Ed Sheeran has vowed to stop singing if he is found guilty of replicating his famous song “Thinking Out Loud.”
The heirs of songwriter Ed Townsend, who worked with Marvin Gaye on the classic ‘Let’s Get It On’ in 1973, have filed a lawsuit against Ed Sheeran, alleging that he copied the Gaye song. Sheeran has denied the accusation but found the allegations in the case “really insulting.” At the court hearing on Monday, he refused to take an oath and said, “I’m not gonna swear.”
Ed Sheeran’s Plagiarism Case
In the creation of his 2014 hit single “Thinking Out Loud,” which topped the charts, Sheeran allegedly imitated the iconic tune, according to Kathryn Townsend Griffin, the daughter of Ed Townsend.
Three heirs of Ed Townsend, who is credited as a co-writer with Gaye on the 1973 song, have filed a lawsuit against Sheeran, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Publishing.
According to ‘Variety’, Ed Sheeran played his guitar again this week to challenge Stewart’s claim that a minor chord he played in the intro of ‘Thinking Out Loud’ was similar to the one in ‘Let’s Get It On’.
On Thursday, Sheeran played both a major and minor chord at that point in the song, stating that he has always played the major chord in every single performance. He added that while the minor chord may work well for Stewart, it is not the truth.
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During his questioning by his attorney, Ilene S. Farkas, on Monday, Sheeran demonstrated his ability to transition effortlessly between his own compositions and pieces by other artists, including Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Blackstreet, and Van Morrison, according to ‘Variety’. Sheeran alleged that Stewart had misrepresented both the melodies of his songs and his intentions.
Sheeran has refuted the allegations and pledged to quit music if found guilty by the jury.
According to the outlet, Sheeran told his lawyer Irene Farkas that if a certain event were to occur, he would be finished and would stop. He finds it extremely insulting for someone to belittle his life’s dedication to being a performer and songwriter.
Last week, a video was displayed by lawyers representing Mr. Townsend’s heirs, showing Sheeran seamlessly transitioning between ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and ‘Let’s Get it On’ during a live performance. The lawyers claimed that the performance amounted to a confession that Sheeran had plagiarized the song.
Sheeran responded by saying that he frequently performs “mash ups” with other songs, and that he had combined ‘Thinking Out Loud’ with Van Morrison‘s ‘Crazy Love’ and Dolly Parton‘s ‘I Will Always Love You’ on other occasions.
Furthermore, he claimed that an expert witness for the heirs had changed the transcription of his song to make the chords and melody more like ‘Let’s Get It On’.
