AudioCircle

Music and Media => The Classical Music Circle => Topic started by: S Clark on 9 Apr 2016, 11:47 pm

Title: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: S Clark on 9 Apr 2016, 11:47 pm
It's record cleaning day, and in my huge stack to be cleaned was a 4 lp set of Bach's "The Passion of St. Matthew". So after tiring of cleaning for an hour or so, I opened a bottle of wine and began the 3 1/2 hour listening session... when low and behold, about 40 minutes in is Paul Simon's "American Song".  Not a coincidence.  He lifted it. 
I've heard this many times before... Barry Manilow quotes the entire Chopin prelude, John Williams lifts the theme to Star Wars from Korngold's "Kings Row" score.  What else has been stolen without credits given????

Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: Odal3 on 10 Apr 2016, 12:09 am
Here's an interesting video comparing many of John William's scores to some historical ones:

https://youtu.be/b9IV5u9iwuQ
Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: FullRangeMan on 10 Apr 2016, 12:32 am
There is rumours of Stravinsky on many Yes albums,
they used to open their shows w/Firebird Suite since Fragile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibI_EHW4QTU

Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: S Clark on 10 Apr 2016, 02:43 am
There is rumours of Stravinsky on many Yes albums,
they used to open their shows w/Firebird Suite since Fragile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibI_EHW4QTU
The Yes weren't actually taking Stravinsky and putting his stuff in their songs.  From the clip, it appears they simply played a bit during their intro.  Not the same thing. 
Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: CSI on 10 Apr 2016, 03:05 am

Yeah. You have to distinguish. If you lift the whole thing intact it isn't plagerizing. Even if you don't give credit. Growing up, I always thought Rossini had a good case for suing the Lone Ranger but it never happened.
Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: Kenneth Patchen on 10 Apr 2016, 03:18 am
And we all know about the Canucks taking "O Canada" from Mozart's "The Magic Flute"??
http://www.musicaltoronto.org/2014/06/25/the-origins-of-the-canadian-national-anthem-revealed-in-mozart/
Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: FullRangeMan on 10 Apr 2016, 03:43 pm
The Yes weren't actually taking Stravinsky and putting his stuff in their songs.  From the clip, it appears they simply played a bit during their intro.  Not the same thing.
As I said this video is the show opening w/Stravinsky.
Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: timind on 10 Apr 2016, 05:29 pm
An early one I remember is Eric Carmen's All By Myself taken from Chopin. Back in the 70s I had three classical albums, one of the Chopin (something) and was over a friends house when he played the Eric Carmen album. I said that sounds familiar so we checked. EC did give credit on the album cover.
Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: THROWBACK on 11 Apr 2016, 05:30 pm
How about Neil Diamond taking "Song sung blue" from Mozart PC #21 (the "Elvira Madigan theme from the 2nd movement)?
Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: charmerci on 11 Apr 2016, 11:25 pm
An early one I remember is Eric Carmen's All By Myself taken from Chopin. Back in the 70s I had three classical albums, one of the Chopin (something) and was over a friends house when he played the Eric Carmen album. I said that sounds familiar so we checked. EC did give credit on the album cover.


I always thought it's Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #2.


..and the song is American Tune off of PS's There Goes Rhymin' Simon.


There's a lot out there.... I just don't remember them now. It'll come slowly.
Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: thunderbrick on 11 Apr 2016, 11:29 pm
Hello Muddah, Hello Fadda!  Alan Sherman
Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: timind on 11 Apr 2016, 11:40 pm

I always thought it's Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #2.


..and the song is American Tune off of PS's There Goes Rhymin' Simon.


There's a lot out there.... I just don't remember them now. It'll come slowly.

This memory of mine is from 1977 so you're probably correct.
Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: S Clark on 11 Apr 2016, 11:54 pm

..and the song is American Tune off of PS's There Goes Rhymin' Simon.

There's a lot out there.... I just don't remember them now. It'll come slowly.
Thanks for the correction.  Went and found my copy of Rhymin' Simon that hasn't been played in a while to make sure.  He sure had a run of creativity for a couple of decades.  Think I'll give it a spin. 
Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: charmerci on 12 Apr 2016, 12:36 am
Well, google helped me jog my memory a bit!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Popular_songs_based_on_classical_works (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Popular_songs_based_on_classical_works)


...and some of them are credited though. I know Billy Joel credits Beethoven on This Night.
Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: Goosepond on 12 Apr 2016, 01:42 pm
Let's hear it for Wikipedia!

I had made a connection between something I heard in La Boheme but couldn't come up with it. It drove me nuts for a while and then it came to me. Della Reese's hit Don't you Know. The specifics are in Wiki under "D".

Gene
Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: steve k on 12 Apr 2016, 03:29 pm
Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Knife Edge" from their first album was lifted from Janacek's "Sinfonietta". It was odd that Keith Emerson never credited this because he usually did credit classical pieces he "reused".
Title: Re: Popular Bits stolen from classical
Post by: Randy on 12 Apr 2016, 04:04 pm
There's a great posting at You Tube about John Williams and the stuff he's plagiarized in his film music, with musical examples.  At one point, one of his pieces is played simultaneously with Stravinsky and they blend perfectly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9IV5u9iwuQ