Rod Stewart vs. Jorge Ben

Another gem submitted by Travis

Rod Stewart on ThatSongSoundsLike.com

Have a listen to Rod Stewart “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” (1977) and  Jorge Ben Jor (aka  Jorge Ben)  “Taj Mahal” (1972). It took me a few minutes to track down the original release date for “Taj Mahal” from Ben as it was re-recorded for the 1976 record África Brasil. Ben Jor successfully sued Rod Stewart in what resulted in quite a positive outcome:

Ben Jor may be an urban poet, but he’s certainly no soft touch. In his celebrated spat with Rod Stewart, Ben Jor successfully sued the Scottish crooner after he ‘borrowed’ the melody of the Ben Jor song Taj Mahal for the chorus of his hit Da Ya Think I’m Sexy.

Nowadays Ben Jor seems remarkably sanguine about the affair. He explained how the dispute with Stewart had been settled amicably, with the Scottish singer agreeing to donate the profits from his song to UNICEF. – Expatica.com

Enjoy!

Rod Stewart - "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" (1977)

Jorge Ben Jor - "Taj Mahal" (1972)

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12 Replies to “Rod Stewart vs. Jorge Ben”

  1. Travis

    Yep,thanks for posting this one Keith.

    Here’s one I can’t remember if submitted before or not

    Bryan Adams: Heaven

    Tiffany:feelings of forever

    Reply
  2. Toke

    I’ve got a long one!

    The intro riff of the Misfits’ Helena (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX2xLuk1SlI) sounds like Corrosion Of Conformity’s Clean My Wounds (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvsQsao1F88).

    The vocal melody of another part of Helena (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX2xLuk1SlI#t=1m28s) sounds like Metallica’s Welcome Home (Sanitarium) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6Dfo4zDduI#t=4m06s).

    Also, the guitar riff of the same section of Sanitarium sounds like Rush’s Tom Sawyer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsKBIBJj-4M#t=09s)

    Reply
  3. Travis

    I can’t find any credit given here which is why im kinda surprised vasco got away with this one.

    vasco rossi: cosa vuoi da me(2004 I think)

    offpspring: pretty fly for a white guy(1998)

    Reply
  4. Toke

    I’ve got a long one!

    The intro riff of the Misfits’ Helena (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX2xLuk1SlI) sounds like Corrosion Of Conformity’s Clean My Wounds (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvsQsao1F88).

    The vocal melody of another part of Helena (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX2xLuk1SlI#t=1m28s) sounds like Metallica’s Welcome Home (Sanitarium) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6Dfo4zDduI#t=4m06s).

    Also, the guitar riff of the same section of Sanitarium sounds like Rush’s Tom Sawyer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsKBIBJj-4M#t=09s)

    Reply
  5. Arthur

    I will put here some songs from the e-mail I send to you some months ago.. if you don’t mind:

    This is the most shameless plagiarism I could find.. xD :
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VPpw1jN-mE (1973)
    VS
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4j4ZfBSutU (2011)

    Also, I see that you got a video full of songs similar to ‘Viva la Vida’, here’s another one (from 2003)

    Green Day’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams look exactly like “Your Love is Just a Lie” from Simple Plan.

    And, this is the original “Waka Waka”, it got it’s lyrics stealed in 1990 by ‘Las Chicas del Can’ AND Shakira did a unauthorized and uncredited cover version of the ‘Las Chicas del Can’ song.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtH8l_GbfeI

    Reply
    1. Mark Adams

      Actually, the verse of Your Love is Just a Lie sounds like a combination of Oasis’ Wonderwall and Green Day’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams, which have the same chord progression and wikipedia also points out there is a similar progression in Sum 41’s Thanks for Nothing.

      Reply
  6. Johnny

    Similar to this and I take it it’s been mentioned, Michael Jackson’s Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin took heavily from “the original disco song” Soul Makossa by Manu Dibango – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2jYjUiulMQ. This of course was basically an acknowledged sample.

    For more disco, check the intro of Euro kitsch classic “Yes, Sir I Can Boogie” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGuFn0RPgaE robbing Thelma Houston’s version of “Don’t Leave Me This Way” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLzbKm56dLI

    Another example of Eurodisco taking from the Americans is Fantastique’s “Mama Told Me” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22A7e1O53IA being inspired by disco’s last dance “Funky Town” by Lipps Inc – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CImrIKNmBo. This is just an influence rather than rip-off though, done so well and a song in its own right.

    Reply

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