Did David Cook Rip-Off "Eleanor Rigby"?

David Cook was on fire with his rendition of the Beatles classic "Eleanor Rigby" on "Idol" last night -- but a Seattle band claims he swiped the arrangement from them.


The band DOXOLOGY recorded their version of the track a year and a half ago, putting it up on iTunes and on the band's MySpace page. The band's manager tells TMZ the song is what they're best known for and have played it at nearly 200 shows.

Click to hear!The manager says the band has no intention of suing, but they're trying to get in touch with the show -- they want some props.

"Idol" tells TMZ the contestants pick their song and present their ideas for the arrangement to the show's musical department and work with them on it.

Welcome to Hollywood.



Filed under: American Idol

Reader Comments

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46. DOXOLOGY IS A GREAT BAND!!!!....They are gonna do big things....they are great guys and their music is briliant!!!

Posted at 4:24PM on Mar 12th 2008 by David

47. Man all you guys are haters. First of all. Doxology is not a cover band at all. ER is the only cover i've heard them do. im a huge fan of this band. They are killer live, and Ive seen them do this arrangement a bunch. Man Just give some credit where credit is due. it even says on their sight that they thought he did a good job. but lets be real people. That's the exact same arrangement of that classic song. i mean down to the strings and piano an bass line. check it out for yourself. and check out their other songs too. they are really good.

Posted at 4:26PM on Mar 12th 2008 by Geoffrey Tyler

48. I have to admit that I didn't even care about David Cook until he rocked out on "Hello". I thought he did awesome last week and this week was amazing too. I listened to the arrangement by Doxicology and while there are similarities...there are definitely differences. David took what I believe is more of a beachy sounding vibe by Doxicology and turned it into a rock song. The main thing we are looking at is that David's voice is much better than the lead singer for Doxicology and he definitely carried the song further. The Doxicology version definitely has more of a beachy sound and David's sound has more of an edge. Snaps to Doxicology though for finding a way to get their band's name out to the public.

Posted at 4:27PM on Mar 12th 2008 by Melissa

49. DX is a great band, I hope people check out more then just the cover they did... take the time to listen to their originals, good stuff.

Posted at 4:28PM on Mar 12th 2008 by Bridge

50. And cute little David A. did the same thing with "Imagine" a couple weeks ago. Sounded an awful lot like Eva Cassidy's version. But who cares!?! They're still good singers!

Posted at 4:33PM on Mar 12th 2008 by Pugdad

51. So, is the ONE D-fan here posting all these comments about how great this unknown band is? Ha! That's classic!

Posted at 4:40PM on Mar 12th 2008 by Ha!

52. MANY rock bands have performed an arrangement similar to this....

Posted at 4:46PM on Mar 12th 2008 by Lori

53. Not that they need it, but it appears DOXOLOGY has Randy, Paula & Simon's approval. As Simon says, "If this show remains a talent competition, rather than a popularity competition - he could actually win the show." The point here is that DOXOLOGY created the arrangement. Cover or not, it is obvious that TALENT ultimately originated this specific arrangement; and that talent came from the group DOXOLOGY. As Simon makes clear, success in this industry should be based on talent and not popularity. The fact that they may be “no-ones” to some of you in no way measure’s their ability or capacity of greatness and future success. David says that "the song fell in to” his lap "at the right time"? Some of you are saying that DOXOLOGY is making a huge deal out of nothing? It seems to me that David thought this arrangement was more than nothing when he decided to use it as HIS in front of millions of viewers!

I am sure many of you have not had the wonderful opportunity to see these respectful and talented men LIVE for yourself; nor have you had the chance to actually meet them and get to know them. But, as someone who has, I will assure you that you are missing out on a great show and experience as well as passing judgment on individuals who truly have a heart and passion for what they do. They’re not asking for much more than some recognition for true talent and originality…If you possessed any such ability to even slightly judge genuine talent in the music industry – I believe that half of today’s “musicians” wouldn’t exist.

Posted at 4:48PM on Mar 12th 2008 by Ashlynn Sanders

54. Ashlynn Sanders, I actually agree with you. The band did do a great arrangement on this number. So did David Cook. I was just wondering...which band member is your son?

Posted at 4:55PM on Mar 12th 2008 by Melissa

55. So Ashlynn...he never once said this was his arrangement. He was responding to Ryan's comment about LAST WEEK being a break out week for him. In that case, he was referring to Lionel Richie's Hello that "just fell into his lap". Also, I am pretty sure their comments about talent had more to do w/ his singing and stage presence, not so much the arrangement. Last week, during "Hello", the actually complimented him on the arrangement. Not so much this week. Mostly, I think they were impressed w/ his ability to rock it.

This whole thing is stupid but kudos to these guys for taking the opportunity and getting their name out there.

Posted at 4:55PM on Mar 12th 2008 by Joe

56. oh but I do like how the band is telling all their fans on their myspace to come over here and comment and say good things about them, how pathetic

Posted at 4:57PM on Mar 12th 2008 by Robin

57. um they do realize its a Beatles song originally, why get mad at David for singing it? hello, it wasnt your song to begin with, yeah they both have a rock sound but David does rock and theres a pretty good chance he was going to make the song his own and sing it with a rock sound....wah wah wah

Posted at 4:57PM on Mar 12th 2008 by Robin

58. oh jesus...ITS A COVER SONG!!! this band is now gonna say that american idol ripped off a song from them that THEY RIPPED OFF???? gimme abreak!!

Posted at 5:01PM on Mar 12th 2008 by todd

59. the band GODHEAD does a way better version from either band, but doxology does a good cover of it.

Posted at 5:01PM on Mar 12th 2008 by todd

60. actually the God Head did an arrangement of Eleanor Rigby pretty close to this long before this Idol singer and the band claiming their arrangement was ripped off. So the band ripped off GodHead if anything.. Youtube Godhead Eleanor Rigby and see for yourselves,

Posted at 5:07PM on Mar 12th 2008 by Jack Butters

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