Reading that Led Zep thread about their plagarism got me to thinking about that reggae musician who tried (and failed I think) to sue Mick for nicking Just Another Night off him.
Does anyone have any info and a link to the "original" track?

April 27, 1988
U.S. Jury Says Jagger Did Not Steal Hit Song

By JON PARELES
Mick Jagger did not steal another musician's song, a Federal jury in White Plains ruled yesterday. The six-member jury found that ''Just Another Night,'' the single that led off the 1985 ''She's the Boss,'' Mr. Jagger's first solo album after two decades with the Rolling Stones, did not infringe the copyright on a song called ''Just Another Night'' by Patrick Alley, a Jamaican reggae singer who lives in the Bronx.

''My reputation is really cleared,'' Mr. Jagger told reporters afterward. ''If you're well known, people stand up and take shots at you. It's one of those things in a litigious society.''

The testimony included live and recorded music. In the course of the seven-day trial, presided over by Judge Gerard L. Goettel, a Juilliard faculty member played piano; a top Jamaican studio musician, Sly Dunbar, played drums, and Mr. Jagger sang snatches of ''Jumpin' Jack Flash,'' ''Brown Suger'' and ''Miss You'' from the witness stand. More Music in the Courtroom

Tapes of Mr. Alley's song, a reggae ballad in a major key, and Mr. Jagger's song, an up-tempo rocker in a minor key, were played. Mr. Jagger also played work tapes to show the genesis of his ''Just Another Night,'' and lawyers for both sides sang a few lines. At recesses and lunch breaks during the trial, Mr. Jagger signed autographs; on Monday night, when the jury deliberated for three and a half hours before being sent home for the night by Judge Goettel, a crowd of fans broke a courthouse door in hopes of reaching the singer.

Mr. Alley and his lawyers had contended that Mr. Jagger had either heard the song, recorded in 1979 and released on Mr. Alley's own label in 1983, or that Mr. Dunbar had brought it to his attention during recording sessions for ''She's the Boss.'' Mr. Dunbar testified that he had worked on thousands of songs, and could not recall if Mr. Alley's ''Just Another Night'' was one on which he had played.

The case revolved around whether the songs' choruses were similar: Mr. Alley's is ''Can I spend another, just another night, just another night with you,'' and Mr. Jagger's is ''Give me just another night, just another night with you/Give me just another kiss, just before the dawn breaks through.'' #2 Sides, 2 Versions Both sides exhibited transcriptions of the songs and brought expert witnesses to explain them. On Mr. Alley's side, Andrew William Thomas, a musician who teaches pre-collegiate courses on Saturdays at Juilliard testified that the songs were identical, exhibiting his own much-debated transcription of the Jagger song; in his closing summation Peter Parcher, one of Mr. Jagger's lawyers, characterized Mr. Thomas and his transcription as ''as phony as a $19 bill.''

On Mr. Jagger's side, which exhibited the commercially printed sheet music of the Jagger song, Michael White, the chairman of the literature and materials division at Juilliard, testified that the melodies had only their closing, tonic note in common when transposed into the same key. There was extended testimony over the songs' differences in tempo, rhythm and structure, and over what proportion of each song would constitute ''substantial similarity.'' Thomas Farley, one of Mr. Alley's lawyers, said in his summation that Mr. Jagger had used ''the spark, the guts'' of Mr. Alley's song.

In his charge to the jury, Judge Goettel said that to prove infringement, Mr. Alley had to demonstrate that Mr. Jagger had had access to the song and that the two songs were substantially similar. In addition, he said, to hold Mr. Jagger liable the jury would have to decide that he had not created his song independently.

''The use of the phrase 'Just another night with you' is not enough, standing alone, to constitute infringement,'' he said. He also instructed the jury that ''accidental similarity is not actionable plagiarism.''

You can hear the song on Youtube. I really don't hear any similarity. Patrick Alley's song is more of a reggae ballad.

I remember reading a different report after the trial that quoted mick as saying, Well, this was a bit of a waste of time for everyone. I was really struck by his blase, above-it-all attitude, like he was annoyed but wasn't upset--it seemed the definition of cool.

i wanted to sue mick for releasing it, but alas...

Yeah, pretty weak. They're not even close!

My father's law firm represented Patrick Alley in this case. Jagger was in his office for two days in August 1986 for a discovery deposition. Because I was pissed at Jagger for not touring with the Stones after Dirty Work, I didn't stop by to meet him.

When my father was considering taking the case, he sent me a tape of Alley's and Jagger's songs. I was already quite familiar with Jagger's one. I told my dad straight away that I thought Alley's case was a loser, but he wouldn't listen. "You're not a trained musician." He pursued it all the way to trial.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010-07-03 19:28 by baxlap.

