Grammy-winning singer-music producer-songwriter Pharrell Williams testified in court on March 4 that his 2013 hit song “Blurred Lines” was not copied from Marvin Gaye’s hit song of 1977 titled “Got to Give It Up.”
Williams was appearing in court for a plagiarism case lodged against him and singer Robin Thicke and rapper T.I. by the Gaye family, represented in court by their lawyer Richard S. Busch. Robin Thicke sang the “Blurred Lines” with Williams and T.I. being featured on it.
The concluding testimony was made by T.I. the following day and leaves the decision to the jury hearing the case.
During his testimony, the 41-year-old Pharrell Williams said that Marvin Gaye was part of the soundtrack of his life while growing up but he did not borrow his idol’s work in writing “Blurred Lines,” reports San Jose Mercury News.
Last place he wants to be
As a fan of Marvin Gaye, Williams said that being in a plagiarism case for allegedly copying the work of his idol is the last place he ever wanted to be.
He said that when a person loves and respects a certain talent, the last thing he would ever do is to take something that really belongs to him.
Williams recounted the he wrote the music and almost all of the lyrics of the song “Blurred Lines” in mid-2012. Eventually, Robin Thicke and T.I. shared songwriting credits with him for the song that has earned $16 million in profits and $5 million apiece for Thicke and T.I.
“Blurred Lines” was the biggest hit of 2013 and it was only after the song’s release that Pharrell saw the similarities between the song and that of Marvin Gaye’s. He explained that it was not his intention to make it similar but just part of his creative process.
When asked by the Gaye family lawyer whether he felt that “Blurred Lines” captured the feel of the era in which Gaye recorded, Williams said that feel yes but not infringed.
Drawing inspiration
Williams also said that he drew inspiration for the element of “Blurred Lines” came from phrases he heard growing up and the upbeat of the disco era in 1970s.
He also described in court how he crafted the lyrics for “Blurred Lines” in one cool night of 2012. He recalled that he was crafting it between working on tracks with Miley Cyrus and rapper Earl Sweatshirt. Robin Thicke arrived after the music had been written. He brought the singer up to speed on the new music and they began recording.
Pharrell Williams has been one of the more popular artist-producers today. He performed his 2014 hit song “Happy” at the 2014 Oscars after winning three Grammy awards for the song that was also made in collaboration with Daft Punk. Williams is currently one of the panelists in the Season 8 of the reality singing talent search show “The Voice US” on NBC.