No. Not that similar.
John Lennon was a fan of Elvis, and of Buddy Holley.
At one point, Yesterday was the most covered song (by other artists) in history.
Another interesting point, McCartney didn’t use the band to record it. Just himself and an orchestra. Though he did release it under the Beatles name. After Lennon died, he went ahead and had the records changed to show he was the sole writer of the song.
It would have worked just as well if he he Frosted Flakes for breakfast.
I love Nat King Cole. I mean, He’s So Fine. As to the McCartney thing, My Sweet Lord, people shouldn’t be so quick to see similarities that aren’t really there. Also: George Harrison was unavailable for comment.
There are not that close as far as melodies go.
However the claim is due to one section where McCartney’s lyrics are very similar to the Nat King Cole song.
The claim is pretty weak.
McCartney
“Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they’re here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday.”
Nat King Cole
“… You were mine yesterday
I believed that love was here to stay
Won’t you tell me where I’ve gone astray
Please answer me, my love”
Modern rap was a rip off of bits of other recorded songs sampled and mixed into a rhythmic composition.
There have been so many songs written and recorded in the past, it would be extremely difficult to find a new song that doesn’t have an element of some other song found somewhere else, no matter how obscure.
George Harrison was successfully sued for allegedly plagiarizing the music of the Chiffons’ “He’s so fine”, in his song, “My Sweet Lord”.
If you listen to both melodies, they’re similar.
The judge who made the ruling called it “”subconscious” theft.
Did The Beatles rip off Nat King Cole for ‘Yesterday’?
No
In my opinion, Anne Shelton's version of the song, from 1954, is far and away the best and is one of my favorite songs of the year.
Who owns the 12 bar blues that everyone rips off?-)
So what if they did? They all listen to other’s music and adapt what they like. Imagine what would happen if Beethoven, Mozart and Bach were alive today to sue everyone who adapted their music.
While Jethro Tull was more forgiving then they should have been..listen to this little known song and see if you can figure out who lifted it without looking at the comments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAnh1waFPeY
I don’t get plagiarism. McCartney was exactly afraid of this and played it for everyone he could to make sure they hadn’t heard it.
Furthermore, the fact that their ‘Yesterday’ has now been covered by well over 2000 artists
***Someone should do a cover ensemble concatenation mix between the 2 songs.
These days, the nightmares leave no room for music.
Listen. As long as Yoko Ono doesn’t release a cover of the song, I can live with this earth-shattering controversy. ;)
Nick Cave! YES! :)
no I do not see that they are that similar. They are from a similar genre.
Both lovely songs.
Been listening to a lot of SERENADE RADIO.
I have listened to both songs many times and never saw “Yesterday” as a ripoff. Certain phrases are constantly used and re-used in songs, and the melodies and rhythms of these two songs are not similar. Nothing to see here.