Marvin Gaye’s son, Marvin Gaye III, has filed his own lawsuit against Robin Thicke over copyright violation. MGIII is suing not only over the similarities between his dad’s song “Got to Give it Up” and Thicke’s hit “Blurred Lines.” He’s added another Gaye song, “After the Dance,” which he says Thicke copied in “Love After War.”
MGIII may have gotten idea from an article I wrote in August. I told you then that there were at least four instances in which Thicke obviously copied or sample Gaye classics. The other two are his “Trouble Man” finding its way into Thicke’s “Million Dolla Baby” and Gaye’s “I Want You” copied into Thicke’s “Make U Love Me.”
There is already a suit against Thicke from two other Gaye children. That suit not only names Thicke but his music publisher, formerly EMI, now Sony ATV, for breaching fiduciary rights in not dealing with this situation. This one leaves Sony ATV out of the mix. He’s also suing over just the “Got to Give it Up” and “After the Dance.” I don’t know why he don’t sue over “Trouble Man.” It’s blatant.
Frankly, I’ve known other similar situations where the music publisher declined to intervene because the culprit was a contemporary hit maker. Witness John Mayer’s “Waiting for the World to Change” which borrows heavily from Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” and “We’re a Winner.”
This new lawsuit is reported today by Eriq Gardner in The Hollywood Reporter.
Here’s some advice to the Gaye children: combine your cases. That’s a big Thanksgiving pie your dad left behind. Everyone can have a nice slice if you’re smart.
Here’s an interesting 2009 video I found on YouTube. Thicke seems to say “Million Dolla Baby” is based on Marvin Gaye’s music.
