Song of the Day 4/28: Marvin Gaye, “Let’s Get It On”

Guest post by Nathan Arizona

There aren’t all that many chords and chord progressions in music. If a songwriter uses some that already exist, is that plagiarism? Can he or she even avoid it? What if the rhythm is similar too?

Is it plagiarism if a song is strongly “reminiscent” of another one? Is it plagiarism if two songs both have a “candlelit-bedroom feel.”

Questions like these are being hurled in a New York courtroom this week. The estate of Eric Townsend, who co-wrote the 1973 hit song “Let’s Get It On” for Marvin Gaye, is suing contemporary pop star Ed Sheeran for plagiarizing “Let’s Get It On” for one of his own hits, 2014’s “Thinking Out Loud.”

There’s no doubt that Sheeran’s song could remind listeners of the tune Gaye sang in his Love Man period. Even Sheeran acknowledges that. In fact he has openly weaved the two songs together in concert. That, say the plaintiffs, is Sheeran acknowledging that he stole it. No, says Sheeran, “I’d be an idiot” to do that if he had actually plagiarized it.

As one of his lawyers said, “No one owns the basic musical building blocks.”

The law has not been consistent in these rulings. George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” was officially declared a plagiarism of the Chiffons’ 1962 hit “He’s So Fine.” Led Zeppelin was declared innocent of plagiarizing a song by the 1970s band Spirit for “Stairway to Heaven.” Did the Beach Boys plagiarize Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen for “Surfin’ USA?” Well, they handed over the copyright to Berry after threats of a lawsuit. (Let’s face it, they’re pretty much the same song.)

In the most significant recent ruling, Robin Thicke and Pharrell’s “Blurred Lines” was declared a plagiarism of Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.” (If you are going to steal, steal from the best.) This one has made contemporary songwriters especially nervous. The defense argued that merely being reminiscent of another song isn’t plagiarism.” The defense lost. The jury said the “feel and vibes” of the song were plagiarized.

As one expert said about a previous, similar copyright suit against Sheeran, “it could become a musical lottery — who’s got A minor into C with the bonus words ‘hey’ and ‘baby’? Come on down.” Sheeran won that one, but songwriters fear a loss here would renew focus on the “Blurred Lines” ruling.

“Let’s Get It On” came two years after Gaye’s landmark album “What’s Going On.” That album was praised for its political sentiments as well as its atmospheric music. Townsend at first gave the lyrics to “Let’s Get It On” a political angle, but Marvin changed them. He had just found a new love and had the bedroom on his mind.

While the plagiarism case is still up in the air, there seems little doubt that “Let’s Get It On” is a better song. Marvin Gaye was one of the greatest pop stars ever.

Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” is a very nice 21st-century pop song, but it has an overly polished studio-bound quality typical of its time.