Lady Antebellum's 'Need You Now'--A Ripoff?

MasterOfPuppets · 11-18-2010, 04:48 PM

rip off

Quote:

Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" is one of country's biggest success stories this year--it's a certifiable crossover hit and has won several major awards, most recently Single of the Year at the 2010 Country Music Association awards last week.

Now, with all that said--here's some food for thought. Is the trio's smash single actually a ripoff of an early '80s hit?

That may seem like a far stretch. However, some people are saying so--specifically, people related to the '80s hitmaker in question, Alan Parsons of the Alan Parsons Project. Apparently, fans of the APP have been chattering about the similarities between "Need You Now" and the APP's "Eye In The Sky," a tune that approached the top of the charts back in 1982.
Alternative newsweekly Nashville Scene reported last week that a woman calling herself the "executive personal assistant" to Alan Parsons wrote in to their editor, claiming "Our fans are reaching out to us by the hundreds telling us how 'Need You Now' by Lady Antebellum is one of those 'lazy rip offs' of 'Eye In The Sky' by The Alan Parsons Project."
If all this seems a bit out of left field, a fan of the APP took the liberty of creating the following mashup to drive the point home. The tempo and pitch of both songs have been altered a bit, but it is nevertheless rather an eerie match (at least in this example). Take a listen and see what you think:

[YOUTUBE]sS1z2inwJ2o [/YOUTUBE]

The poster of the mashup had this to say of the comparison: "I can't claim there's an intentional rip off, BUT this was APP's biggest hit BECAUSE of that chorus hook and that is the ONLY reason I liked the Antebellum song...The whole song is the hook, and it's not really theirs."
Now, the last time a country artist was embroiled in this sort of discussion, it was Gretchen Wilson vs. the Black Crowes back in 2008. Remember that one? The Crowes claimed "Work Hard, Play Harder" ripped off their 1991 hit "Jealous Again" (sparking discussion that the Crowes themselves are completely derivative of earlier classic rock bands, but that's a whole 'nother topic). In that case, the Crowes actually filed a copyright infringement suit against Wilson; however, no legal action has been taken as of yet against Lady A.
My opinion on the Lady A/APP mashup? Both songs are terrific in their own respective rights. I'm mostly interested here in what all of you country fans think of this.
Do you believe "Need You Now" sounds a tad too much like "Eye In The Sky"? Does Alan Parsons (and his songwriting partner Eric Woolfson) deserve a cut of Lady A's success? I'll leave it up to you.

***tony hipchest*** · 11-18-2010, 07:28 PM

"eye in the sky" is great. ive heard it thousands of times since it came out and i hear this new song almost every day as its my fiancee's ringtone.

honestly i never made the connection, but after listining to the video its suprising how almost exact it is.

not sure i could say it was intentional, but maybe subliminal when they made it.

urgle burgle · 11-18-2010, 11:50 PM

dont care....i have a strange fetish and obsession with the chick....

***MACH1*** · 11-19-2010, 12:10 AM

Same music, different words.

caplovestroyp43 · 11-19-2010, 03:28 AM

And why the hell not? That's the ONLY way country singers get rich. Ripping off other people's material and taking a good song and turning it into total and absolute GARBAGE!!!!!

JMO though for what it may or may not be worth at 0427. Horton heard a hoo and I thought I'd come upstairs and check things out!! Pulled me out of a good sleep...

A deleriously tired Cap

11-19-2010, 03:45 AM

That's absolutely criminal!!
My daughter loves Miley Cyrus (yeah, surprise), and she was playing one of her songs. I heard it, and my first thought was ... THAT'S COREY HART!!!

Apparently, pop stars are starting to take a page out of the rapper playbook and are getting a little too comfy with the sampling.

[YOUTUBE]m1wjywjiB5Y[/YOUTUBE]

steelerohio · 11-21-2010, 01:30 AM

Another reason why pop country sucks...

We need more banjos just to keep out the undesirables... and to make people paddle faster too...

***ricardisimo*** · 11-21-2010, 04:59 AM

Maybe they'll cover the "Falcon and the Snowman " theme song as well.

11-18-2010, 07:28 PM	#2
*tony hipchest* IRONMAN a.k.a. Tony Stark Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Give me back my game... Posts: 34,340 Member Number: 658 Thanks: 184 Thanked 230 Times in 164 Posts	Re: Lady Antebellum's 'Need You Now'--A Ripoff? "eye in the sky" is great. ive heard it thousands of times since it came out and i hear this new song almost every day as its my fiancee's ringtone. honestly i never made the connection, but after listining to the video its suprising how almost exact it is. not sure i could say it was intentional, but maybe subliminal when they made it. __________________

11-18-2010, 11:50 PM	#3
urgle burgle Starter Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: land of nougat Posts: 563 Gender: Male Member Number: 12834 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Lady Antebellum's 'Need You Now'--A Ripoff? dont care....i have a strange fetish and obsession with the chick.... __________________ when a child cries....somewhere in a lonely sad place in the world....a hobo laughs...

11-19-2010, 12:10 AM	#4
*MACH1* Quest For Seven Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Idaho Posts: 11,695 Member Number: 3236 Thanks: 150 Thanked 222 Times in 143 Posts	Re: Lady Antebellum's 'Need You Now'--A Ripoff? Same music, different words. __________________ Give a lib a fish--he eats for a day Teach a lib to fish--he is back the next day asking for more free fish. ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

11-19-2010, 03:28 AM	#5
caplovestroyp43 Bench Warmer Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: STEELER NATION Posts: 366 Gender: Female Member Number: 16490 Thanks: 17 Thanked 13 Times in 11 Posts	Re: Lady Antebellum's 'Need You Now'--A Ripoff? And why the hell not? That's the ONLY way country singers get rich. Ripping off other people's material and taking a good song and turning it into total and absolute GARBAGE!!!!! JMO though for what it may or may not be worth at 0427. Horton heard a hoo and I thought I'd come upstairs and check things out!! Pulled me out of a good sleep... A deleriously tired Cap __________________ "We Will Not Go Gently. We Will Unleash Hell" Mike Tomlin

11-19-2010, 03:45 AM	#6
Wallace108 Guest Posts: n/a Member Number:	Re: Lady Antebellum's 'Need You Now'--A Ripoff? That's absolutely criminal!! My daughter loves Miley Cyrus (yeah, surprise), and she was playing one of her songs. I heard it, and my first thought was ... THAT'S COREY HART!!! Apparently, pop stars are starting to take a page out of the rapper playbook and are getting a little too comfy with the sampling. [YOUTUBE]m1wjywjiB5Y[/YOUTUBE]

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11-21-2010, 01:30 AM	#7
steelerohio Bench Warmer Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 362 Gender: Male Member Number: 14925 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Lady Antebellum's 'Need You Now'--A Ripoff? Another reason why pop country sucks... We need more banjos just to keep out the undesirables... and to make people paddle faster too... __________________

11-21-2010, 04:59 AM	#8
*ricardisimo* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lalaland Posts: 4,831 Gender: Male Member Number: 15369 Thanks: 34 Thanked 69 Times in 48 Posts	Re: Lady Antebellum's 'Need You Now'--A Ripoff? Maybe they'll cover the "Falcon and the Snowman " theme song as well. __________________ Why does God hate amputees?

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