Copyright or Conversation?
Comparing songs that sound like each other
Copyright law is (to be charitable) a mess. At its core, copyright is meant to protect creators from being cheated, but any attempt to do that requires a precise legal definition of what it is they are creating… and good luck coming up with a definition that can’t be distorted into a tool for cheating creators.
Sometimes, when a copyright lawsuit hits the news, I struggle to hear where the line is between tribute and rip-off. For example, I love Joe Satriani’s body of work, but I struggled to hear “If I Could Fly” in Coldplay’s song - a lawsuit that was dismissed in 2009. But sometimes I hear a song that reminds me so much of another song, I can’t believe I’m the only one.
Today, I want to share an example where no one was sued, but I am left wondering about the circumstances.
Kind of Cool
My affection for Miles Davis came late and built slowly, so I always feel late to the party when I encounter another Miles Davis album and/or story.
recently wrote about the influence that Marcus Miller and Prince had on Miles Davis’s 1986 album, Tutu:
I’ve been a fan of Marcus Miller for a few years, too, and I learned from Marshall’s essay that Miller composed most of the songs on Tutu, which prompted me to give the record a listen. My ear was struck by a familiar musical phrase in “Portia,” a song I hadn’t heard before.
Here is Miles performing “Portia” in 1987 - I cued the video to start at 1:33 so you could hear the phrase I’m referring to (though, of course, I think if you have 16 minutes to invest, the whole experience is worthwhile):
Synchronicity?
Sting has always been an artist who could provoke strong reactions. His first solo album was a departure from the new wave rock he made with The Police, and he ruffled feathers when he hired several renowned jazz musicians to play on his first solo album: saxophonist Branford Marsalis, drummer Omar Hakim, bassist Darryl Jones, and keyboardist Kenny Kirkland.
Marsalis’s brother, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, accused Branford of selling out and called Sting’s project a stain on jazz. The Village Voice went so far as to (unfairly, in my opinion) dismiss the album as “Sting Sings With Negroes” in its review.1 Miles Davis was allegedly disappointed that Sting had poached bassist Jones, but I haven’t been able to find any sources to back that up.
Sting intended to provoke a reaction in September 1988, when he released a protest song calling out Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet called “They Dance Alone (Cueca Solo)”
See if you don’t spot that moment from “Portia” in here:
Like I said, it may just be me.
No Bad Blood
If Miles or Marcus heard their song inside Sting’s, I haven’t been able to find any evidence that they did anything about it. It’s possible that Marcus borrowed that melody from an older Latin American song, or that both he and Sting happened to know the original melody from somewhere.
And I don’t mean to suggest anyone did anything wrong. I don’t imagine that Sting would intentionally crib from another artist. The timing seems to line up, so it’s plausible that he heard Tutu before he sat down to write “They Stand Alone,” and for all I know, Darryl Jones (who started out playing with Miles) could have played it for him. The thread of influence is plausible, but I don’t think artists should be responsible for tracing every thread of influence across all of their work. That would be impossible.
Instead, my point is to highlight this as a moment when quoting a passage (intentionally or not) works precisely because music itself is a language for expressing emotions. Whoever may have originated the melody, chords, phrasing, and/or ambience, it’s a haunting piece of music. And it works well in both settings.
I couldn’t find any hint of beef between Sting and Miles in my admittedly brief searches for comments and interviews. What I did find was Sting relating this weird story about meeting Miles:
As for “Portia” and “They Dance Alone,” I feel lucky to have both songs to listen to. And I suspect when I hear one, I will be reminded of the other.
Brogan, Daniel. "Branford Marsalis Feels The Zing And The Sting Of Instant Pop." Tribunedigital-chicagotribune. September 05, 1985. Accessed April 06, 2018. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-09-05/features/8502280144_1_branford-marsalis-wynton-marsalis-live-aid.