Posted on 03/23/2022 10:08:02 AM PDT by nickcarraway
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.
John Lennon didn’t write this song.
It would have worked just as well if he he Frosted Flakes for breakfast.
How could he do that? By legal agreement, all songs either one of them wrote were credited to both until they dissolved the agreement after the Beatles broke up. I looked it up, and it's still credited to both, even though everyone knows one wrote it.
Not even close.
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.
“It would have worked just as well if he he Frosted Flakes for breakfast.”
—
Good thing Paul didn’t prefer Carnation Instant Breakfast or Bangers & Mash in the morning.
I remember the words to Yesterday, Nat’s is a blank. Did Paul die and get replaced ? Some things are best left alone as we have enough problems.
All I know is I read an article on the subject of his changing the authorship many moons ago. He probably had documented proof and it wasn’t contested by Lennon’s lawyers.
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.
I think I have a pretty good ear for these things, and, no, McCartney’s ‘Yesterday’ is not a ripoff of the Nat King Cole song. These are not close.
This is not a “My Sweet Lord” / “He’s so Fine” situation.
This not a “Surfin USA “ / “Sweet Little Sixteen” thing.
It’s not even a Nino Rota “Godfather” ripping off “Fortunella” by.... Nino Rota.
...and of Chuck Berry. Such a fan, that Yoko was jealous and ruined a song they we’re singing together with her caterwauling.
Or a “Hotel California”/ Jethro Tull “We Used to Know” thing.
Did The Beatles rip off Nat King Cole for ‘Yesterday’?
No
Also interesting that both melodies start with a triplet: “An-swer-me” and “Yes-ter-day”. Similar but not enough to be a ripoff IMO.
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