Stealing Joyful Noise

In a motel room in Delacroix
I was drinkin' like a Dartmouth boy
And thinkin' 'bout the wrong turns that I took

Well, I woke up on the puke-green floor
And opened up a dresser drawer
Lookin' for a bottle

But instead I found a book

A book about a man,

A book about the dude who lives above,

A book about a man,

Who drives a pickup full of sweet sweet love.

Now, if you think He doesn't care,

Or maybe that He isn't there,

It's not too late

To see how wrong you are.

So when you're soul has gone astray,

Just let God be your Triple-A,

He'll tow you to salvation

And He'll overhaul your heart.

A book about a man,

A book about the dude who lives above,

A book about a man,

Who drives a pickup full of sweet sweet love

He's The Man Gospel Song on the Simpson's 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4BITdKVDZM

Isn't it strange that two of the highest profile music copyright legal cases involved songs with religious themes? Recently pop star Katy Perry, a fundamentalist pastor's daughter, along with her creative team, were ordered to pay millions to Christian rapper Marcus Gray for pilfering the hook from his song Joyful Noise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTLeHuvHXuk

Years ago my guitar teacher and Lion Lamb reader Larry suggested that there really isn't anything new under the sun of chord progressions in music, but a jury wasn't sympathetic in ruling against Perry. 

Charlie Harding of the Vox podcast Switched on Pop seems to agree with Larry, figuring the similarities should be free to use by both artists, despite their similarities. Both “Joyful Noise” and “Dark Horse” use derivative descending minor scales in a basic rhythm, Harding said, and both use staccato downbeat rhythms on a high voiced synthesizer which is common in many trap beats. Harding also says the songs are in different keys and beats per minute, and that the melodies are not the same notes.



This brings to mind George Harrison's song My Sweet Lord a tribute to the Hindu god Krishna, and probably his biggest post-Beatles hit. Later  in the1970s, "My Sweet Lord" was at the centre of a heavily publicized copyright infringement suit due to its similarity to the Ronnie Mack song He's So Fine, a 1963 hit for the Chiffons. In 1976, Harrison was found to have subconsciously plagiarized the song, a verdict that had repercussions throughout the music industry. Harrison claimed to have used the out-of-copyright "Oh Happy Day", a Christian hymn, as his inspiration for the melody.

I've heard echoes of lots of secular pop/rock hits in praise music through the years and those bands should be grateful that they weren't hunted down for their sins, conscious or subconscious. 

Comments? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP9wms6oEMo