songs that sound like other songs

Altered Images' "Happy Birthday" sounds a lot like one of the 45 84 89–era Fall songs to me (maybe "Oh! Brother"?). Even down to the way she sings the verses...

The chord progression to Cat Power’s Metal Heart sounds exactly like Drive By Truckers’ Goddamn Lonely Love…not only does it use the same chords (I think), but the actual sound of the way they’re played/recorded is almost exactly the same.

Just heard Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” in the local supermarket. Walked out humming the title line, only for it to morph into the opening “Da da da, da da dumb dumb da” from The Beatles’ “From Me To You”.

Wow never noticed this before. Copyright infringement suits have been won over less

In Led Zeppelin's "Bring It On Home" when the rocked up part kicks in, the guitar riff is similar to the horn riff in "Think" by James Brown & the Famous Flames

wow! can't believe i never connected that

Just noticed some similarities between Tower of Power's "What is Hip:"

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

And Van Halen's "Mean Street"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4akn6e59TQ

Ha, that's the one that always sounds a little like Three Lock Box to me.

And yet, Sammy doesn't sound like the Tower of Power either.

This morning the radio reminded me how cool it was when Prince cloned a Cocteau Twins track for Martika
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10V_Z0_udjg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSEtYTp78Sk

*YMO's 'Computer Games' first bars play*

"WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE..."

LOVE that Martika track

I heard this powerful instrumental guitar version of "Hello" by Lionel Ritchie on the AM station the other day. Love shit like this, wanted to know who it was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-0KRM_eROA

And then the announcer backsold the song by saying "that was 'Still Got the Blues' by Gary Moore." I presume the DJ said that with a straight face.

But there was NO WAY that wasn't "Hello"!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHONNcZbwDY

Preliminary Google search says, yeah, it's definitely a rip-off. There's even a Fark link from 14 years ago saying Moore lost his case against Richie. But I can't find anything solid, especially about settlements and credit.

But with a lead from Wikipedia, I learn that Moore lost a suit brought by a German band from the 70s, Jud's Gallery. And yup, there's that "Hello" melody buried at the end, starting around 10:20 (kicking in about a minute later.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8mOgcUar-8

So now we've got a song that predates "Hello" by 15 years. Was Richie ever called out by Jud's Gallery too? No, but he was sued by Marjorie White, who claims Richie ripped off her song, "I'm Not Ready To Go," which I can't find an example of anywhere.

Richie won that case, by the way.

(And in posts that sound like other posts, Geoff mentioned this in 2006: songs that sound like other songs)

Was thinking this week how R.E.M.'s "Tongue" is a bit like Twentieth Century Zoo's "Quiet Before the Storm" once the latter gets going

Would seem unlikely that this could be described as sounding like anything else but that main recurring melody is lifted straight from Van der Graaf Generator (and George Martin's) "Theme One". Also, who knew people were still playing stuff that sounded like this on the BBC in the 1979?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7plgiMK5wXA

Following on from pplains's post, I heard today a brand-new song by the Algerian Berber singer Souad Massi that very obviously uses the Lionel Richie "Hello" melody. The song is "Dessine-moi un pays" and the "Hello" bit starts at 00:42.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wcoj3Cjkuc

Little more veiled than Gary Moore, but that's still it!

Driving me nuts (aptly enough) trying to think (punk?) song the intro of this reminds me of...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPdiHkRqI-U

... I'm sure it's a punk song but it might be T. Rex?

The intro is the best Wonderwall rip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p0Igh5EXjk

xp it's close to Cheap Trick - Hello There

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKjs4qoSZ0c

I've never heard that song so that's not what I'm thinking of.

It’s a little bit like the Sex Pistols cover of Something Else.

is it "ca plane pour moi"? different key, but i still get the vibe

"New Rose" opens with drums, then a four chord riff, but then it settles in into the hook/riff like that Neil Diamond intro.

I always thought the "New Rose" riff was the "Raw Power" riff backwards (and sped up)!

