Name: Top 50 Most Infamous Rip Off Songs Ever
Uploaded: 2025-12-23T16:59:59.000Z
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Welcome to watchmojo and today we're counting down our picks for the most infamous examples of artists blatantly borrowing from their peers in music history.

Relative clauses (Restrictive vs. nonrestrictive)

Number 50 aha take on me versus Pitbull featuring Christina Aguilera Feel this Moment I just wanna feel this moment, this worldw on the long list of songs that defined the carefree attitudes of the early 2000 and tens, the Pitbull and Christina Aguilera collaboration Feel this Moment deserves a mention.

However, the initial formula they presented appeared to be missing something.

As it turned out, a simple interpolation of AHA's 1980s synth pop staple Take On Me seemed to be the missing ingredient.

It's not quite a sample, nor is it a shameless ripoff per se, but

reaching for a sure thing like Take On Me certainly seemed like going for low hanging fruit to many.

Number 49 Jethro Tull we used to know versus the Eagles Hotel California On a dark desert highway Cool wind in my hair, Warm smell of kalitas Jethro Tull once shared the stage with the Eagles during the early days of both bands careers.

Though Tull frontman Ian Anderson admits that neither band seemed too interested in each other's music, they were civil whenever their paths crossed.

However, that did not stop the Eagles from lifting the chord progression from the folk rock epic We Used to Know for their massive hit Hotel California.

Anderson wasn't even angry about it, though.

In fact he was flattered while acknowledging the many other differences that made both songs stand apart from each other.

Keith Jarrett Long as you know you're living yours versus Steely Dan Gaucho.

There are many very clear instances of plagiarism that don't end up getting resolved in court for one reason or another.

However, when Donald Fagan and Walter Becker openly stated how much they were influenced by Keith Jarrett's Long as yous Know you're Living Yours, it landed them in hot water.

The song was clearly being mirrored in Steely Dan's Gaucho, so so Jarrett had his name added to the songwriting credits.

This also landed him a nice cut of the royalties, which is fair compensation for his part in crafting the melodies.

47 Public enemy security of the first world versus Madonna justify my love, I wanna kiss you in Paris Sampling someone else's song is common practice, but

refusing to acknowledge that you're borrowing is a big no no.

Justify my love Writer and producer Lenny Kravitz did not give credit to Public Enemy after lifting the beat from Security of the First World.

He made minimal alterations to it, too, handing it over to Madonna without too much in the way of transformation.

When Public Enemy threatened legal action, Kravitz played dumb, claiming it was the type of beat you just find on the floor somewhere.

In the end, no songwriting credits were given, but the plagiarism was clear as day.

Pat shadows of the night versus rascal flatt's no reigns.

Influence is a funny thing, as no artist can ever be 100% sure that they haven't taken some riff, melody or general idea from something they've previously heard.

That said, it's hard to believe that nobody ever talked with country band Rascal Flatts about how no Reigns clearly ripped off rocker Pat Benatar's Shadows of the Night.

We're running with the shadows of my mind so baby take my hand Seriously we can't imagine that nobody heard it.

The resemblance goes beyond the occasional similarity, and

the fact that no additional songwriting credits were given after its release means that the band got off lucky like a painted bomb Mustang flying out across the open range.

Killing Joke 80s vs. Nirvana come as yous Are Come as you Are.

When Kurt Cobain geared up for the release of Nevermind and its singles, he unfortunately noticed that he made a serious error.

He had unconsciously ripped off the riff from 80s by the Post Punk band Killing Joke.

As soon as he realized his mistake, he urged his record label not to release it.

However, they saw its potential and convinced Cobain to give the go ahead.

Killin Joke themselves got involved with an immediate threat of legal action.

They later criticized Nirvana for how they handled things.

There's no denying that the riffs are basically the same melodic ideas in two different forms.

Steelers Stuck in the Middle with youh vs.

Sheryl Crow All I wanna do All I wanna do is have some fun until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Pull apart A good song can stand the test of time, no matter which era it's released in.

For Sheryl Crowe's All I Wanna do, many critics noticed just how similar it was in tone, melody and structure to Steelers Wheels Stuck in the middle with you Clowns that left me Choke us to the right Here I am stuck in the middle with you One critic famously called it a blatant rewrite.

Crowe herself admitted that the song resulted from a jam that quote, kinda sounded like Steelers Wheel, though she gave songwriting credit and royalties to Wynn Cooper, the author of the poem who inspired her song Stuck in the Middle with youh never got the same treatment til the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard.

