Over a Pharrell: Williams insists Blurred Lines is no Marvin Gaye rip-off

Pharrell Williams has told a court that, while he was trying to evoke the feel of Marvin Gaye’s music when he created the hit Blurred Lines, he did not copy the singer’s work. The singer said he was familiar with his song Got To Give It Up but did not use it as a basis for the track which he collaborated on with Robin Thicke and T.I. Williams said he grew up listening to Gaye’s music: “He’s one of the ones we look up to. This is the last place I want to be.” Williams, Thicke and T.I. are being sued by Gaye’s children who claim Blurred Lines infringes their father’s copyrights for 1977’s Got To Give It Up, but Williams’ testimony is crucial because he wrote the song’s music and most of its lyrics.

Feel… Not infringed.

Pharrell Williams when asked if Blurred Lines captured the feel of the era in which Gaye recorded.

Although Thicke received a songwriting credit on the song, he acknowledged earlier in the trial that he didn’t do much work on the song. T.I.’s rap track was added later, and Williams said he wasn’t involved in its inclusion in Blurred Lines, which was nominated for a Grammy Award. Williams said after the song was released, he saw similarities between Blurred Lines and Gaye’s work but said that wasn’t a conscious part of his creative process.

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