Robin Thicke Keeps The Pleas For Wifey Going With New Single "You're My Fantasy"
Legal proceedings finally got underway this week in what's become one of the most contentious lawsuits in modern pop music. On Tuesday both Robin Thicke and Pharrell appeared in a Los Angeles court room, preparing testimony to rebut the allegation that their 2013 mega-hit "Blurred Lines" blatantly plagiarizes Marvin Gaye's 1977 classic "Got To Give It Up" [spoiler alert: Thicke already copped to Marvin's influence in interviews].
My News LA reports that the late Motown singer's daughter, Jannis Gaye, was expected to take the stand and testify against Thicke and Pharrell. "Blurred Lines," the Gaye family asserts, goes beyond merely gesturing at "Got to Give it Up" and outright copies its rhythmic structure, bass lines, harmonic composition and vocal melodies. My News reports that an eight-person federal jury will decide if the Robin Thicke track does in fact steal from Gaye's work, and if so, what amount of damages money is owed to the Gaye family.
As Billboard reports, yesterday's testimony bordered on surreal when Robin Thicke busted out a keyboard in the courtroom and performed a live medley in hopes of showcasing his various influences and diluting the connection between the two specific songs. That medley included U2 - "With Or Without You"; The Beatles - "Let It Be"; Alphaville - "Forever Young"; Bob Marley - "No Woman No Cry" and Michael Jackson - "Man in the Mirror." [Sidebar: if any courthouse employees managed to get board audio on this thing? Bootleg of the millenium, son.]
But it gets stranger. The legal team representing Thicke and Williams has reportedly cited a copyright law that pre-dates "Got to Give it Up" and only grants a musician full ownership of their songs' sheet music, rather than the recordings themselves. Meaning, of course, that the very simple written charts may be all that the Gaye family has claim to.
It's worth recalling that the entire legal circus began, astonishingly, with Thicke and Pharrell suing the Gaye family for advance protection of "Blurred Lines" from exactly the kind of lawsuit that is now unfolding. At that time, the duo alleged that "Gaye defendants are claiming ownership of an entire genre, as opposed to a specific work."
However, this week's trial will continue until its jury reaches a verdict, and both legal teams have speculated that as much as $40 million could be paid to the Gaye family, should "Blurred Lines" ultimately be deemed to infringe on the Gaye Estate's copyright. Are the songs in fact too similar? Did Thicke steal more than just vibe from Gaye's classic track? (*passes popcorn) We leave that for you to decide but stay tuned, true believers, for more updates on this exciting courtroom drama unfolds as the plot, uh, Thicke-ens.
