'Blurred Lines' has precedents from Beatles to Vanilla Ice

By ANDREW DALTONAssociated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A jury has determined that singers Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams copied R&B legend Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give it Up" with their 2013 megahit "Blurred Lines." Thicke and Williams were ordered to pay Gaye's children nearly $7.4 million. The decision could have an unprecedented effect on the industry, but it was only the latest in decades of cases that have taken pop songs from the recording studio to the courtroom over plagiarism allegations. Here are some highlights.

EX-BEATLE VERSUS THE CHIFFONS

Former Beatle George Harrison's 1970 solo song "My Sweet Lord" had a melody heavy with echoes of "He's So Fine," the 1962 hit from The Chiffons. The copyright owner sued Harrison. A judge said that while the tunes were nearly identical, Harrison was guilty only of "subconscious plagiarism." Harrison would eventually pay out $587,000.

HUEY LEWIS VERSUS THE GHOSTBUSTERS

Ray Parker Jr. ain't afraid of no ghost, but he had to give in when Huey Lewis and the News came after him. Parker's "Ghostbusters," from the movie of the same title, was among the top 10 songs of 1984. But Lewis sued him over the song's resemblance to "I Want a New Drug," a song released earlier the same year. Parker settled out of court for a confidential sum.

VANILLA ICE VERSUS QUEEN

Vanilla Ice's 1990 signature tune, "Ice, Ice, Baby," used a sample of the 1981 Queen-David Bowie collaboration "Under Pressure" without credit. Vanilla Ice would settle out of court for an undisclosed amount in one of many cases that stemmed from hip-hop's heavy use of sampling at the time.

FOGERTY VERSUS FOGERTY

In a case as bizarre as it was far-reaching, John Fogerty was accused of stealing from John Fogerty. The Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman was sued for his 1985 solo song "The Old Man Down the Road" because his former label thought it sounded too much like the 1970 Fogerty-penned "Run Through the Jungle," a song it owned the rights to. A jury ruled in Fogerty's favor, but a countersuit over attorneys' fees would reach the U.S. Supreme Court. And the fight would lead to a decades-long and ongoing rift among bandmates who took opposing sides. Fogerty was still estranged from his brother and fellow CCR member Tom Fogerty over the issue when Tom died in 1990.

TOM PETTY VERSUS SAM SMITH

Not all plagiarism cases are so nasty. Tom Petty won a piece of British soulster Sam Smith's***t "Stay With Me" earlier this year, and all he had to do was ask. Petty's publishers said that while it was clearly coincidental, the song's melody bore a striking resemblance to Petty's 1989 song "I Won't Back Down." Smith and his representatives agreed, and granted co-writing credit to Petty. The song would win Grammys for record of the year and song of the year the following month.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.whdh.com/story/28373683/blurred-lines-has-precedents-from-beatles-to-vanilla-ice

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'Blurred Lines' jury finds for Marvin Gaye

Robin Thicke outside the Roybal Federal Building on March 5, 2015, in Los Angeles.(Photo: David Buchan, Getty Images)

Was it simply an homage? Or flat-out copying? The jury decided Tuesday it was the latter.

That's been the issue in the musically packed, big-money Los Angeles trial over the 2013 hit Blurred Lines.

Musicians Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I. preemptively sued the family of late singer Marvin Gaye for a determination on whether their hit song was an infringement on the copyright for Gaye's 1977 hit song, Got to Give It Up. Gaye's family counter-sued.

On Tuesday, Gaye's camp emerged victorious. The eight member jury voted unanimously that Thicke and song producer Williams had infringed on the 1977 Gaye song.

The jury awarded nearly $7.4 million to Gaye's family. His children Nona, Frankie and Marvin Gaye III were present in court when the verdict was read.

Nona Gaye wept as the verdict was being read and was hugged by her attorney, Richard Busch.

"Right now, I feel free," Nona Gaye said after the verdict. "Free from ... Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke's chains and what they tried to keep on us and the lies that were told."

Williams issued a statement to USA TODAY via his spokesperson Amanda Silverman. "While we respect the judicial process, we are extremely disappointed in the ruling made today, which sets a horrible precedent for music and creativity going forward," read the statement."Pharrell created Blurred Lines from his heart, mind and soul and the song was not taken from anyone or anywhere else. We are reviewing the decision, considering our options and you will hear more from us soon about this matter."

Thicke and his representatives have not spoken publicly since the verdict was announced.

The jury reached the decision after hearing nearly a week of testimony about similarities between Blurred Lines the biggest hit of 2013 and Gaye's***t.

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Thicke and Williams denied copying. Their song earned them more than $5 million apiece.

Although both are credited as its songwriters, Williams wrote the song in about an hour in 2012, and the pair recorded it in one night, according to the testimony.

