Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne have been awarded songwriting credit and royalties for the huge Sam Smith hit, "Stay With Me" because of distinct resemblance to Petty's hit "I Won't Back Down".
I hear the resemblance now that it's been pointed out, but I have to admit that it didn't hit me before.
Full story here:
http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/0...-stay-with-me/
I was driving with my 12-year old daughter the other day. We were listening to "her station" and that Sam Smith song came on, which I had never heard before. I immediately started singing the "I Won't Back Down" lyrics to the vocals. So yeah, it hit me right away.
Im calling bullshit here....Yes, I hear the melodic similarity here but it doesnt sound like a malicious plagiarism. Like Mr Roth, I didnt notice it until it was pointed out........
Hmmm... I wonder if Jethro Tull has a case to sue The Eagles for "Hotel California".......The Eagles HAD to get the idea for that song from "We Used To Know"
Conversely, I wonder why The Eagles never sued REM for the chorus in "Shaking Through".....its "Already Gone"....it even does the Key change at the end of the song
I'm kinda surprised that there wasn't much of a fight from the Smith camp. These things tend to get played out for months before the public before some sort of settlement is eventually reached.
I'm glad you didn't use the word "credits".Originally Posted by klothos
I think JT would be well advised to let Henley and Frey take full "credit" for that song.
I would think the Smith camp chose the quickest way to resolve this so that they do NOT have to go through the long process. This guy is hot right now. Having anything tarnish that spotlight will just be more of a headache. Better to end it now and try to let it go away.
"About the Sam Smith thing. Let me say I have never had any hard feelings toward Sam. All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen. Most times you catch it before it gets out the studio door but in this case it got by. Sam’s people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement. The word lawsuit was never even said and was never my intention. And no more was to be said about it. How it got out to the press is beyond Sam or myself. Sam did the right thing and I have thought no more about this. A musical accident no more no less. In these times we live in this is hardly news. I wish Sam all the best for his ongoing career. Peace and love to all."
Tom Petty
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
Very classy of Petty. Kudos.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
Give me some money for a song I didn't write, please!!!
I guess I don't think there's enough similarity between the two songs. A little, but not enough.
If Petty had any class he'd have given the boy a pass on this.
The Prog Corner
That's a crappy thing to say about Petty. Why is it classless? You may have that opinion, but it's about business also. The music business.
The first time I ever heard of the guy was when I read about this. In fact, at first I thought that it might be referring to that female singer Sam-something (Brown, apparently) Fish did a duet with about 20 years ago.
Well, this is exactly the issue, isn't it? He did write at least part of it.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
Never heard of Sam Smith - is the song a hit?
No they don't. As far as I know, virtually all of these sort of cases get settled out of court. The My Sweet Lord/He's So Fine case literally dragged out for something like 2 decades. I don't think anyone wants to deal with that.
How do you now it's Petty suing? I get the impression that with a lot of these big music lawsuits, it's not the artist in question doing the actual suing (paging, Allen Klein, Saul Zaentz...could Allen Klein or Saul Zaentz pick up a white courtesy phone?).
How do you know they didn't? Sometimes this stuff is done quietly without any publicity.Hmmm... I wonder if Jethro Tull has a case to sue The Eagles for "Hotel California".......The Eagles HAD to get the idea for that song from "We Used To Know"
Conversely, I wonder why The Eagles never sued REM for the chorus in "Shaking Through".....its "Already Gone"
I always wondered if Black Sabbath took legal action against Triumph, as Too Much Thinking was clearly lifted off of Neon Knights. Likewise, was action ever taken against Joe Jackson, vis-a-viz the similarity between Breaking Us In Two and Badfinger's Day After Day.
Yes, they do tend to play out for months before the public before some sort of settlement is reached. Some that I can think off the top of my head were the Vanilla Ice v. Queen, Joe Satriani v. Coldplay, Robin Thicke v. Marvin Gaye, Huey Lewis v. Ray Parker Jr. Been many others.
This song is up for a Grammy for Song of the Year, which I believe goes to the songwriters. How quirky would it be if this song won and Petty and Lynne wind up getting Grammys for this?
That's pretty interesting, actually. Would Petty and Lynne be at the podium?This song is up for a Grammy for Song of the Year, which I believe goes to the songwriters. How quirky would it be if this song won and Petty and Lynne wind up getting Grammys for this?
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
the chorus is similar. it figures Jeff Lynne would be part of the suit too. he owns anything hat has ELO in the title already.
And Lynne will be in the house already - ELO will be performing on the Grammys. Should be interesting.
Are they? That's a nice surprise.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
Im going to be Super Angry is Bev Bevan isnt on drums
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