Peppers Didn't Plagiarize Petty
07/05/2006 7:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dotmusic
Tom Petty will not be suing the Red Hot Chili Peppers for plagiarism, according to an interview in Rolling Stone magazine.
Commentators had speculated that a legal battle was on the cards after the New York Post reported the similarities between the Chili's "Dani California" and Petty's 1993 track "Mary Jane's Last Dance."
Jared Morris, a producer and talk-show host at US radio station WGMD-FM, told the newspaper that the tracks were nearly identical. He explained: "It's not just the chord progressions are the same--the entire theme of the song is the same, and some of the lyrics are the same."
However, Petty told Rolling Stone that he had no intention of taking legal action.
Speaking to the magazine, he said: "The truth is, I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there. A lot of rock 'n' roll songs sound alike. Ask Chuck Berry. The Strokes took 'American Girl' [for their song 'Last Nite'], and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, 'OK, good for you.' It doesn’t bother me."
He added: "If someone took my song note-for-note and stole it maliciously, then maybe [I would sue them]. But I don’t believe in lawsuits much. I think there are enough frivolous lawsuits in this country without people fighting over pop songs."
http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news/33831760
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I think it's kinda cool, usually they jump at the chance to sue, nice to see someone say No, and let things be what they are.
07/05/2006 7:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dotmusic
Tom Petty will not be suing the Red Hot Chili Peppers for plagiarism, according to an interview in Rolling Stone magazine.
Commentators had speculated that a legal battle was on the cards after the New York Post reported the similarities between the Chili's "Dani California" and Petty's 1993 track "Mary Jane's Last Dance."
Jared Morris, a producer and talk-show host at US radio station WGMD-FM, told the newspaper that the tracks were nearly identical. He explained: "It's not just the chord progressions are the same--the entire theme of the song is the same, and some of the lyrics are the same."
However, Petty told Rolling Stone that he had no intention of taking legal action.
Speaking to the magazine, he said: "The truth is, I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there. A lot of rock 'n' roll songs sound alike. Ask Chuck Berry. The Strokes took 'American Girl' [for their song 'Last Nite'], and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, 'OK, good for you.' It doesn’t bother me."
He added: "If someone took my song note-for-note and stole it maliciously, then maybe [I would sue them]. But I don’t believe in lawsuits much. I think there are enough frivolous lawsuits in this country without people fighting over pop songs."
http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news/33831760
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think it's kinda cool, usually they jump at the chance to sue, nice to see someone say No, and let things be what they are.