The verdict could tarnish the legacy of Williams, a reliable hit-maker who has won Grammy Awards and appears on NBC's music competition show The Voice.

An attorney for Thicke and Williams has said a decision in favor of Gaye's heirs could have a chilling effect on musicians who try to emulate an era or another artist's sound.

Williams told jurors that Gaye's music was part of the soundtrack of his youth, but he denied using any of it to create Blurred Lines.

The Williams, Thicke and T.I camp contended they did nothing wrong in being inspired by Gaye and evoking the feeling of Gaye's music.

But lawyers for Gaye's children accused Williams and Thicke of repeatedly changing their stories about how they created Blurred Lines and felt their clients deserved a piece of the millions of dollars the song has made.

Nashville entertainment law attorney Richard Busch said his clients were thrilled with the verdict. "This is as satisfying or more satisfying than any case I've ever had," Busch said. "Winning the Eminem digital download case was obviously a very big deal. But winning this might be more satisfying because of the machine we were up against and who Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke are.

"I'm sure (Thicke and Williams) probably wondered who this guy from Nashville, Tennessee is, but they know now."

An accounting statement during the trial, according to The Hollywood Reporter, revealed that there were $16,675,690 in profits for Blurred Lines.

According to testimony, $5,658,214 went to Thicke, $5,153,457 was given to Williams and $704,774 to T.I.

Record companies (Interscope, UMG Distribution and Star Trak) took home the rest, with an executive at Universal Music testifying that overhead costs on the creation of Blurred Lines accounted for $6.9 million.

Pharrell Williams outside the courthouse building.(Photo: David Buchan, Getty Images)

Add to that a second song, Gaye's After the Dance, also being disputed, and Busch put damages at $40 million.

Howard King, lead attorney for Williams, Thicke and T.I., told jurors a verdict for the Gaye family would stifle artists and inhibit musicians trying to recreate an era or genre of music.

The two-week trial was entertaining, enlightening and colorful. Thicke sang, played the piano and even danced a little in his seat during his testimony. He also told the federal jury that he was drunk and high on drugs during interviews about the song. Although he is credited with co-writing the mega hit, Thicke said Williams wrote it on his own.

Williams' testimony hinged on feelings. "Feel, but not infringement," Williams said when asked whether he recognized similarities between the songs. "I must've been channeling that feeling, that late-'70s feeling."

Blurred Lines was the biggest hit of 2013 and was nominated for a Grammy Award. T.I.'s rap track was added after it was recorded in mid-2012.

Contributing: The Tennessean's Nate Rau, and the Associated Press

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1GoPxS9

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2015/03/10/blurred-lines-trial-verdict/24492431/

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Miss. State quarterback injured in PCB concert fight

PANAMA CITY BEACH A Mississippi State quarterback was injured Monday afternoon during a brawl outside Club La Vela while on Spring Break, according to a Panama City Beach Police Department news release.

Dakota Dak Prescott was released Monday after telling police he did not want to press charges and did not need medical treatment following a parking lot skirmish at 4:51 p.m. in the Club La Vela parking lot, 8813 Thomas Drive, PCBPD reported.

Photos of the encounter quickly spread across social media, as did video of the brawl.

--- VIDEO: SEE THE FIGHT (WARNING: Contains some potentially offensive language)

PCBPD officers were called to a large crowd fighting in La Velas parking lot Monday afternoon at the end of the Waka Flocka Flame concert. By the time police arrived, the fight had been broken up by club security, police reported.

Portions of the fight were caught on a video taken on a bystanders cellphone. As the fight ends, Prescott can be seen stumbling to his feet.

Police later approached Prescott, who declined to press charges and did not want medical treatment. Prescott was not charged in the incident, police reported.

Bill Martin, spokesman for Mississippi State, said he spoke with Prescott about the fight. Martin said Prescott suffered facial cuts after being hit with a bottle, but he did not have to go to the hospital. Martin said the fight also involved teammates Torrey Dale and Damian Williams.

--- VIDEO: SEE THE FIGHT (WARNING: Contains some potentially offensive language)

Martin added that the three players were headed back to Starkville, Mississippi, where the university is located.

Prescott sent a message on Twitter on Monday night that said, Thanks for all the Concerns and Prayers! Im okay [sic] and ready to get back to Starkville. Ignorance happens! Be safe on Spring Break!

PCBPD reported the incident is still under investigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.newsherald.com/news/crime-public-safety/mississippi-state-quarterback-dak-prescott-injured-in-pcb-concert-fight-1.448451

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A St. Patrick's Day lunch menu from Sonoma's Meadowcroft Wines

The Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, Ireland, is one of the only cooking schools in the world with its own 100-acre, certified organic farm.

