It’s been said that there are no original ideas left in popular music — no truly original riffs or melodies and certainly no new chord progressions — so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there are quite so many copyright claims made over songs which allegedly plagiarise other songs. In fact, for as long as rock n roll has been around, there have been feuds, and they continue right through to today.

Chuck Berry vs The Beach Boys

It’s rather extraordinary that the Beach Boys initially released Surfin U.S.A. with Brian Wilson listed as the sole composer in 1963 when the song is lifted almost note for note from Chuck Berry’s Sweet Little Sixteen. It wasn’t until three years after its first release that Berry was finally listed as a composer alongside lyricist Wilson.

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