Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck sue professor over plagiarism accusations
Back in August, folklorist Bruce Jackson accused Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck of plagiarising the lyrics to their song ‘Sad Motherfuckin’ Parade’. The track originally appeared on the duo’s collaborative album 18, an album of covers that also included two originals featuring lyrics penned by Depp. One of those tracks is ‘Sad Motherfuckin’ Parade’, but Jackson alleges that Depp didn’t actually write those words.
Now, Depp and Beck are suing Jackson for his accusation. According to Rolling Stone, the pair are suing Jackson for “unspecified damages, legal fees and a declaration that they did not commit copyright infringement.”
Back in 1974, Jackson wrote a book entitled Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me, which collected the work of various folk poems by African-Americans. One of the poems, ‘Hobo Ben’, includes the lines, “I’m raggedy, I know, but I have no stink / God bless the lady that’ll buy me a drink” and “What that funky motherfucker really needs, child, is a bath,” both of which appear in the Depp/Beck song.
The original version of ‘Hobo Ben’ featured in Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me didn’t have an author credit, although Jackson credited an inmate at Missouri State Penitentiary named Slim Wilson for recounting the work. Neither Jackson nor Wilson were credited in the album’s credits as co-writers of ‘Sad Motherfuckin’ Parade’.
“They didn’t write a word of ‘Sad Motherfuckin’ Parade’ and they are suing the person they stole it from and who caught them doing it,” Jackson told Rolling Stone. “From my point of view, this is like a burglar suing a homeowner because he cut his hand on the kitchen window he broke getting in.”
“The only two lines I could find in the whole piece that [Depp and Beck] contributed are ‘big time motherfucker’ and ‘bust it down to my level’,” Jackson previously told Rolling Stone. “Everything else is from Slim’s performance in my book. I’ve never encountered anything like this. I’ve been publishing stuff for 50 years, and this is the first time anybody has just ripped something off and put his own name on it.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.