Take a listen to the 1964 song Fun Fun Fun by The Beach Boys. One immediately notices when the song starts that that guitar intro sounds awfully familiar. Well, yes indeed, it sounds virtually identical to the guitar intro of Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry, made in 1958.
Is this an instance of blatant plagiarism? Not really. It's not that simple.
Chuck Berry himself was certainly fond of that particular guitar intro, as he used it in very similar forms in a multitude of his songs, including Roll Over Beethoven, Let It Rock, Carol, Little Queenie, and Back In the U. S. A.
But the thing is, that intro wasn't actually composed by Chuck Berry. It was originally composed by Louis Jordan in 1946 for his song Ain't That Just Like a Woman.
If there is any plagiarization going on, it's by Chuck Berry (even though I have no idea if he had permission to do so.)
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