"Dani California" sounds like "Mary Jane's Last Dance," and RHCP fans are going mad.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are currently enjoying success with their new album Stadium Arcadium, but this success could soon be clouded by allegations of plagiarism.…
Article comments
76 - Kris
I agree with Joe and Aiden
RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS KICK ASS!
And Kalli Rock on girl you said it all for me
The guy that said that shit on the radio is a jackass and so is the chick that wrote this page so please Jessa get a life and stop starting shit about one of the greatest bands on the planent. If you need the publicity to get people to check out your page this is not the way all it does is pisses people off and make them hate you. I hope you get whats coming by starting shit about the Peppers cus a true fan never dies
77 - Kris
I agree with Joe and Aiden
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS KICK ASS!
And Kalli Rock on girl you said it all for me
The guy that said that shit on the radio is a jackass and so is the chick that wrote this page so please Jessa get a life and stop starting shit about one of the greatest bands on the planent. If you need the publicity to get people to check out your page this is not the way all it does is pisses people off and make them hate you. I hope you get whats coming by starting shit about the Peppers cus a true fan never dies
78 - Beltane
Tom freakin Petty rocks beyond whatever trogolodytic and borderline simian comments that were left by those unable to discern good music here. Aside from this, I like both artists immensely (but with Petty soaring miles above the Peppers)and I stinkin like Dani California and the SArcadium album. My feeling is that this is a trumped up charge by the idiotic DJ and Petty probably was told about it but has no intention on actually persuing any legal action against the Peppers. Both artists are great, but certain people shouldnt turn this into a shouting match for who is better, it's just ignorant to the Nth degree.
79 - lil rocker
The chillis' are totally awesome and nothing that anyone says can stop that. It sounds nothing like 'Tom Petty' and they're trying to make some argument over a clash of opinions. People are always going to disagree and that's no reason to put the chillis' down. They ROCK and you ain't gonna change that!!!
80 - ledsigns
#53 nobody got on puffy for his kashmir rip off because jimmy paige even played guitar on puffy's version you dipshit.
81 - ledsigns
#53 do your research better. jimmy paige played of puffy's version of kashmir so everyone involved knew it was a rip off but didn't care.
82 - ledsigns
#53 jimmy paige played of puffy's version of kashmir so everyone involved knew it was a rip off but didn't care.
83 - Jackie
Listen to Come as you are by Nirvana. Then listen to Eighties by killing joke.
84 - buddy holly
this pisses me of, start accusing bands who deserve to be accused of plagiarism. There are enough crappy hip hop, rap (so called) "artists"who use plagiarism for makin a livin. Every rock 'n roll band can be influenced by other artists,that doesn't mean they deliberatly steal melodys or whatever. The crappy dj who is spreading this bullshit around is looking for some attention to advertise his sad crappy show. Tom petty and the peppers rock.
85 - arco
dani california was the first RCHP song I ever heard
sad huh?
anyways I didn't know that RCHP was playing
I thought it sounded just like sweet home alabama... as for the DM/Dm aspect, the only difference is a sprinkle of F#s in the DM song, so the chord progression is still essentially the same
86 - Katelyn
One of the greatest bands of all time, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, don't need to rip off some practically unknown pansy guy from the 80's to get the popularity and fans that they already have. People who accuse them of plagiarism are fu*k-faces that have a surplus of time on their hands with their lame, worthless lives. I'd honestly like to see them attempt to write and play music as good as RCHP. And just as someone said in one of the comments in this article.. Rihanna had her song "S.O.S." which (which sucked... but that's not the point) has the exact same melody as Tainted Love. And no one's bashing her. "Oh gee... it must be a tribute. But NO NO NO, when the Chili Peppers do this, it's PLAGIARISM because I have no life, and I'm trying to bring down the best band ever that's been around for 23 years." I honestly don't understand dumbasses sometimes.
87 - JOsh06
RHCP IS THE BEST BAND THIS IS JUST FAKE ACCUSATION BECAUSE THE DON"T SOUND AT ALL SIMILAR. RHCP SHOULD BE REWARDED FOR RELEASING A KICK @$$ HIT SINGLE. SHOUT OUT TO MY PEEPS
PEACE
88 - Jenifer
The Red Hot Chili Peppers, are, and have been one of the greatest bands alive, no doubt. They continue to deliver amazing music to the world, and nothing should stop them, especially some Ridiculous controversy, over copying a song of Tom Petty's. The RHCP's should live forever and continue to play and great music full of soul and passion. YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!!
