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Controversy and rock music go hand in hand! Join us as we count down unforgettable rock anthems that stirred up major controversy, legal battles, and moral panic. From plagiarism claims to cultural backlash, these songs pushed boundaries and paid the price. Which controversial track do you still crank up despite its complicated history?
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00:00This is perhaps the sickest group ever promoted by a mainstream record company.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:08And today, we're looking at 10 famous rock songs that faced significant backlash both legally and socially.
00:16Let the bodies hit the floor. Let the bodies hit the floor. Let the bodies hit the floor.
00:22The old man down the road, John Fogerty.
00:26You got to hide it, hide.
00:30You got to jump up, run away.
00:33It's not rare for musicians to be sued for plagiarism, but it is quite rare for a musician to be sued for sounding too much like themselves.
00:43That's the weird predicament John Fogerty found himself in after releasing the old man down the road.
00:49The old man down the road.
00:54This song was Fogerty's only top 10 single as a solo artist, but the party was stymied by Saul Zantz, owner of Fantasy Records.
01:05He sued Fogerty for copyright infringement, claiming that the song's chorus sounded similar to the Credence Clearwater revival song, Run Through the Jungle.
01:14The courts ultimately ruled in favor of Fogerty, claiming that an artist cannot plagiarize themselves.
01:22And Zantz was forced to pay Fogerty $1.3 million in legal fees.
01:28Run through the jungle.
01:31Run through the jungle.
01:35Ronnie Metallica.
01:37When it comes to Metallica deep cuts, Ronnie is about as deep as it gets.
01:49However, it saw a bit of fame in the early 2000s owing to a significant court case.
01:55Ronald Patook from New Jersey killed his mother and an innocent bystander before surrendering himself to the police.
02:02I always said something wrong with a little stranger right along.
02:09Defense attorneys claimed that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
02:13And when Patook testified, he explicitly mentioned Ronnie and how it was always in his head.
02:20The song tells the story of a troubled and lonely boy who commits a shooting and traumatizes a town.
02:26It's an interesting story that highlights complex issues around mental illness
02:31and how individuals under psychological duress often latch on to cultural artifacts like music during a crisis.
02:39When he pulled that gun from his pocket and they all fall down.
02:45Come As You Are, Nirvana.
02:49Come As You Are, As You Were.
02:53How do you possibly follow up Smells Like Teen Spirit?
02:58Nirvana had two choices.
03:00In Bloom or Come As You Are.
03:03Nirvana wanted In Bloom because they feared the repercussions of releasing the latter.
03:08You see, the main riff of Come As You Are shares great similarities with a song called 80s from the band Killing Joe.
03:16And the band knew it.
03:18Management won out and Come As You Are was chosen.
03:36But the band was right and Killing Joke was pissed.
03:40They were reportedly irate at Nirvana for stealing their riff and some reports state that they filed a copyright lawsuit against the band.
03:49However, other reports claim that they never actually went through with the lawsuit for whatever reason.
03:55Either way, not happy.
03:57My Sweet Lord, George Harrison.
04:06I really want to see you.
04:10Really want to be with you.
04:14You know of plagiarism, but do you know of subconscious plagiarism?
04:19A gorgeous piece of folk rock.
04:21My Sweet Lord was George Harrison's first single as an ex-Beatle.
04:25It was also the center of a highly publicized lawsuit.
04:29Harrison was taken to court by Bright Tunes Music Corporation, who claimed that he copied the chiffon's He's So Fine.
04:37Hallelujah.
04:39My Sweet Lord.
04:41Hallelujah.
04:44He's so fine.
04:45Dulang, Dulang, Dulang.
04:47When she were mine.
04:49Dulang, Dulang, Dulang, Dulang.
04:51Harrison admitted to knowing the song, but argued against copying it.
04:55And while the court conceded that Harrison did not intentionally plagiarize the song,
05:01they introduced the concept of subconscious plagiarism.
05:04And Harrison was found liable.
05:07He was understandably angry.
05:09And the case set a legal precedent that changed how artists thought about the blurred line between inspiration and imitation.
05:16I really want to see you, but it takes a road by law.
05:23I mean, in my law.
05:25Stairway to Heaven.
05:27Led Zeppelin.
05:28Arguably the most popular rock song ever written, Stairway to Heaven was also the subject of a highly publicized copyright trial.
05:47Spirit bassist Mark Andes and a trust for Randy California took Led Zeppelin to court,
05:54claiming that the opening acoustic riff of Stairway to Heaven copied their song, Taurus.
05:59What made this case so controversial wasn't necessarily the lawsuit,
06:12but that it was filed in 2014, nearly half a century after the song was released.
06:19If successful, Spirit would have been entitled to songwriter credit and half of the song's future royalties.
06:26However, Led Zeppelin won the case as there was no strong evidence of plagiarism,
06:31and the similarities were based on common court progressions, which are not protected by copyright.
