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Rare & Scratchy Rock 'N Roll Podcast


"Rare & Scratchy Rock 'N Roll" is a "rockumentary" series telling the greatest rock and roll stories on record. Some of our episodes spotlight specific artists, and others cover various specific subjects. All of them rock as we cover stories and myths about songs you can sing along with.

Jan 15, 2017

RARE & SCRATCHY ROCK 'N ROLL - #_029 

"The Same Old Songs -- Different Hit Singles That Used The Same Melodies"

Ever since the stone age, singers, songwriters, and musicians have been imitating and copying each other. And the same’s been true throughout the “rock age.”

There’s a multiplicity of memorable melodies that have seen double duty. Totally different songs using a very similar or the exact same tune. Some were positively plagiarized platters. Still more could be called creative coincidences. Others were based on public domain ditties, and a few were re-purposed on purpose by the original composers.

We’ll spotlight 50 of them with a particular focus on the music of Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, and Ray Charles along with samplings of songs with surprising similarities by such artists as James Brown, David Bowie, Johnny Cash, and even Buddy Holly, among others.

Most of these recordings never went to court to determine if the copyrights had been copied wrong. So you’ll be the judge during this hearing of some same old songs.