Celebrity Justice
Avril Ripped for Allegedly Ripping Off "Girlfriend"

Posted Jul 6th 2007 3:06PM by TMZ Staff

Avril Lavigne has gotten herself into a deeply complicated mess, with two '70s songwriters claiming that she stole their song for her hit single "Girlfriend."
Click to hear!
In a lawsuit filed in US District Court in Northern California, songwriters Tommy Dunbar and James Gangwer allege that "Girlfriend" rips off their 1979 song, "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," originally performed by The Rubinoos, whose previous claim to fame was penning the theme to "Revenge of the Nerds." Veteran music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote on Billboard.com that "Girlfriend" was "a total lift" from "Boyfriend."
Click to hear!
Lavigne's manager tells the AP that the claim is baseless and that he hired a musicologist to study the two tracks -- and that they've been deemed "completely different songs." Decide for yourself below ...

UPDATE: Tommy Dunbar and James Gangwer, the songwriters who recently brought a legal action against Avril Lavigne and Dr. Luke that claimed that the hit Lavigne/Dr. Luke song "Girlfriend" infringed the copyright in their 1979 song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," have issued the following statement: "We are satisfied that any similarities between the two songs resulted from Avril and Luke's use of certain common and widely used lyrics. We therefore completely exonerate Avril and Luke from any wrongdoing of any kind in connection with the claims made by us in our lawsuit."

Listen and Decide

"Girlfriend" versus "Boyfriend"



UPDATE (5:45PM ET): Lawyers for Tommy Dunbar and James Gangwer tell TMZ they too consulted a musicologist that fully supports their claims, finding that the songs have an unusually high degree of similarity. Dunbar says, "Once a jury is exposed to the undeniable fact that her song and our song share the same musical DNA, we're confident that it will conclude that Avril would never have had her hit 'Girlfriend' if the Rubinoos hadn't first recorded our song 'I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.'"



Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Music

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(Page 7 of 16)Previous 15 Comments | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

91. I'm so embarassed that I know this but "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" was also done by the Mickey Mouse Club spin-off band from the 80s and early-90s called the Party. Sometimes I'm proud of my music knowledge, other times I'm not. Anyways, could there be an additional unknown copyright infringement?? Did Avril mean to rip off the heinous 80s cover of this terrible song?

Posted at 2:03PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Kevin

92. They do sound similar. Avril's song is much better. What the hell rappers can steal old songs and remake....why can't pop stars....

The old guys probably need to make ends meet so ...hey....hey...why not sue.

Posted at 2:11PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Angelique

93. That guy doesn't stand a chance in court. The songs don't sound similar at all.

Posted at 2:19PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Chris Jones

94. Sounds NOTHING alike! Those has beens just want a free ride so they can quit working at Burger King.

CONTER-SUE AVRIL! Hang these thiefs!

Posted at 2:22PM on Jul 6th 2007 by I WILL CHEER WHEN SOMEONE DOES A \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

95. It is so obvious LaVigne stole the actual musical arrangement from that song from the other band. All she did was speed up to double time the drum work. But is it any wonder? I mean, since the dawn of Time, we've had people making every kind of music imaginable; it was bound to happen that music would be borrowing from itself because there are so many artists in the world - past, former, and current - that the same beats, lyrics, arrangements, compostions, notes or series of notes, keep coming back. I mean, there's no other beat to make. That's why rappers and the like sample and interpolate from other artists.

Posted at 2:32PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Community Patroller

96. yep their the same.someone is going to get big unexpected windfall here because for some unknown reason the song was a hit.go figure.

Posted at 2:34PM on Jul 6th 2007 by rock hard

97. She totally ripped it. Like when Vanilla Ice ripped off Under Pressure and called it Ice Ice Baby.

Posted at 2:37PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Amber

98. i still say there to close not to be rip off.phrasing whatever.be interesting to see what courts decide.

Posted at 2:40PM on Jul 6th 2007 by rock hard

99. Put her in jail so she be a Bitch there

Posted at 2:41PM on Jul 6th 2007 by lucky

100. Oy, those gums!

Posted at 2:42PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Simma-Donna

101. u guys it doesnt sound alot alike!!!!!! u guys need hearing aides!!!!!!!!!

Posted at 2:44PM on Jul 6th 2007 by paris rox my sox

102. Hey Rubinoos, I would shut up if I were you or else the Rolling Stones may come and sue you for ripping off "Get Off Of My Cloud". ("hey hey you you..")

Posted at 2:52PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Scoop This

103. She is such a FAKE. I'm really not surprised that she would go to such desperate attempts to make "music". If someone runs around screaming that everyone is a poser and they're not... well they probably are!

Posted at 2:57PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Meg

104.
sorry, no respect at all.Who does she think she is?You don't take someone else's creative endeavor and claim it as your own. When do we learn this? sixth grade?

Posted at 3:01PM on Jul 6th 2007 by asap

105. I don't know what you people are smoking. As mentioned by others, the MUSIC is completely different. The LYRICS are somewhat similar. However, as mentioned by 2 other brilliant posters, the Rolling Stones alos used the same phrasing, BEFORE the Rubinoos.

The Rubinoos won't win this case. BTW: I'm a lawyer and a composer...

Posted at 3:01PM on Jul 6th 2007 by GetOut

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