(ESP-ENG) Hablemos del plagio en la música // Let's talk about plagiarism in music.
Hello friends, good vibes everyone.
Ok, today's topic is sensitive. I bring it up because I recently read a little about it and I found it quite interesting to play it here. We have to start by saying that plagiarism happens when a person takes, without prior authorization or without giving due credit, the content of another person. But when there is an agreement or something is previously discussed, we speak of a "cover".
Anyway, the thing is that for today I bring you a few songs that we really don't know if they were plagiarized or not but which turned out to be quite important hits. So that leads us to wonder if all the plagiarisms are as bad and terrible as they are painted on paper or if the truth was they were plagiarism. But to understand a little of what I am talking about, then I show you some examples.
- Whitney Houston - I will always love you.
This is one of the most important musical pieces in the entire history of music which was recorded for the movie "the bodyguard" back in 1992 and which was also the best-selling song by a woman in all of history. We have no doubt that this jewel was a jewel, but did you know that it was not the original version? - the original is as follows:
- Dolly Parton.
This country genre singer was the original author of this masterful piece in 1974 which became double number one on the Billoboard list. Everyone thinks it is a love story and the truth is that no, it is a sad goodbye message that Parton wrote to say goodbye to a television program. So is plagiarism bad?
- Shakira - Waka Waka.
When this song came out for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa it caused an immense commotion because when a song hits and is a hit heard all over the world, apparently some want to ride that wave and seek to be part of all that noise. With Shakira he was no exception and as "Waka Waka" began to play, a merengue group came out attributing the rhythm and melodies of this song:
La Chicas del Can.
One of those groups was this, Las Chicas del Can, don't get me wrong but this is a pretty good group for Latinos that many of us have danced to, but in the end and in effect they claimed the authorship of that song. What is curious about it all? that they weren't the ORIGINAL authors of this rhythm either:
- Original.
So yes friends, this is the original song. The exact date is unknown, it is estimated that it was in the 80s but it is a group from Cameroon who made this sticky rhythm known. So it was neither Shakira nor the Can Girls, it was these peculiar men.
- Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise.
This great theme from the nineties also as with the Whitney Houston song was recorded for a movie introducing this rapper. The truth is that this piece is an anthem, when I listen to it it takes me to very good times in the years 1995-1996 and the truth is that it was a song that greatly revolutionized the music industry. But where does it come from? ...
- Stevie Wonder.
Yes people, from the great Stevie Wonder. Although it is true that it is not the same song, the base is. It's amazing how many artists have done this over the years, some in more obvious ways than others, but in the end the result is always the same. Probably many did not know the version of Stevie but if the Coolio, then again the question, were the plagiarisms so bad?
- UB40 - Red Red Wine.
UB40, one of the bands I like the most, released this song in the early eighties, in 1983 to be more exact. This British band when they wrote the song they were not aware that it was by another artist until the moment they finished it. The most important difference is that this is a reggae compared to the original which is a much slower ballad. The original?...
- Neil Diamond.
Diamond recorded this song in 1967-1968. The same thing happens with this song as with Coolio's, although Neil Diamond is one of the most important singer-songwriters in anglo music, I am convinced that many know the song from UB40 and I would not be surprised if some think it is a Bob Marley song .
- Marc Ronson and Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk.
It is not necessary to talk about this song and what it currently means at the level of success and copies sold BUT behind this song and its melodies, chords, bridges, etc. there are certain similarities that if you are somewhat knowledgeable about music and have a certain musical ear it is very possible that you realize:
- College - Young Girls.
Are there any similarities? Is it a copy? The song by Bruno Mars was then a plagiarism? - are questions that most likely we will not have answers. What if we can say that at least in this last example the production work was much better elaborated than in the previous ones, so it may be a little more complicated to capture the reference, they are similar, but from there to say that it is plagiarism, do not know.
So, the inspiration in something can be considered as plagiarism? - difficult question. It is a very wide world where there are many grays and where you certainly have to be careful not to fall into these practices.
¡Un abrazo a todos, nos escuchamos en la próxima!
Well my people for today is everything, I hope you liked it.
¡A hug to all, we will hear each other in the next one!
https://twitter.com/Javyeslavaphoto/status/1379802983249100805
De las de UB40 "Red Red Wine" y "Waka Waka" de Shakira si te doy fe de que efectivamente fueron plagios.
En la de Coolio, se dijo mucho de eso pero el tiempo se encargó de empolvar eso. Con respecto a Stevie Wonder, me sorprendió leerlo. Por otro lado, con Withney Houston me cuesta creerlo; de Dolly Parton sí te digo porque ella nunca escribió canciones, y algunas le fueron cedidas escritas por Elvis Presley.
Es lo poco que sé de estas canciones que recordaste. ¡Gracias Javi, nos seguimos leyendo!
Gracias a ti por leer.
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El plagio ocurre es cuando se intenta usurpar la autoría, no es por la interpretación. Yo puedo interpretar cualquier canción y si le doy crédito a su autor no hay problema. En el caso de Waka waka, al igual que en el caso de Las Chicas del Can, hicieron ver el tema como uno propio. De hecho Wilfrido Vargas intentó una demanda contra Shakira, precisamente atribuyéndose una autoría que no era suya.
Contrariamente a lo que dice el amigo @eliasseth, Dolly Parton sí compuso una gran cantidad de canciones, muchas de las cuales fueron grandes éxitos. Pero no hay plagio por parte de Whitney Houston porque la autoría se le reconoció a la Parton. De hecho, en la trama del El Guardaespaldas ella canta esa canción, por tratarse de una canción del género Country (el género musical de Dolly Parton), para dedicárselo a Frank Farmer (el guardaespaldas) quien era amante de ese género.
Lo mismo sucede con Red red wine. UB40 no trató de adjudicarse la creación del mismo. Ellos el error que cometieron, pero sin ningún tipo de consecuencias, es que pensaron que se trataba de una canción jamaiquina del autor Negus Diamond (N. Diamond), cuando en realidad y para sorpresa de ellos descubren tiempo después, que se trataba de Neil Diamond.
¡Excelente recopilación de versiones y un tema interesante para desarrollar!
Así es. Lo del tema de UB40 dice Neil Diamond que se sorprendió al ver el crédito y todo.
Con lo de Dolly Parton tengo entendido que ella la escribió porque se estaba despidiendo de un programa de TV que tenía, pero no estoy muy seguro.
Gracias por leer, estimado!
¡Es un placer! Y me gusta que ahora le hayas entrado a la temática musical (aunque me sigue gustando mucho tu trabajo fotográfico)! 😀