The legal controversy between Robin Thicke's allegedly plagiaristic "Blurred Lines" single and Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" has become even more complicated, with recently revealed court documents finding the contemporary soul singer backing off on his co-writer status by saying producer Pharrell Williams "wrote the whole thing pretty much by himself."
The details of Thicke's sworn testimony, delivered last April, were revealed by the Los Angeles federal court today (September 15) [via the Hollywood Reporter]. The documents disclose Thicke's opinion on how the piece was put together, explaining his input was limited as he was intoxicated in the studio.
"To be honest, that's the only part where — I was high on Vicodin and alcohol when I showed up at the studio," he said. "So my recollection is when we made the song, I thought I wanted — I — I wanted to be more involved than I actually was by the time, nine months later, it became a huge hit and I wanted credit."
Thicke concluded, "I wanted some credit for this big hit. But the reality is, is that Pharrell had the beat and he wrote almost every single part of the song."
This confession conflicts with an interview last year with GQ, where Thicke alleged that he told Williams he wanted to create "something like" Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up."
Thicke had said at the time, "I was like, 'Damn, we should make that, something with that groove.' Then he started playing a little something and we literally wrote the song in about a half hour and recorded it."
Speaking to the court, Thicke addressed the GQ interview by saying, "With all due respect, I was high and drunk every time I did an interview last year... Every day, I woke up, I would take a Vicodin to start the day and then I would fill up a water bottle with vodka and drink it before and during my interviews."
Williams deposition further establishes the disparity between the two men and co-writer T.I., even though Thicke is receiving 18 to 22 percent of publishing royalties. "This is what happens every day in our industry," Williams said in his sworn testimony. "You know, people are made to look like they have much more authorship in the situation than they actually do. So that's where the embellishment comes in."
You can read Thicke and Williams' full depositions here and here, respectively.
As previously reported, Thicke had preemptively sued the Gaye family in 2013 to establish ownership rights over "Blurred Lines," while the estate countersued, claiming the track was a rip-off. They also called out Thicke and Gaye's label home, EMI, alleging the company had breached contract by not protecting Gaye's works.
The case is set to go to trial February 10, 2015.
The details of Thicke's sworn testimony, delivered last April, were revealed by the Los Angeles federal court today (September 15) [via the Hollywood Reporter]. The documents disclose Thicke's opinion on how the piece was put together, explaining his input was limited as he was intoxicated in the studio.
"To be honest, that's the only part where — I was high on Vicodin and alcohol when I showed up at the studio," he said. "So my recollection is when we made the song, I thought I wanted — I — I wanted to be more involved than I actually was by the time, nine months later, it became a huge hit and I wanted credit."
Thicke concluded, "I wanted some credit for this big hit. But the reality is, is that Pharrell had the beat and he wrote almost every single part of the song."
This confession conflicts with an interview last year with GQ, where Thicke alleged that he told Williams he wanted to create "something like" Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up."
Thicke had said at the time, "I was like, 'Damn, we should make that, something with that groove.' Then he started playing a little something and we literally wrote the song in about a half hour and recorded it."
Speaking to the court, Thicke addressed the GQ interview by saying, "With all due respect, I was high and drunk every time I did an interview last year... Every day, I woke up, I would take a Vicodin to start the day and then I would fill up a water bottle with vodka and drink it before and during my interviews."
Williams deposition further establishes the disparity between the two men and co-writer T.I., even though Thicke is receiving 18 to 22 percent of publishing royalties. "This is what happens every day in our industry," Williams said in his sworn testimony. "You know, people are made to look like they have much more authorship in the situation than they actually do. So that's where the embellishment comes in."
You can read Thicke and Williams' full depositions here and here, respectively.
As previously reported, Thicke had preemptively sued the Gaye family in 2013 to establish ownership rights over "Blurred Lines," while the estate countersued, claiming the track was a rip-off. They also called out Thicke and Gaye's label home, EMI, alleging the company had breached contract by not protecting Gaye's works.
The case is set to go to trial February 10, 2015.