Anthony Kiedis..Keep up the great vocals, one of the most unique voices ever, you can regonnize his voice, even if you dont know the song, you'll be like Oh, its the RHCP"S!! ..and Anthony, keep up your hottness. The hottest, sexiest 42 year old i know and will ever be...so RHCP's keep it up guys, Tom Petty should not get involved with a new amazing album...dont Play around with the RHCP's..
89 - MANDY09
RHCP"SSSS ARE INCREDIBLE, thats all i have to say, every album made by them is amazing, and They have the hottest singer of all time..yes...ANTHONY KIEDIS!!!! Keep rockin your soul out guys...xo
90 - Vivianxo
Ya know what they say.
"No junk no soul"
Kiedis and Frusciante should start takin H again.
ARE U KIDDING ME? fuck off, whoever said that, thats not somthing to say, yea sure drugs may make you crazy and express your soul more, but the rhcp's continue to make amazing music, and honestly whoever said this read ANthony Kiedis's book Scar Tissue and you might understand what hes been through, cause hes amazing and he fought off so much crap through his life and now's he completly clean and still making great music..yea yea ...(RHCP"S xoxo)
91 - JPJ
i agree with everyone that says that it's just a coincidence. in fact, it's not a coincidence at all. they are 2 basic chord progressions with a basic rock beat. and not to mention, the bass playing by flea is nothing like the one in the Tom Petty song. and what they say on the radio like how the lyrics are similar, that couldn't be more than crap. why would the red hot chili peppers want to copy the whole song down to an idea, besides, why would they want to copy the Tom Petty song at all. They are targeting a new audience, younger kids that probably have never even heard of the heartbreakers. and if this really was a big deal, then there would be lawsuits and such. I think Tom Petty can decide better than some lame ass radio talkshow host. and on the other note, the chord progressions aren't the same either, in the RHCP song it's Dm and the petty it's D7. these people don't know what they are talking about.
92 - xorhcpxo
This is so stupid, people need to stop taking things so seriosly, and just enjoy Music. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an amazing band. I worked in this store and we had a cd of them playing and like every person that came in was singing along to them. Who dosent like them! This whole problem with Tom Petty, is redioculious. I dont think one of the greatest bands ever would intentionly copy a song.
93 - henez
I think the comment that there are no original ideas left, made by J. P. Spencer is ridiculous. Statistically your point doesn't hold water, the limitlessness of music means that new songs CAN be made.
The point made that the Chilis were in no need of extra songs is true: the Peppers had so much material for Stadiuml, they had initially intended to release a TRIPLE ALBUM, Keidis decided it would draw the album out for too long.
The songs are close, yes. But i'd like to make a CLOSER COMPARISON between the bassline in Road Trippin' and the main riff in The White Stripes' 'Seven Nation Army'. Just thought i'd point out that the Chili's have been ripped off aswell.
94 - Austin McBride
Jessa, when you bomb on RHCP like that you make me sick. Its a business, and RHCP is awesome so lay off.
95 - Jessa
Austin, I'm not the only one to "bomb on RHCP". You must get sick a lot.
96 - aaron
hey fuck all that shit, why would they try and do that, there would be no reason, the peppers kick ass, and tom petty can suck shit out of my butt,
97 - FUCKTHAT
I dont give a fuck if they copied him or not tom is still a dick and RHCP still ownz!!! So leave the ppl and let them do what they do best - make great muzik!!!!!
98 - matt
chilli peppers rules and it doesn't even soundthat similar, so fuk off.
99 - Jacob
The melody doesnt really change when its in another key. anyone with an hours music theory experience could tell you that. they could also listen to these two songs and tell you that they sound suspiciously alike. and for all you tards who're saying 'oh RHCP has been around for 23 years' guess what? tom petty has been playing music since 1974. wait, what? 32 years? YES! LONGER THAN RHCP! And his songs are still being played. And anyone with a brain can see that the solo from Dani California is also ripped from Purple Haze, admitted by John Frusciante in guitar world magazine. has john gotten so old that he cant think up his own songs anymore?
100 - CaliBeezy
RCHP is one of the greatest bands in the world and all you haters know it so stop bitching!! pelase
oh and about how they copied "mary janes last dance".
even if they did so what!
tom petty should be happy that they appreciate him by making a slight cover of his song.
k thanks bye
101 - calibeezy
one more thing.....the song dani california has a story behind it which is ALSO mentioned in by the way and californication
102 - Blobb
This article is bullshit. Tom Petty didn't accuse them, the songs sound similar but neither party is taking action. How many songs sound similar?
and Dani Cali isn't a "crappy single"
103 - Jessa
For one thing, the article doesn't say that Tom Petty accused them. Secondly, I think that Dani California is not a good single which is just my opinion. In comparison to the other great material that Red Hot Chili Peppers have released, this one doesn't cut it.
