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Musketeer Gripweed (kezron9) said

Inner Light said

Billy Rhythm said

Musketeer Gripweed (kezron9) said
the My Sweet Lord lawsuit/plagerism kind took the joy out of the song for me.

 

The ‘He’s So Fine’ debacle never changed my appreciation for ‘My Sweet Lord ‘ at all.  The Publisher of The Chiffons’ hit was clearly gold digging and wouldn’t have bothered pointing out any similarities at all if the song wasn’t so financially successful.  George’s response to the claims that he ripped it off were bang on, he said that “a lot of songs sound like a lot of other songs” and he’s right.  It’s not like ‘My Sweet Lord ‘/’He’s So Fine’ is as obviously a “rip off” as ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’/’Sweet Little Sixteen’ is, among many others.  He also made a distinction here that’s important, he said that he felt that ‘My Sweet Lord ‘ was “a great record” as opposed to being a “great song”.  There’s really not much to ‘My Sweet Lord ‘, or ‘He’s So Fine’ for that matter, pretty basic musically but what made ‘My Sweet Lord ‘ so successful wasn’t its chord structure or melody, it’s the delivery by George and the other musicians who clearly elevated their performance with the song’s strong heartfelt message.  It’s like when a gospel choir gets up on their feet and puts their songsheets down and uses their hands to clap instead, there’s a “feeling” to that record that’s undeniable and what ultimately undoubtedly sold it, and The Chiffons’ Publishers shouldn’t have had any claim to that which they weren’t a part of.  How many people would even know of ‘He’s So Fine’ had it not been for George Harrison , George should get a share of their royalties too…:-)

Very well put!!

Well actually He’s So Fine, was number 1 on the billboard hot 100 for 4 weeks in 1963….So it was a very well known song and sold very well. Listen to them one after the other. Lol its the same melody. When I listen to my Sweet Lord I hear He’s so Fine, well because he stole the melody and was found to have stole the melody in court. It has different instruments and arrangements but its the same and Ia m sorry but all I hear is He’s So Fine in my Sweet Lord well because it is in My Sweet Lord . Its really embarrassing how bad he copied the melody. But that song was very well known, and George stole the melody which made his song a chart topper. John also mentioned that George new what he was doing, and should of changed it up more so it was identical to He’s So Fine. So they had a bone to pick with him rightfully so and one. ***Brushes Shoulder off*** 

I personally never heard ‘He’s So Fine’ until after their publishers claimed that it was similar to ‘My Sweet Lord ‘ and that was the only reason that I was even interested in hearing it, and to this day I rarely hear it on the radio or other media channels, unlike George’s song.

Musketeer Gripweed (kezron9) said
I am intrigued by Johns statements that he knew what he was doing.

I’ve never heard of this quote, do you have a link or source on this?  I’d be just as “intrigued” by it.

Musketeer Gripweed (kezron9) said
Also, he lost in court and admitted that he copied it but copped out buy saying it was subconscious. I am intrigued by Johns statements that he knew what he was doing. Wonder if he really new that he copied there song, but thought the arrangement and different instrumentation would cover it up. But I mean listen to them they are the same.

You really believe that George was “conscious” of this song that he allegedly “subconsciously plagiarized”?  Read what you will into the court settlement, but do remember that John Lennon also pleaded “Guilty” to possession of illegal substances in 1968, eventhough the drugs had been planted by a Policeman who’d been well known to target other famous rockstars with these same tactics.  John copped a plea to move on and something tells me that George did the same here, he had enough legal hassles to worry about than to spend anymore time on this farce.  “He’s So Fine, Wish He Were Mine” is pretty similar to “My Sweet Lord , Hmmm My Lord” but the similarities are few and far between beyond that.  Does ‘He’s So Fine’ even have a guitar solo?  You yourself claimed that “the My Sweet Lord lawsuit/plagerism (your spelling) took the joy out of the song for me (you)”, implying that you used to “enjoy” the song and probably hadn’t noticed any similarities to ‘He’s So Fine’ yourself until the “lawsuit”, if it was truly “the same” to you, you would’ve noticed this upon first listen I would think…:-)      

So, from “took the joy out of the song for me” to “I never really liked My Sweet Lord “?

