Did artists ever rip off SMiLE bits, thinking it would never come out?

[onkster]

I sometimes wonder if music insiders--mainly artists--ever deliberately ripped off any SMiLE elements, having heard that it would "never" come out, and thus thought it would be safe to do so...

Possible suspects:

Blue Swede - Hooked on a Feeling - with the "ooga-chaka" chant, much like that in "Worms" and some bits of "H&V"

Blood, Sweat, and Tears - that instrumental break in "Spinning Wheel" sure sounds a lot like the "jazzy" section of "Child"--and also--didn't they name a song and/or album "Child is Father to the Man"?

Jesus Christ Superstar/OC - Everything's Alright - that later section with the "close your eyes, close your eyes, and relax" sure reminds me a lot of the "close your eyes and lean back now" part of "Wind Chimes".

Perhaps the biggest stretch: Dennis' own "Barnyard Blues" certainly starts off sounding SMiLE-y, and of course evolves into barnyard lyrics--almost as if he felt like adding more to the "Barnyard" story years after the fact...

Yes, I realize these may be completely fallacious stretches, but hey, I've seen crazier posts.

Anybody else ever think this?

-onkster

[buddhahat]

I'm not sure about the timings but I always hear similarities between the clarinet melody of Look and The Turtles Happy Together. When I first heard Look at the smile rfh show, that's the song I immediately thought of. Bit if a stretch I know but if I don't share these things here, where can I?

[Loaf]

you won't find a better example of this than the UK band The Doves, releasing a b-side "Valley" to one of their singles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmaUlL0ggKg

shall we play Spot The Reference ?

[Rocket]

you won't find a better example of this than the UK band The Doves, releasing a b-side "Valley" to one of their singles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmaUlL0ggKg

shall we play Spot The Reference ?

you won't find a better example of this than the UK band The Doves, releasing a b-side "Valley" to one of their singles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmaUlL0ggKg

shall we play Spot The Reference ?

Wow. That's lawsuit worthy

[Wirestone]

you won't find a better example of this than the UK band The Doves, releasing a b-side "Valley" to one of their singles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmaUlL0ggKg

shall we play Spot The Reference ?

you won't find a better example of this than the UK band The Doves, releasing a b-side "Valley" to one of their singles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmaUlL0ggKg

shall we play Spot The Reference ?

Wow. That's lawsuit worthy

The harpsichord-led Heroes riff was first released in 1967, as part of a single that charted at No. 12.

So that was certainly a part of Smile that came out. Ditto for the "close your eyes and lean back" bit of Wind Chimes.

As for Hooked on a Feeling, I suspect the arrangement in question (and probably the Smile chant itself) was inspired by Running Bear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P615vAhkUlU

[Paul J B]

Great topic. I have thought a lot about the "Hooked on a Feeling" thing. Almost seems like it had to have been lifted from Smile because it is so bizarre. But that does not mean it was.

I have also wondered if the Bicycle Rider idea (not music but the concept) worked it's way into the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid movie. Burt Bacharach wrote that whole piece for the bicycle scene and for sure touched on the fact that the way of the horse was in the past.

AGD being a Butch Cassidy buff...have you ever thought about that?

[schiaffino]

you won't find a better example of this than the UK band The Doves, releasing a b-side "Valley" to one of their singles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmaUlL0ggKg

shall we play Spot The Reference ?

Wow! Bicycle rider!!!

I used to like these guys, but now I'm very, very impressed with Doves  

[Fall Breaks]

Don't forget the main melody for Kiss' I Was Made For Loving You Baby is played on a DYLW session.

[onkster]

Hah! Good point, Fall Breaks! I wonder if KISS' working title for that was "Do You Like MY Worm?"

[The Real Barnyard]

-Some tapes started circulating right around this time and reportedly Jonathan King was inspired by the Bicycle rider part of "Do You Like Worms?" (which he heard from insiders) when he added the "ooga-chacka" part to his recording of "Hooked On A Feeling"!

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/when-did-the-cult-of-smile-begin.104850/page-3

[Fall Breaks]

Hah! Good point, Fall Breaks! I wonder if KISS' working title for that was "Do You Like MY Worm?"

[sockittome]

Some years ago I mentioned on a forum (it might have been this one) that I ran across a Turtles 45 that had a B-side titled Can't You Hear the Cows.  The A-side is The Story of Rock and Roll.  Right off, of course, there's the Cow connection (ya know, Mrs' O'Leary's), but even more interesting is a similarity I could hear in the song to Barnyard, kind of a two chord ditty going on.

I don't recall who penned this song, but I understand that Howard Kaylan hung around Brian in 1967 or so. 

[Joel Goldenberg]

Al Kooper is quoted in 50 Sides of the Beach Boys saying he stole lots from Good Vibrations.