Musical Lawsuits Quiz | Other Music

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Weird Al Yankovic became famous for creating parody songs of some of the biggest hits of all time. Most of these have been applauded by the original artists. Which of the following artist was upset at a parody of their hit?

Answer: Coolio

In 1996 Weird Al released "Amish Paradise" which was a parody of the 1995 smash "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio. Although he didn't take it to court, Coolio claimed he never gave permission to do the parody. Al apologized later having gotten the wrong message that Coolio had given him permission. Michael Jackson loved the parodies Al did of his songs. "Bad" (1987) became "Fat" (1988) and "Beat It"(1983) was transformed into "Eat It" (1984). Madonna's smash hit "Like A Virgin" (1984) became "Like A Surgeon"(1985). Queen gave us "Another One Bites The Dust"(1980) and Al parodied it into "Another One Rides The Bus"(1981).

2. In November of 1970, ex-Beatle George Harrison recorded "My Sweet Lord". What all girl group of the sixties sued him in 1976 claiming the song was a plagiarism of their hit song?

Answer: Chiffons

The song was "He's So Fine" which was a number one hit for the Chiffons in 1962. The girls won the lawsuit in 1976. "My Sweet Lord" went on to become one of the biggest singles of 1971. George also became the first former Beatle to hit number one as a solo artist.

3. In 1983, a Chicago songwriter by the name of Ronald Selle sued the Bee Gees, claiming the group stole the melodic material from his song, "Let It End" and used it on one of their hits from "Saturday Night Fever"(1977). Which single was at the center of the lawsuit?

Answer: How Deep Is Your Love

Although Mr Selle won the lawsuit, the verdict was overturned some months later. The songs do sound similar and part of the evidence included a tape of the actual recording in which there was a 30 second silent period. The belief was that during that short period the guys were listening to "Let It End" and then continued with the recording using the melody for their song.

4. In 1981 David Bowie teamed up with British rock group Queen to record the single "Under Pressure". What rap singer in 1989 was sued for using the opening bass line of that song to record his own hit?

Answer: Vanilla Ice

The single was of course, "Ice Ice Baby" (1989). Vanilla Ice, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, did take a sample of the bass line from "Under Pressure" but he stated that he added a note to the bass line for his song and therefore didn't owe any royalties to Bowie and the band. The case was settled out of court and Bowie and Queen received credit for the bass line.

5. In 1982 the Australian band, Men At Work recorded the number one hit, "Down Under". Twenty-eight years later the band was sued by a music publishing company claiming the group copied part of what Australian children's song?

Answer: The Kookaburra Song

The publishing company, Larrikin, owned the publishing right to the song which was written in 1934 by Marion Sinclair. The lawsuit stemmed from an Australian music quiz show called, "Spicks and Specs" on which it was implied that the band had copied the "Kookaburra Song" in the flute riffs. If you chose "Happy Little Vegemites" it's understandable since there is a reference in the song to a "Vegemite sandwich". Vegemite is an Australian paste made from yeast extract and is used as a spread on toast, sandwiches and cracker biscuits.

The song was used as an advertising jingle using kids singing.

6. In 1967 the Beach Boys recorded one of their most popular songs, "Surfing USA". What rock and roll legend sued the band claiming the song was practically a note for note copy of his song?

Answer: Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry's hit, "Sweet Little Sixteen" (1958) was practically mirrored by Brian Wilson in the Beach Boy's hit. Chuck Berry won the lawsuit and thus was given credit on any future releases of "Surfing USA".

7. What 1984 movie song was at the center of a lawsuit which involved Huey Lewis and the News?

Answer: Ghostbusters

The title song from the hit comedy starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd was challenged by Huey Lewis who felt the bass riffs sounded too much like a sped up version of his song "I Wanna New Drug" (1984). Lewis won the suit and thus got royalties for the song.

8. In 1991, what soul group sued Michael Bolton for re-recording their song from the 1960s which was unsuccessful while Bolton's became a top ten song?

Answer: Isley Brothers

The single was "Love Is A Wonderful Thing" and Bolton claimed he never heard the Isley Brothers version although he was a fan of the band. The case, which went all the way to the Supreme Court, ruled in favor of the Isley Brothers who received all future money for sales of Bolton's song.

9. In 1966 a band called The Royal Guardsmen were in the middle of a lawsuit for recording a song about what famous comic strip character?

Answer: Snoopy

Snoopy was portrayed sometimes in the Peanuts comics as the World War II flying ace while using his doghouse as his fighter plane. The band got the idea to record a song having Snoopy taking on the German flying ace known as the Red Baron. Thus was born, "Snoopy Vs The Red Baron"(1966) which became a big hit and spawned sequel hits.

The problem was the band failed to get permission from Peanuts creator Charles Schultz to use Snoopy.

10. In 1999 rapper Eminim released the first of his big hits, "My Name Is". One of the lines of the song stirred a fire in one of his family members. Which family member sued him for the line?

Answer: His mother

The line which set his mother off in a tailspin was: "99% of my life I was lied to I found out my mother does more dope than I do". Not a nice thing to say about your mother, huh? Mom said she never did any drugs around her son but later she dropped and reinstated the lawsuit.

Source: Author RAgamer51

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Musical Lawsuits Trivia Quiz

Although most music is original there have been some cases in which the artist was later challenged or even taken to court for either stealing ideas or copying what others had created. See how many of these cases you remember.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>