Is it Suspect Device by Stiff Little Fingers?

I think it might well be! I'm sure there are Los of songs with similar intros but I had on a Neil Diamond compilation and when that song stated up I had to check it was still Neil I was listening to

hooray! that's what it reminded me of, then when I went to listen to SLF I thought it was maybe too generic.

“Suspect Device”, now there’s a blast from my past. SLF were my favourite band in the world for a couple of months.

and Jake Burns letting himself be inspired by his parents’ record collection, I love it.

Didn't Montrose complain that "Suspect Device" sounded too much like "Space Station #5"? It has a similar rhythm:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxUgW5CLk18

The AV Club also points out that The Men used a similar riff in "Turn it Around":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7XmQzlxMoE

I have to say that's quite a stylistic evolution from "I Don't Depend on You".

Tom D. it also reminds me of this one by Jeff Lynne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRsYbb8rWoE

As a father of a 5 month old kid, I have recently discovered that I’m unable to whistle a verse of ‘Hush Little Baby’ without segueing into the chorus of ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ by Boney M

am i alone in thinking that hank williams' "why don't you love me" sounds like it was based on "turkey in the straw"?

The opening melodic phrase of the Mexican song "María Elena" is almost exactly the same as the opening melodic phrase of the American standard "Dream a Little Dream of Me." Interesting that the two songs were written in 1932 and 1931 respectively.

The chorus of George Ezra's "Green Green Grass" and the opening lines of Joel Corry & MNEK's "Head & Heart" have the same melody, in the same key.

Love, Signed DC / Moody Blues, Nights in White Satin
The Beatles, Eleanor Rigby / Love, Robert Montgomery
Tom Jones, It's Not Unusual / Love, Nice to Be
Bob Dylan, Times They Are a-Changin' / Love, Gather Round
The first Love albums full of songs that sound like other songs

Also "Can't Explain" by Love is an obvious rip of "What a Shame" by the Rolling Stones.

I may never forgive myself for voluntarily listening to 15 seconds of that George Ezra song

Also, while Love's "Signed D.C." may or may not have inspired "Nights in White Satin", its melody is indebted to "House of the Rising Sun".

It's a stretch, but I remember the first time I heard "Frozen Faces" by Propaganda the melody of the second part kept reminding me of "Mad World" by Tears for Fears:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40r6r-pJ3UQ

Specifically the "all around me are familiar faces" bit. They have very little in common otherwise and it's probably coincidence, although the Props - did Propaganda have a Smash Hits nickname? Der Props? - Poppyganda were making demos of A Secret Wish at around the same time "Mad World" came out.

According to Smash Hits, circa March 1984, "Suzanne’s a freelance goldsmith. Claudia’s hard at it doing the German equivalent of A-levels, Ralf works in a bank and Andreas is a DJ, although he’s currently out of work", which raises the question of how you can be an out-of-work DJ. It's like being an unemployed non-stop dancer. I can conclude that Smash Hits didn't have a comedy name for Propaganda. It seems that the magazine barely ever covered them, which is a shame.

Whenever I hear Ernest Ranglin's "Surfin'" I start to sing Steve Miller's "Abracadabra"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuyrY--vs3U

...Kinda wonder if Miller at least subconsciously pilfered it.

the verse groove from the charlatans’ “the only one i know” reminds me a hell of a lot of “hush” by deep purple

The verse of "Showdown" by ELO owes rather a lot to "I Heard It Through the Grapevine".

I remember John Lennon saying that on the radio when he was a guest DJ on WNEW-FM.

Greats minds...

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/elo-song-john-lennon-adored/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOBm8hcvWDw

https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-day-john-lennon-became-a-disc-jockey-on-new-yorks-biggest-radio-station

Sorry, didn't mean to overwhelm your original post.

“Spanish Moon” by Little Feat and Roy Buchanan’s “I’m a Ram”

Never thought about this before but “Little Sister” sounds quite a bit like “Lucille.”

Both were performed at the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea, maybe I noticed it back around that time but forgot.