PROJECT 1 SELECT ONE OF THE CASES BELOW
CASE 1
"Bring It On Home" by Led Zeppelin (1969) vs. "Bring It On Home," by Sonny Boy Williamson (written by Willie Dixon) (1966)
"Whole Lotta Love," by Led Zeppelin (1969) vs. "You Need Love," by Muddy Waters (written by Willie Dixon) (1962)
The Case: Courts found that two tracks on II, Led Zeppelin's sophomore album, owed crushing debts to Chicago blues classics by Willie Dixon. Album opener "Whole Lotta Love" copied lyrics from the 1962 Dixon-penned Muddy Waters song "You Need Love." The source material for Zep's "Bring It On Home" is even more apparent. Page borrowed the intro and outro of Sonny Boy Williamson's 1966 original, intending it as a deliberate homage to the blues great; Dixon didn't see it that way and sued the band for copyright infringement in 1972. He took them to court again in 1985 over writing credits on "Whole Lotta Love," which by then had become a classic-rock staple.
The Verdict: Both suits were settled out of court.
CASE 2
Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr. (1984) vs. "I Want a New Drug," by Huey Lewis and the News (1984)
The Case: Producers of the film Ghostbusters originally approached Huey Lewis to pen the film's theme, but he was already committed to work on another sci-fi comedy - Back to the Future - and declined. Producers tapped Ray Parker Jr. to do the honors, apparently directing him toward a sound that could be described as Huey Lewis-esque. Lewis himself certainly thought so, and filed a suit against Parker, alleging that he lifted the melody from his own song "I Want a New Drug."
The Verdict: The pair settled out of court in 1995