Ballymaloe graduate Darby Tarantino uses that sprawling, verdant garden as inspiration each March when she creates an authentic St. Patricks Day luncheon at the tasting room of Meadowcroft Wines in Sonoma, where she serves as the resident chef and wine educator.

Unlike the faux-Irish feast of corned beef and cabbage, which is more Manhattan Island than Emerald Isle, her farm-to-table feast conjures up all of the sweet root vegetables and crisp spring bounty of Ballymaloe, a Gaelic word that means the townland of sweet honey.

When they think of Irish food, people always think of meat and potatoes, said Tarantino, whose ancestors fled County Cork during the potato famine. But at Ballymaloe Cookery School, theyve realized that Ireland is more than that. Its surrounded by ocean, and its founder, Darina Allen, is responsible for all kinds of farmers markets all over the country.

Tarantino, who grew up in Santa Rosa and now lives in Penngrove, made her first trip to Ireland in 2000, then returned every year until 2007, when she decided to leave her job in escrow to enroll at Ballymaloe and reinvent herself as a food and wine maven.

I fell in love with the country, so I started going back every year, she said. Ireland was calling me home. Whenever I land at the airport there, I have a feeling of being home.

In 2007, the Celtic Tiger economic engine was still roaring when she started classes at Ballymaloe, which opened its doors in 1983 and has been teaching students the secrets of authentic Irish cooking ever since.

Everything we cooked came from the organic farm, she said. We made our own cheese, and even milked the cows.

During the first week, Allen taught the students how to make a proper Irish soda bread, a simple, unleavened loaf made with flour, buttermilk, baking soda and salt.

She taught us how to get the right texture, and how to tell if it is done, Tarantino recalled. You have to have just the right amount of buttermilk and when you tap the bottom, you should hear a hollow sound.

Source: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/3584983-181/a-st-patricks-day-lunch

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Norwalk man goes on rant about Biggie Smalls after buying crack

NORWALK -- Police say a Norwalk man allegedly went on a rant about Biggie Smalls while writhing around in a pile of snow Sunday before he banged on a woman's car, causing it to dent.

Carlos Gudino, 35, of 1 Disesa Court, was charged with criminal mischief, possession with intent to sell, sale/possession within distance of a school, first-degree threatening, criminal trespass and possession of narcotics.

Gudino was issued a $20,000 bond and a court date of March 9 at Norwalk Superior.

According to a police report, officers responded to a report of a suspicious person on Loundsbury Avenue around 6 p.m.

Upon arrival, officers spoke with a witness who said she saw a man laying in the snow in the street outside of her apartment building while yelling about Biggy Smalls and other rappers.

The suspect, Gudino, who was said to have been rambling on and not making sense, was described as a white male wearing black clothing.

Officers searched the area for Gudino with the help of a resident who was driving around the neighborhood in an attempt to help before they went back to speak with the witness.

While there, the witness told police she saw Gudino laying in her yard before he allegedly jumped up and began banging on her car while screaming. Gudino's antics allegedly left a dent in the hood of the car.

Police later caught up with the Gudino on Fair Street, where officers say he refused to acknowledge their presence.

When he finally decided to talk, Gudino claimed to have been visiting a friend in the building and said, "All I did was bang on her car."

Officers placed Gudino in handcuffs and patted him down, which they say revealed suspected crack in his pocket.

As he was being taken into custody, police say Gudino began yelling at the officers and said he had gotten into an argument earlier in the day in regards to a narcotics purchase.

Source: http://www.thehour.com/news/nw-police/norwalk-man-goes-on-rant-about-biggie-smalls-after-buying/article_af56d716-66c7-5362-a6aa-c54d53f24bc8.html

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Terps Cruise To Big Ten Tournament On Seven-Game Win Streak

Posted on March 09, 2015 by Chris Garman

The University of Maryland men's basketball team closed the regular season with a 64-61 win against the University of Nebraska March 8. The No. 10 Terps are now 26-5 and 14-4 in the Big Ten conference. The 26 regular-season wins are the most in program history.

The Terps finished second in the Big Ten standings and will receive a double-round bye during the Big Ten tournament before playing the winner of the Indiana-Northwestern matchup during the quarterfinal round March 13.

Photo Credit: Mitch Stringer/PressBox

The Terps split their two regular-season meetings with the Hoosiers. Maryland dropped the first game, 89-70, in Bloomington, Ind., Jan. 22. At the time, the Terps were ranked No. 13, while the Hoosiers were ranked No. 23. Indiana junior guard Yogi Farrell scored a game-high 24 points on 7-for-8 shooting from behind the 3-point line.