Lynyrd skynyrd's sweet home alabama vs. Warren zevon werewolves of lond.

Once you hear Leonard Skynyrd's Heartland anthem Sweet Home Alabama, it's hard to get it out of your head.

Sweet Home Alabama where the sky's on moon it sounds as if it was on Warren Zevon's mind when he wrote the quirky jam Werewolves of London with an eerily similar chord progression.

The closest he came to acknowledging this was the song Play It All Night Long, which dealt with Skynyrd's actual feud with Neil Young.

Of course, fans have discussed the possible plagiarism so much that Kid Rock sampled both songs in his 2008 nostalgia anthem All Summer Long, singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer Long.

Controversy aside, it's hard to not howl along with these classics.

Olivia Rodrigo's Good4U vs. Paramore misery business.

Though they were separated by an entire generation, Olivia Rodrigo and Paramore have certainly been scratching similar itches for the general public.

Whatever makes you great, but I got it where I want it now.

Unfortunately, Rodrigo's track Good 4 U noticeably drew on Paramore's classic hit Misery Business a little too much to be a coincidence.

Three months after the song's release, Rodrigo gave Hayley Williams and Josh Farrow half of future songwriting credits for her oversight.

The general public actually seemed to resent the decision, claiming that the songs were different enough not to warrant it.

the members of Paramore took home quite a pretty penny for just feels so good.

The Marvelettes please Mr. Postman versus Portugal the man Feel It Still.

Though they eventually managed to crack the upper echelons of the charts, Portugal the Man needed eight studio albums to achieve their biggest hit feel.

It still was an instantly memorable and catchy pop hit that eventually peaked at number four on the Billboard chart.

However, it wasn't entirely of their own creation.

The song interpolates the main vocal line of the Motown classic please Mr.

Postman, updating it with a fresh new style.

Thankfully, songwriter Brian Holland received his songwriting credit without any need for a legal battle.

Fred I'm too sexy versus Jimi Hendrix experience third stone from the Sun.

Who knows how the legendary Jimi Hendrix would have felt about his iconic instrumental break from Third Stone from the sun being used in a cheesy pop song like I'm Too Sexy?

Despite this being a very obvious tribute, Wright said Fred member Fred Fairbrass didn't initially know that his guitarist was playing a well known riff during recording.

In the end, the licks served the song surprisingly well, and

Hendrix's estate didn't put up any form of legal offense.

They instead asked for a songwriting credit and a donation to a charity of their choice.

Going to leave me and I am 39 Pearl Jam given to fly versus Led Zeppelin going to California.

There might not be another band in history as infamously embroiled in plagiarism disputes as Led Zeppelin.

While they remain revered for the sheer strength of their repertoire, to say that Jimmy Page was fond of borrowing a tune or two would be an understatement.

So when Pearl Jam pretty clearly took influence from their track Going to California for their own Given to Fly, what could Zeppelin really say?

Well, singer Robert Plant seemed to find the whole thing funny and even appeared on stage with Pearl Jam to perform a mash up.

Let the rock band that is without sin cast the first stone.

Number 38T Rex get it on vs cigarettes and alcohol.

The great thing about a band like Oasis is that they will very bluntly tell you about their love of plagiarizing.

Guitarist Noel Gallagher clearly doesn't mind borrowing a riff or two to produce his own perfect rock classic.

But as much as we could mention about 10 Oasis compositions here, there's something especially cheeky about Gallagher stealing T Rex's Get It On Bang a Gong.

The classic track was very clearly the driving force behind Cigarettes and Alcohol and led the critics to dub the track Oasis Going T.

37 audio slave Cochise vs audio slave, you, time has come.

It takes some serious nerve to rip off one of your own tracks.

It's not like you can sue yourself, right?

Well, for Audioslave, the opening riff of their track youk Time Has Come was noted as sounding oddly familiar to fans upon release.

Turns out the band had been doing a little bit too much listening to their own records, taking heavy influence from their earlier hit Cochise.

It's kind of bizarre that no member of the band seemed to find it similar to a song that they were no doubt performing regularly on tour.

Long before your time is come Long before Your time is come 36 the Black Keys Little Black Submarines vs.

Yet another band that's not above lifting a riff or song idea from time to time are the Black Keys.

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Top 50 Most Infamous Rip Off Songs Ever

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