06:44Get Your Gun, Marilyn Manson
06:46One of the heaviest Marilyn Manson songs,
06:54Get Your Gun, comes off his debut album, Portrait of an American Family,
06:59and was inspired by the murder of OB-GYN David Gunn by an anti-abortion extremist.
07:06And like a good chunk of Manson's discography,
07:09it came under fire by the political right after the Columbine shooting.
07:13Critics argued that its violent and politically charged lyrics inspired the two young boys behind the massacre.
07:25It was a heavy load for the musician to bear, but many other people came to his defense,
07:31claiming that the association was ridiculous.
07:34Regardless, Get Your Gun inspired an intense public discourse around Marilyn Manson's role in shaping the American youth.
07:43The president was shooting bombs overseas, yet I'm a bad guy because I've sang some rock and roll songs.
07:53And who's a bigger influence, the president or Marilyn Manson?
07:55I'd like to think me, but I'm gonna go with the president.
07:58God Save the Queen, Sex Pistols
08:02You thought you'd gotten rid of us, didn't you?
08:04But you were wrong, old bean, cause we're back with a vengeance.
08:08God Save the Queen, my son.
08:10It was 1977, and it had been 25 years since Queen Elizabeth took the throne.
08:16As such, Britain was throwing a massive party called the Silver Jubilee.
08:21The Sex Pistols even wrote a nice song for her called God Save the Queen,
08:26with politically charged lyrics that called out the Queen and her fascist regime.
08:31The song was widely regarded as an attack on the British monarchy,
08:35and many saw its release as disrespectful and provocative, intended to spoil the Jubilee.
08:42God Save the Queen, the fascist regime.
08:48The Sex Pistols also represented punk rock rebellion at its most pure,
08:53which was a huge shock to the traditional and conservative British sensibilities of the time.
09:00As such, the song was banned by the BBC and many other major broadcasters.
09:06I love you, John. I love you, John. I love you, John for you.
09:14Bodies. Drowning Pool.
09:17Let the bodies hit the floor. Let the bodies hit the floor. Let the bodies hit the floor.
09:23With a chorus that consists of the lyric, let the bodies hit the floor,
09:27it's easy to see how this song could be misinterpreted.
09:31Drowning Pool frontman Dave Williams claimed that there was no ill intent behind the song,
09:36and that the lyrics were simply about mosh pits.
09:39However, bodies has long been associated with crimes and tragedies, sparking a good degree of backlash.
09:46It was briefly pulled from the radio in the aftermath of 9-11,
09:58and it has been linked to numerous shootings, including that of Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
10:04It was also famously used as an interrogation technique at Guantanamo Bay,
10:09often played loudly and on a continuous loop as a form of psychological torment.
10:20Creep. Radiohead.
10:28Perhaps the most famous copyright infringement case is that of Radiohead's Creep.
10:34Many people have found similarities between Creep and the Hollies' The Air That I Breathe,
10:39which was written by Albert Hammond and Michael Hazelwood.
10:43All I need is the air that I breathe and to love you.
10:51Rondor Music took legal action against Radiohead, claiming copyright infringement.
10:56But unlike other artists who vehemently deny plagiarism, Radiohead openly admitted to the similarities.
11:03So, no, I will not accept that you stand there and tell me that you never heard the air that I breathe by the Hollies,
11:11when I know that you have heard Crump by Radiohead.
11:15Hammond and Hazelwood were awarded both songwriting credits and royalties,
11:20but as they admired the band's honesty, they only took a small percentage.
11:24Funnily enough, Radiohead later targeted Lana Del Rey, seeking credit and royalties after she used the melody for her song,
11:33Get Free. We wonder, who's going to do it next?
11:36How old are you? 19 or 20? Something like that.
11:39Okay, so maybe you know Lana Del Rey, who remarkably was sued by Radiohead for plagiarizing Creep in her 2017 song,
11:46Get Free. Iterations. Over time. Diluting the message. Obscuring the original.
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12:11Helter Skelter – The Beatles
12:22Arthur Doyle Green has said that The Beatles and Charles Manson are
12:26permanently connected in pop culture consciousness, and that's not really an association you want to have.
12:33Manson was a huge fan of the song, thinking that it bore prophetic messages about an apocalyptic race war.
12:40He saw their music as instructions or validation for his twisted worldview, leading to the infamous killings of 1969's.
12:50The evidence will show Manson's fanatical obsession with Helter Skelter, a term he got from the English musical group The Beatles.
12:59To Manson, Helter Skelter meant the black man rising up and destroying the entire white race.
13:05At one murder scene, the words Helter Skelter were even written in blood on a refrigerator, further strengthening the connection between the song and the murders.
13:15Following the crime, Helter Skelter became tainted in the public eye, leading to a moral panic, public discomfort with the White Album, and increased scrutiny of rock music and its cultural influence.
13:28Do you still enjoy these tunes? Let us know in the comments below!
13:37I think you've heard it many, many times before, but we will come back to that.
13:41So back to that!
13:48Let us know in the comments below.
13:54So we hope you find anything about it!
14:00Wait for you today!
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