Maryland avenged that loss in College Park, Md., Feb. 11, grinding out a 68-66 victory behind 18 points each from senior guard/forward Dez Wells and freshman guard Melo Trimble. The victory marked the start of the Terps' current seven-game win streak, making them the first Big Ten team to win their final seven regular-season contests since Wisconsin accomplished the feat during the 2007-08 season.

Maryland needed some late-game heroics from Wells to defeat Northwestern, 68-67, during the two teams' lone meeting this season at Xfinity Center Jan. 25. Wells scored on a tip-in off a missed 3-pointer by Trimble with 1.4 seconds left to propel the Terps to the win.

The Hoosiers and Wildcats met once this season, with the Wildcats notching a 72-65 victory Feb. 25. For the Hoosiers, the loss was the start of the team's current three-game losing skid. As for the Wildcats, they have won five of their last seven games after losing a season-high 10 games from Jan. 4-Feb. 10.

Meanwhile, Maryland, which finished two games behind Wisconsin for the Big Ten's top spot, ranked in the middle of the conference in several key statistical categories. The Terps are seventh in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 63.1 points per game. The Terps are ninth in scoring offense, averaging 69.7 points per outing. They are also seventh in the conference in scoring margin (plus-6.6 points per game), team field goal percentage (44 percent) and rebounding margin (plus-1.7 per contest).

An area where the Terps have excelled, though, is team defense. The team finished second in the conference in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 39.6 percent shooting. Maryland has also taken advantage of its trips to the free-throw line, ranking second in the Big Ten with a 75.7 percent conversion rate.

All season, the Terps have shown the ability to win close games. With the three-point win against the Cornhuskers, the Terps are 10-0 in games decided by six points or fewer. Another factor was their ability to take care of business on their home floor, going 18-1 (9-0 Big Ten) at the Xfinity Center.

"It is pretty amazing," head coach Mark Turgeon said. "There were some games I was confused about how we did it, and I would be confused when looking at the stat sheet after the games. We had a good balance, and it is just pretty amazing. We did not talk about it, but we all knew it was great to finish 9-0 at home. We gained confidence."

Following the team's three-game road losing streak from Jan. 22-Feb. 8, the Terps managed to win their final three road games. Maryland fought through its road struggles, and now will play neutral court games during the postseason. The Terps are 2-0 in such games this season, having earned both wins coming during the CBE Hall of Fame Classic championship against Arizona State Nov. 24 and Iowa State Nov. 25.

The Big Ten tournament concludes March 15, and the Terps will learn their NCAA tournament seed the same day. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently has Maryland projected to be a No. 3 seed in the East region, but the team could make a strong case for a No. 2 seed if it wins the Big Ten tournament.

Follow Chris on Twitter @Garmelo10

Source: http://www.pressboxonline.com/2015/03/09/terps-cruise-to-big-ten-tournament-on-seven-game-win-streak

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Patrick Willis/Justin Smith retirement, Colin Kaepernick trade rumors, Frank ...

The 49ers roster is seeing all kinds of turnover, amidst all sorts of random news, rumors and speculation. So much for ever going to Las Vegas again.

In case I did not realize this before, I can confirm now that I should never return to Las Vegas again. I said on Friday that crazy stuff can happen when I go to Las Vegas, and this weekend has only further served to confirm it. In the time I have been gone, we have seen the following news, rumors, speculation, or whatever you want to call it:

My apologies to Michael Wilhoite, Tony Jerod-Eddie, Garrett Celek, Kyle Nelson and Derek Carrier. All four were either tendered or signed new contracts. While that is certainly news-worthy, it kinda sort falls by the wayside amidst the rest of this news.

Just when we thought the 49ers offseason could not get any crazier, it manages to top itself. And as I was enjoying the past few days in Las Vegas, the 49ers entered Thunderdome, and then shot well beyond it.

This team is going to look significantly different when they return to the offseason workout program next month. Their defensive depth chart alone is seeing significant change. The 49ers 11-man defensive depth chart a year ago included Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, Ray McDonald, Chris Culliver, Perrish c*x and Ahmad Brooks. Those guys are either gone or could be gone before the end of this week.

And of course, Frank Gore is likely gone, Michael Crabtree and Mike Iupati could both depart this week, and we don't know the future of Stevie Johnson. Oh, and of course the Kap rumors are out there. I don't expect Colin Kaepernick to be traded, but the longer I stay in Las Vegas, it seems like the more likely it is that something could happen just to mess with me! Thankfully, I'm headed back to DC later this afternoon. I get on a plane at 5:15 p.m. PT, so let's hope for the best.

Until then, start hoarding supplies because Thunderdome is upon us!

Source: http://www.ninersnation.com/2015/3/9/8176089/patrick-willis-justin-smith-retirement-colin-kaepernick-trade-rumors

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