Beyond ‘Blurred Lines’: Listen to these other sound-alike songs

Was Robin Thicke’s 2013 hit “Blurred Lines,� produced by Pharrell Williams, a rip-off of Marvin Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give It Up�? That’s what an eight-member jury decided Tuesday, awarding Gaye’s family nearly $7.4 million.

In a piece last week, Times pop music critic Randall Roberts argued that the case was “about cash, not artistic theft� and he warned that such an outcome could have a chilling effect on creativity. And as our graphics department showed, the songs may sound similar but are structurally different.

Earlier this year, Sam Smith also found himself in a copyright dispute when similarities between his song “Stay With Me� and Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down� were discovered. But the parties took another route and worked it out amicably.

These are far from the only cases of sound-alike songs. Inspiration or something more? Take a listen.

The Rolling Stones’ “Anybody Seen My Baby� vs. k.d. lang’ “Constant Craving�

Stevie Wonder’s "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" vs. Oasis’ “Step Out�

George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord� vs. the Chiffons’s “He´s So Fine�

An instrumental 1965 cover of the Rolling Stones' "The Last Time" vs. The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony�

Follow Alexandra Le Tellier on Twitter @alexletellier