And, from “Wonder if he really knew that he copied there (your spelling) song” to “it is so obvious that he plagiarized it”?

The “Well, he walked right into it. He knew what he was doing” comment from John appears to me to be more of a response to what the interviewer was specifically asking him about, and that was the “lawsuit”, not the song itself.  I take it as a vague “high road” response, in other words, George has dealt with lawyers before and knows the game, if he wanted to avoid the publicity (We are Beatles after all) he could’ve dealt with it differently.  Is that all he says on the subject?  Hardly a “smoking gun” to “it is so obvious that he plagiarized it”, in my opinion.

As for there being “enough people preaching and trying to force religion down your throat”, I never really got the impression that George was being “forceful” about it.  First of all, he’s not affiliated with any “religion” that I’m aware of, but spent much of his life searching for a path to “God ” and stressed the importance of searching for that “path”, down whatever religion/faith one may choose as their “pathway”.  I’ll admit that I found the repetitiveness of his endless search being constantly reflected in his music tiresome, I mentioned in an earlier post during this thread that I didn’t see much point in the ‘Hear Me Lord ‘ track being included on this album for the same reasons, it’s the same message as ‘My Sweet Lord ‘.  I think that the high point (or, perhaps “low” would be more suitable here) where George went “over the top”, so to speak, is when he altered the lyrics to ‘In My Life ‘ during his 1974 Tour and sang “In My Life , I Love God More”.  It’s one thing to “spread the word” on his own solo recordings, but to alter the lyrics of a Lennon/McCartney classic to get his point across is another….:-)

It’s not that I “don’t like your opinion”, I’m just trying to figure out what your opinion here is, the examples that I gave aren’t examples of “rephrasing” but of contradictory statements.  George was a high profile supporter of the Hare Krishna movement, but I’d stop short in saying that he was a “devoted” member.  Don’t recall George ever shaving his head or giving up alcohol during the 70’s (80’s for that matter), devotees don’t even have sex very often, supposedly only with permission from their spiritual leader!  I think it’s safe to say that George didn’t ask some Swami’s permission to have sex with his wives when he wanted to.  He was very interested in Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, but didn’t appear to adopt it solely as gospel, but more as an aid in his own personal search for “God “.

As for the Lennon opinion that you’ve added, it’s pretty clear that it’s the same view as your own.  It’s one thing to point out the similarities of the two songs, but entirely another to suggest that George Harrison consciously ripped off a Chiffon’s hit for himself and hoped that nobody would notice 7 years later.  George didn’t admit to doing this, had he of it wouldn’t have made it as far as the courts.  The Chiffon’s publishers were more determined to see it through, fueled by the substantial payday of getting a slice of a George Harrison song that garnered far more royalties than anything they could’ve ever hoped for from an otherwise forgotten Chiffon’s hit.  George has a rare gift for writing great songs and certainly wasn’t so desperate for material in 1970 that he needed to stoop to what John Lennon is suggesting here, but of course there will be those who will agree with him regardless…:-) 

Musketeer Gripweed (kezron9) said
Hey a little of topic on thread but on discussion with the plagiarism law suits. Why was only John held liable? Since him and Paul shared writing credits on every song, why was it that only John was involved? I am sure if I did research on the case I would be able to figure it out just wondering if anyone knew of the top of their head? Sorry for being off topic was just always very curious how John got tied up in and Paul didn’t. Was the suit only filed against John? I feel that since they share writing credits for the song that they would both be held equally responsible. 

If you’re referring to the ‘Come Together ‘ situation, the link that meanmistermustard posted above touches on the legalities involved and the differences pertaining to George’s predicament (including commenting on why John not Paul dealt with it), pretty fascinating stuff and a good listen if you’re interested in the plagiarism lawsuits specifically….:-)