When The Beatles were formally accused of plagiarism
Particularly during their early days, The Beatles wore their influences firmly on their sleeve and didn’t leave much to the imagination. However, despite some whispers, there was only one occasion when their music was officially accused of plagiarism.
In truth, this could have been a more common occurrence. There are plentiful examples of The Beatles pushing the line between taking influence and stepping into plagiarism. For a band that crafted 229 songs during their short and explosive career, this is normal behaviour, and almost always, the creative “borrowing” happens subconsciously rather than deliberately.
One example that springs to mind is ‘Revolution’, a song that clearly took inspiration from Pee Wee Crayton’s ‘Do Unto Others’. The intro to The Beatles’ track is almost identical to the Californian’s creation, which they would have almost certainly heard. However, Crayton decided against filing a lawsuit against the group. There could be two reasons for letting it slide: either Crayton took the imitation as a compliment, or he was simply intimidated by the financial implications of battling the Beatles in court.
Additionally, John Lennon admitted to using a guitar lick from Bobby Parker’s ‘Watch Your Step’ in his work with the Beatles’ track ‘I Feel Fine’. In The Beatles Anthology, Lennon said: “‘Watch Your Step’ is one of my favourite records. The Beatles have used the lick in various forms. The Allman Brothers used the lick straight as it was.”
Parker later acknowledged the similarity during an interview with MSNBC. However, he seemed to interpret the steal as a tribute: “McCartney was a good friend of mine, he still is,” he said. “But they should put a little leverage on some of the songs that they y’know.” When the interviewer stated that “they stole your riff, man,” Parker humorously replied: “I’m pleased you said it!”
While these cases seem black and white, the story of ‘Yesterday’ is more nuanced. In 2003, musicologist Spencer Leigh told BBC Radio 4 that he believed Nat King Cole’s ‘Answer Me’ had influenced the song: “I think he would have heard it when he was 10 or 11, he certainly would have known the song,” he said. “McCartney said he woke with this wonderful melody in his head, and he felt it had come from somewhere else”. However, McCartney’s spokesperson denied the claim and commented to BBC News: “To me the two songs are about as similar as ‘Get Back’ and ‘God Save the Queen’.”
‘Run For Your Life’, meanwhile, makes a known reference to Elvis Presley’s ‘Baby Let’s Play House’, a track they regularly chose to cover with The Quarrymen. In the song, Lennon also copied the lyric, “well, I’d rather see you dead little girl than to be with another man,” which could have led to a lawsuit.
However, the only time The Beatles were actually forced to defend their integrity was over Chuck Berry’s influence on ‘Come Together’. The band universally adored Berry, with Lennon once saying, “If you had to give rock and roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry”.
Meanwhile, after his death, Paul McCartney wrote on his website: “To us, he was a magician making music that was exotic, yet normal, at the same time. We learnt so many things from him, which led us into a dream world of rock and roll music.”
The song’s musical structure borrowed from Berry’s 1956 effort ‘You Can’t Catch Me’, and both tracks included the lyric: “Here comes old flat-top”. Berry’s publishers saw this as an opportunity to earn an easy payday and went after Lennon, who eventually settled out of court. Although Lennon’s agreement may seem like an admittance of guilt, the musician maintained his innocence. However, he knew that the case was cut and dry because of the deliberate inclusion of the lyric mentioned above.
Lennon later said: “‘Come Together’ is me—writing obscurely around an old Chuck Berry thing. I left the line ‘Here comes old flat-top.’ It is nothing like the Chuck Berry song, but they took me to court because I admitted the influence once years ago. I could have changed it to ‘Here comes old iron face,’ but the song remains independent of Chuck Berry or anybody else on earth.”
Perhaps, if Lennon had been less open about his influences and kept his cards close to his chest, he’d have saved himself the pain of this ordeal. Clearly, the line in ‘Come Together’ referenced Berry’s influence on his artistry; if he wanted to be more subtle, he would have been. However, Berry’s publishers only saw the dollar signs.
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