Satriani sues Coldplay over song
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A day after hauling in seven Grammy nominations, Coldplay should’ve been celebrating. Instead, band members were served with a copyright infringement lawsuit last week that claims they ripped off guitarist Joe Satriani to write their hit “Viva La Vida.”
The song, nominated Wednesday for song and record of the year by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, incorporates “substantial original portions” of Satriani’s 2004 instrumental “If I Could Fly,” according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles federal court.
“Viva La Vida” is one of the cornerstones of Coldplay’s latest album, “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.” It is credited to all four band members: Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Will Champion and Jonny Buckland.
Rock stars frequently get sued or threatened with suits. The Beatles’ George Harrison was sued by the owners of the Chiffons’ “He’s So Fine” for appropriating the melody for his 1970 hit “My Sweet Lord.”
A federal judge ruled that Harrison “unknowingly” plagiarized the ‘60s hit and awarded more than $500,000 in damages.
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