Did The BeatlesRrip Off Nat King Cole for ‘Yesterday’?

Far Out Magazine ^ | WED 23RD MAR 2022 | Tom Taylor

[Fiji Hill]

There were two versions of the earlier song. Answer Me, Lord Above, a hit for Frankie Laine in 1953, takes the form of a prayer in which the singer asks God why he lost his love and beseeches him to let her know that he still loves her. In the Nat King Cole version from a year later, the singer makes an appeal to his lover.

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.

[Harpotoo]

Who owns the 12 bar blues that everyone rips off?-)

[the OlLine Rebel]

Chuck and Lennon with Yoko - a brief summary of the disaster:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgZiPO9V_aQ

The long version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbGuxGGOIV0

[Fiji Hill]

This not a “Surfin USA “ / “Sweet Little Sixteen” thing.

How about a Chuck Berry/Clarence "Bon Ton" Garlow thing?

Route 90--Clarence "Bon Ton" Garlow (1954)

[Seruzawa]

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.

[Yo-Yo]

I think they were going by the lyric, which in the above article is quoted as:

but Leigh’s argument gains particular traction with the lyric, “Yesterday, I believed that love was here to stay, won’t you tell me where I’ve gone astray.”

But the full verse is:

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

The cadence and rhythm are completely different, even if the snipet "yesterday I believed that love was here to stay" is remotely similar to "Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they're here to stay."

[RummyChick]

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

[MotorCityBuck]

Excellent. 👍

[erlayman]

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.

[Yo-Yo]

...and of Chuck Berry. Such a fan, that Yoko was jealous and ruined a song they we’re singing together with her caterwauling.

[nicollo]

Almost the worst Beatles song. Too bad Cole didn't keep it to himself.

[ifinnegan]

And Lennon says “you can’t catch me”.

[bigbob]

But this could be the last time such a claim is made...bittersweet as it may be.

[P-Marlowe]

I wrote a song once and played it for a couple of members of our worship group. I asked it they thought it might have already been written.

They both were able to name that tune.

Almost all simple melodies and chord progressions have already been written.

[FreedomPoster]

Precisely correct. Everything was Lennon-McCartney.

[Kevmo]

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.

[sanjuanbob]

Good ear. Theft all the way.

[irishjuggler]

Whoa, I’ve never heard that one. Interesting.

The story I’ve read is that “Surfin USA” was originally credited to Brian Wilson, but when Chuck Berry’s people cried foul, Brian’s father Murry Wilson didn’t want litigation so he assigned 100% of the songwriting to Chuck. As the story goes, Chuck joked for years about how he was making more money off Surfin USA than his own stuff.

But perhaps Murry paid the wrong guy. Ha.

[Steve_Seattle]

It sounds like Yesterday repeats one line of the lyrics from the Nat King Cole song, but that’s it. The other lyrics are very different, and the melody is totally different.

[real saxophonist]

I used to have music and occasional lyrics come to me in dreams. Kept staff paper by the bed to write them down. Still have a bunch of stuff in my head that I will never record or publish.

These days, the nightmares leave no room for music.