Floor"), "Dazed and Confused" (stolen from Jake Homes' song of the same title) and "Black Mountain Side" (stolen from Down by Blackwaterside).
Black Eyed Peas
In 1983, Lynn Tolliver wrote and released a song called "I Need a Freak." The Ohio Disc jockey received minimal critical reception, but apparently the Black Eyed Peas heard it because they sampled it without the singer's permission in their 2005 song "My Humps." Lynn successfully sued the group for $1.2 million in copyright violations and a lack of permission.
Elton John and Bernie Taupin
Bernie and Elton have been called the best songwriting duo of all time, but maybe that title should be changed to a trio. They were accused of plagiarizing a South African photographer and songwriter known as Guy Hobbs. His song "Natasha" resembled "Nikita." However, the similarities were too vague and generic for the argument to gain any headway, and Hobbs lost the suit.
Fiona Apple
In September of 2019, indie singer Fiona Apple sued country rap superstar Lil Nas X for an unpaid sample of her song. The rapper had included a portion of her track "Every Single Night" in a part of his song "Kim Jung." She reportedly wrote on her Instagram page "Hey, where’s my money, you cute little guy? Where's my money?" when calling out the popular singer.
Shakira
Shakira's song "Loca" is fully in Spanish, and this bilingual beauty got into some hot water as a result. It was a copy of another song, "Loca con su Tiguere" which was written in the middle of the 1990s by Dominican composer Ramon "Arias" Vasquez. Sony paid damages to Raomn's plaintiff in the lawsuit and owner of the rights to the original song, Mayimba Music.