104 - Mike Lynch
I hve played guitar for somewhere around 5 years. I have been Playing the Tom Petty Song: "Mary Janes Last Dance" for around 3. I Have only recently learned the RHCP song: "Dani California". Where am I going with this you may ask? The chord progression is very similar, but the songs are both definately original.
105 - aZn_rhcp_fan
hey! its not possible these days to thnk up of a new rhytm n shit! its coincedence! its similar but nt the same! n hu the fuk say its crap!
106 - richard
come on why make such a big deal out of this when all rap music sounds the same
107 - Shoes
Oh dear... Bound to happen, as many here have pointed out the tracks are very similar in the way they sound but when you're playing the same 5 chords over and over in the same way there isn't much room for decent creativity. I remember when RHCP were an awesome band who could pump out some of the most funky original and raw sounds on the planet. Unfortunately like many good acts they have succumbed to commercialism, lined their pockets and are rapidly spiraling towards mediocrity. Real Shame.
108 - Naomi
Hey listen you fucker-who ever wrote this article can kiss my ass because the Red Hot Chili Peppers are the best band ever. It really hurts us fans when you criticize them like this and when we read this article it is a painful pill for us to swallow. Yeah, so the RHCP has some influences and maybe it could occur to you if you can get it through your fat head that Tom Petty just so happens to be one of them. Yes, I have read an article from John Frusciante and he said that indeed he did get his influence from Tom. But you have no right to do this to them.
109 - Jack
actually i downloaded the original and if u listen 2 the original mary janes last dance and this one on the audio clip the one the audio clip is sped up so looks like someone sped it up so they tampered it didn't they?
110 - Billybob
My ex old lady had plegiarism once. She had to vist the doc once a week for shots because of all the warts on her crouch. Took her a year before the crouch warts went away. Then we had oral sex. My advice is be careful with sex or you might get that plegiarism stuff.
111 - David Samuel
First of all about the only thing you can copyright is lyrics. You cannot copyright chord progressions and even melodies are up for debate according to the copyright laws on account of melodies over certain chords are going to happen in a natural way. The only thing that one needs to worry about is lyrics when it comes to copyrighting. Melodies have to be changed a little but not much on account of the laws.
112 - Marcia Neil
'The Red Hot Chili Peppers' is an album theme; 'Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' is an album theme. Both originate from the same source and neither of them use mechanical music instruments as recorded. An entire recording can be copyrighted but copyrighted wrongly and illegally so that record factories can fire up their assembly lines and take home paychecks. Been robbed, original music snatched and mass-marketed? See the Motown entry describing the voice-recording machines once popular as a way to save your own voiceprints. There should be a library of sound spectrographs in the FBI that show the similarities and differences among vocal frequencies and instrument-music frequencies for all marketed music; each theme uses different frequencies but no music requires mechanical instruments. Some people inspired the music and are therefore hauled onto stage? Performers are not plagiarists, they are only performers -- same as practising a piece in music class.
113 - Mark
The person who wrote this article is an idiot. A "crappy single," the RHCP are one of the best who've ever lived, and the song has a similar rhythm but that's it, not the same lyrics or anything and DC kicks the hell out of MJLD, if you listen to both of them in their entirety they're totally different songs. Of course maybe TP influenced them but what's wrong with that? Sueing them for having a similar beat, that's retarted. And what's this? If you do a little research you'd find out they have the same producer.
114 - Mary
Everyone is entitled to their opinion yes? However, calling someone an idiot just because you disagree with them is unacceptable. (Note the "personal attacks are NOT allowed" at the top there?) To be honest, 'Dani California' was one of the weaker singles released by RHCP. If you honestly believe that they are the greatest band who ever lived, you're missing a lot of other great music out there. Having the same producer doesn't mean anything. Big deal. So can we expect that Metallica's new album will sound like BSSM because Rick Rubin is producing? No. It doesn't mean anything. It is good that nothing came out of this, as they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But I don't think that RHCP should be getting accolades for an album and single that is mediocre at best.
115 - Tyler
They are VERY similar. To me, the fact that it's the same chord progression is not really that big of a deal. But, if you mix that with the fact that it's played using the same strumming pattern, that makes it quite a bit worse. I've never been a huge fan of the RHCP though, and Tom Petty is my favorite artist of all time. So, I'm a little biased when it comes to this.