The Hollywood Reporter: The focus turned from the musicians behind the hit single, Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I., in Los Angeles federal court on Monday. The three sued the family of Marvin Gaye in 2013 to get a declaration they didn't copy the soul singer's "Got To Give It Up" to create their multiplatinum song. The singer's children Frankie and Nona Gaye responded with counterclaims in which they allege not only was “Blurred Lines” improperly derived from their late father’s work, but Thicke’s song “Love After War” was copied from Gaye’s “After The Dance.”
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You know the first time I heard this song my mother was with me. She said, “I know this song, this is Marvin Gaye.” I hadn’t ever heard Marvin Gaye’s song so I hadn’t recognized it. It just goes to show that the generational gap in music can lead to some crossed lines if there isn’t anyone around to cross check them. Thicke's team may have not known that their song was so similar to Gaye’s when they first wrote it; it’s very easy to be influenced by something in passing then copy that into ones daily life. However if that was the case, it was their job to double check with Universal’s records and make sure they weren’t similar to other music. Also Because Universal absorbed Motown there was probably someone there who knew what that son sounded like and could have stopped it earlier. Suing the Gaye family I believe is just a move to cover up a series of mistakes.
This whole deal is utterly ridiculous, and makes me lose any respect I had (very little) for Robin Thicke. This song was shrouded in controversy from the get go, as soon as it was released everyone who knows Marvin Gaye clearly saw it as a rip off song. Not only that, but the music video and lyrical content of the song are a little bit demeaning to women to say the least. The buffoonary that Robin Thicke is pulling in court could be very easily avoided if he just had admitted to the influence from the get go and given royalties to the estate of Marvin Gaye. There was a similar situation with Sam Smith’s song ‘Stay With Me’ and Tom Petty’s ‘Won’t Back Down’, and they were able to settle the whole situation very respectfully of each other, out of court, with just putting Tom’s name on as a writer. They dealt with it like reasonable people, while Robin is trying to use the defense of ‘I was high when I wrote it’. It’s shameful.
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