Quote
Beelyboy
i wanted to sue mick for releasing it, but alas...

Aw come on Beely. I just listened to that one the other day. Not a bad little number at all.

"It's just some friends of mine and they're busting down the door"

Definitely the musical highpoint of SHE'S THE BOSS. Laswell's production and Sly Dunbar's machine gun-fire percussion make it a nice companion piece to "Undercover of the Night." Besides, the world needed a Mick Jagger "Everybody Conga!" song.

Eh, it's an OK song. But it's certainly not great.

The best song on the album, by far, Secrets, followed closely by Lucky In Love and Lonely At The Top.

Quote
baxlap
When my father was considering taking the case, he sent me a tape of Alley's and Jagger's songs. I was already quite familiar with Jagger's one. I told my dad straight away that I thought Alley's case was a loser, but he wouldn't listen. "You're not a trained musician." He pursued it all the way to trial.

odd, in that I would think the dissimilarities between the songs would be even more obvious to a trained musician.

Not. Even. Close. Bud!

The only bit that matches is the songtitle.
Jagger was right - what a waste of time.

I'm glad that Pops Staples was much more relaxed about the very
obvious similarity of the refrains of The Last Time/This May Be
The Last Time in 1965.

N

IMO, the best songs on STB are Hard Woman, Lonely At The Top and Secrets. The rest, including Just Another Night are subpar, to put it gently

I forgot about "Secrets." Mick's own "All About You." That is a little gem and definitely the best lyric on the LP. The backing track is pretty bad, though. Mick re-used the bridge on one of his other solo albums (WANDERING SPIRIT I think, but I can't recall which song) and the ad-lib at the end keeps threatening to turn into "Sad, Sad, Sad."

Talk about run of the mill songs. That's all Secret's is. I don't see how the lyrics are about Keith. What, another Jagger bitter love song about his 10,000 girlfriend. Spare me. All around, Just another Night is just a better crafted song.

"It's just some friends of mine and they're busting down the door"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-07-04 08:27 by sweetcharmedlife.

I didn't mean the song is about Keith, I meant the recurring use of the phrase "All About You" in the song.

Ah, no, Secrets is just a bit more evolved than say Just Another Night, which is quite bland really. It's way more tuneful. By no means am I saying it's great, now, just probably the best song on the album - which sucks. Amazing Jagger thought this was worthy of releasing. Regardless, anything on this album is better than Let's Work!

Looking at this, I'd like to go off-topic for a bit about songs with similar titles that may sound only partially similar to the other:

Let the competition begin!
Exhibit A: Blackstreet's "(Money Can't) Buy Me Love" vs. The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love"
Exhibit B: Ashley Tisdale's "It's Alright, It's OK" vs. a 1996 Leah Andreone song of the same title.

But perhaps the most egregious rip-off involving one titled song by two different artists is Michael Bolton's 1991 hit "Love is a Wonderful Thing" and the Isley Brothers' version of the same song (which they released in 1964 and didn't fare well as Bolton's). Similar sounding enough that the Isleys' lawyers sued Bolton and co-writer Andrew Goldmark for copyright infringement.

~Ben

Quote
BrianJones1969
I'd like to go off-topic for a bit about songs with similar titles that may sound only partially similar to the other:

Yeah, and Led Zeppelin stole "Good times bad times" from the Stones.
But all's fair, because the Stones stole "Heartbreaker" back.

>>Tapes of Mr. Alley's song, a reggae ballad in a major key, and Mr. Jagger's song, an up-tempo rocker in a minor key, were played. Mr. Jagger also played work tapes to show the genesis of his ''Just Another Night,'' and lawyers for both sides sang a few lines. At recesses and lunch breaks during the trial, Mr. Jagger signed autographs; on Monday night, when the jury deliberated for three and a half hours before being sent home for the night by Judge Goettel, a crowd of fans broke a courthouse door in hopes of reaching the singer.

That's hilarious. I wish I could see the lawyers singing their hearts out to put their cases forward, as well as the fans tearing down the courthouse door.

>>That's hilarious. I wish I could see the lawyers singing their hearts out to put their cases forward, as well as the fans tearing down the courthouse door.<<

Haha - yeah that would be fun to see. c'mon ex-judges, open your vaults and submit it to YouTube!

...and so true - comparing the 2 is a waste of time.

Just as Undercover, when you listen through the 80's production the songs are actually quite good, with Just Another Night and 1/2 a Loaf true highlights.

Mathijs