Marc Bolin’s son is busy, no not in the recording studio, but rather in the courtroom; he’s suing the producers and studio the made the film ‘Baby Driver.’ The use of the T. Rex track “Debora” is at the root of the lawsuit, as the family and estate of the Bolin family claim the proper licenses was never obtained to use the song in the film.
What are some of the more interesting lawsuits in rock? You know that the group Spirit and long departed Randy California estate sued Zeppelin for the tune ‘Stairway,’ which was settled this past year.
Robin Thicke and Pharrell wrote a chart topper called “Blurred Lines.” The problem is it sounded very much like Marvin Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up,” which a jury in LA agreed.
Tom Petty’s “American Girl” seemed to sound too much like the band ‘Strokes’ “Last Night,” causing legal action. As it turned out, the Strokes actually took Tom’s open riffs, but Tom let it go without incident.
George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” was hauntingly similar to the Chiffon’s “He’s So Fine” which resulted in a loss for George.
Huey Lewis and the News was sued by Ray Parker Jr. “I Want a New Drug” vs. “Ghostbusters,’ while David Bowie and Queen got all over Vanilla Ice for his obvious theft in “Under Pressure,” vs. Ice Ice Baby.”
Finally, it was Tom Petty again for his “I Won’t Back Down” vs. Sam Smith “Stay With Me” battle – way too close to be a coincidence Sam!
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