Sly Stone must have been galled when he turned on the radio in the summer of ’69 and heard a disposable trash-rock nugget called “Did You See Her Eyes“ by an outfit called the Illusion. Penned and produced by Jeff Barry (author of “Sugar Sugar” and the Jeffersons theme, among many other songs), it lifted the “Yaaah, yah yah yaaah, yaaah” vocal hook from his “Sing a Simple Song” and worked it into the mix for a left-field hit that far outcharted Sly’s own single. Then, a few months later, Ike and Tina Turner did it to Sly again, and with the same track, nicking his song’s guitar lick as the basis for their “Bold Soul Sister“ — which also outperformed him and his band on the charts. Damn near the only thing that wasn’t nicked from the original was Larry Graham’s recitation of the do-re-mi scale. Neither song credited Sly as a songwriter, which is a pity; small as they would be, he could really use those royalties today.
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 Illusion, “Did You See Her Eyes,” and Ike and Tina Turner, “Bold Soul Sister”
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”
