Chuck Berry and his legal team also had a bone to pick with another member of rock royalty: John Lennon, who cribbed some lines from Berry’s “You Can’t Catch Me” for the lyrics to “Come Together.” In an unusual arrangement, rather than retroactively amend the songwriting credits, Lennon agreed to record three songs by Berry’s then publisher Morris Levy for the album Rock ’n’ Roll. The ensuing recording process and results were messy at best.
You Didn’t Write That: A Brief Guide to (Alleged) Pop Plagiarism
A lawsuit filed against the writers of Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen’s current smash “Good Time” calls to mind other examples of lift-and-tuck procedures in the songwriting process
The Beatles, “Come Together”
Full List
Pop Plagiarism
- Hey, I Recognize That Tune…
- Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen, “Good Time”
- George Harrison, “My Sweet Lord”
- The Beach Boys, “Surfin’ U.S.A.”
- The Beatles, “Come Together”
- The Illusion, “Did You See Her Eyes,” and Ike and Tina Turner, “Bold Soul Sister”
- Morris Albert, “Feelings”
- Michael Jackson, “Will You Be There”
- Jessica Simpson, “A Public Affair”
- Lady Gaga, “Born This Way”
- Avril Lavigne, “Girlfriend”
