Arts & Culture Robin Thicke Denies Copying
February 26, 2015
City News Service
Robin Thicke told a Los Angeles federal jury this week that he never copied elements of a nearly four-decade-old Motown song during the recording of the megahit ``Blurred Lines,'' but admitted he was high when he told interviewers a different story when the single was released. Thicke told jurors that he was telling the truth in a 2014 deposition when he admitted that he lied to Oprah Winfrey and other interviewers about the origin of ``Blurred Lines.'' In interviews from 2013, which were presented to the jury, the singer said he had directed ``Blurred Lines'' co-writer and producer Pharrell Williams to create a song inspired by Marvin Gaye's 1977 chart-topper ``Got to Give It Up.''
On the witness stand, though, Thicke denied ever having such a conversation with Williams in the studio prior to the creation of ``Blurred Lines.'' In the April 2014 deposition, Thicke said he was ``high and drunk every time I did an interview'' in 2013 to promote ``Blurred Lines.'' He said the reason he falsely told the media that he was the prime mover behind the composition was that, after penning dozens of songs himself, ``the biggest hit of my career was written by somebody else and I was jealous and wanted credit.''
Thicke, 37, also admitted telling the media ``whatever I need to say to sell records.'' Williams, who is expected to take the stand later in the trial, looked on without expression as Thicke's deposition was played for the jury. Asked in the deposition if, in reality, he had anything to do with the creation of ``Blurred Lines,'' Thicke said that ``none of it was my idea. Not a single word of it was my idea, nothing.''
Gaye's three children allege in a federal copyright lawsuit that Thicke and Williams plagiarized at least eight key elements of ``Got to Give It Up.'' At issue is whether Thicke and Williams lifted the Gaye song's compositional elements, including the melody line found on the sheet music, rather than the overall sound and atmosphere of the record. The case could potentially be worth millions of dollars to the Gaye clan in damages.
Gaye family attorney Richard S. Busch said ``Blurred Lines'' made more than $40 million from all revenue streams, including $11 million in tour proceeds. Thicke's lawyer, Howard E. King, told the eight-person civil jury that although the song was profitable, its earnings were ``not anywhere near $42 million.'' King also said that the Gaye family earns about $100,000 a year from ``Got to Give It Up'' alone. Writing credits on ``Blurred Lines'' are shared by Thicke, Williams and rapper T.I., while the production is credited to Williams.
The Gayes' 2013 lawsuit also accuses Thicke of lifting from their father's ``After the Dance'' for the title track of his 2011 album ``Love After War.''
``Blurred Lines'' sold about 15 million copies worldwide, according to Billboard. Marvin Gay was shot to death by his father in Los Angeles on April 1, 1984. A musicologist is expected to testify Thursday when the trial resumes.