5 Times White Folks Stole Music From Black Artists 

Source: Jim Britt / Getty

We throw around terms like cultural appropriation and culture so much these days that the energy behind them just doesn’t feel the same. Sure, white people rocking cornrows can be seen as a culture vulture move, but it’s not until they claim ownership of it — like they started it — that makes it real thievery.

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Imagine how Black folks felt back in the day, before social media. Before they were allowed to have a voice to complain about the robbery they experienced at the hands of white people. Especially when it came to music. Music was stolen from us so much that White people today actually believe that they created country and classical music.

Music Workshop Company: “In his 2006 book, Listening to Artifacts: Music Culture in Ancient Israel/Palestine, Theodore Burgh suggests that classical music ultimately has its roots in North Africa, in the art music of Ancient Egypt, as well as other ancient cultures such as Greece.”

With that being said, let’s take a look back a few of many times a White person stole music from a Black person and called it their own.

Little Richard- “Tutti Frutti” (1955)

Pat Boone- “Tutti Frutti” (1956)

The early part of Boone’s career was focused on covering R&B songs by black artists for a white American market.

Big Mama Thorton- “Hound Dog” (1952)

Elvis Presley – “Hound Dog” (1956)

The original “Hound Dog” was released in 1952 and was number one on the charts for seven weeks. Unfortunately, “Big Mama” Thornton hardly collected any of the profits she deserved. But the track became one of 21-year old Elvis’ biggest hits.

The Chiffons – “He’s So Fine” (1963)

George Harrison- “My Sweet Lord” (1970)

In 1976, Harrison was found to have subconsciously plagiarised the song

The Gap Band- “Oops Upside Your Head” (1979)

Mark Ronson- “Uptown Funk” (2015)

After filing a lawsuit against Ronson, The Gap Band received both songwriting credit and a share of royalties for the Bruno Mars hit, which was the biggest song of 2015.

Marvin Gaye- “Got To Give It Up” (1977)

Robin Thicke – “Blurred Lines” (2013)

After a 4 year long lawsuit, a judge upheld an award of 50 percent of future royalties from “Blurred Lines” to the Gaye family.