Music Notes

A federal jury in New York concluded Thursday that British singer Ed Sheeran didn't steal key components of Marvin Gaye's classic 1970s tune "Let's Get It On" when he created his hit song "Thinking Out Loud."

As the jury answered the single question of whether Sheeran proved he didn't infringe upon the copyright in the affirmative, the crooner briefly put his hands over his face in relief before standing and hugging his lawyer.

As jurors left the courtroom, Sheeran quietly mouthed "thank you" in their direction. He then spoke for about 10 minutes with the plaintiffs, including the daughter of Ed Townsend, who co-created the 1973 soul classic with Gaye. They hugged and smiled with each other.

Sheeran later addressed reporters outside of the courthouse.

"I am obviously very happy with the outcome of this case, and it looks like I'm not going to have to retire from my day job, after all. But at the same time, I am unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all," the singer read from a prepared statement.

He also said he missed his grandmother's funeral in Ireland because of the trial, and that he "won't get that time back."

The verdict came after a two-week trial that featured a courtroom performance by Sheeran as the singer insisted, sometimes angrily, that the trial was a threat to all musicians who create their own music.

Sheeran sat with his legal team throughout the trial, defending himself against the lawsuit by Townsend's heirs. They said "Thinking Out Loud" had so many similarities to "Let's Get It On" that it violated the song's copyright protection.

At the trial's start, attorney Ben Crump told jurors on behalf of the Townsend heirs that Sheeran himself sometimes performed the two songs together. The jury saw video of a concert in Switzerland in which Sheeran can be heard segueing on stage between "Let's Get It On" and "Thinking Out Loud." Crump said that was "smoking gun" proof he stole from the famous tune.

When Sheeran testified, he repeatedly picked up a guitar resting behind him on the witness stand to demonstrate how he seamlessly creates "mashups" of songs during concerts to "spice it up a bit" for his sizeable crowds.

The English pop star's cheerful attitude on display under questioning from his attorney, Ilene Farkas, all but vanished under cross examination.

"When you write songs, somebody comes after you," Sheeran said during his testimony as he explained that the case was being closely watched by others in the industry.

He insisted that he stole nothing from "Let's Get it On" when he wrote his tune.

Townsend's heirs said in their lawsuit that "Thinking Out Loud" had "striking similarities" and "overt common elements" that made it obvious that it had copied "Let's Get It On," a song that has been featured in numerous films and commercials and scored hundreds of millions of streams spins and radio plays in the past half century.

Sheeran's song, which came out in 2014, was a hit, winning a Grammy for song of the year. His lawyers argued that the songs shared versions of a similar and unprotectable chord progression freely available to all songwriters.

Gaye was killed in 1984 at age 44, shot by his father as he tried to intervene in a fight between his parents. He had been a Motown superstar since the 1960s, although his songs released in the 1970s made him a generational musical giant.

Townsend, who also wrote the 1958 R&B doo-wop hit "For Your Love," was a singer, songwriter and lawyer who died in 2003. Kathryn Townsend Griffin, his daughter, testified during the trial that she thought Sheeran was "a great artist with a great future."

She said she had hoped the lawsuit would not result in a trial, "but I have to protect my father's legacy."

Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Chaka Khan, "Soul Train" creator Don Cornelius and the late George Michael have all been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Kate Bush also finally reaching the top of that hill.

The Cleveland-based institution announced Wednesday the artists and groups entering the hall as the class of 2023, a list that includes The Spinners, Rage Against the Machine, DJ Kool Herc, Link Wray, Al Kooper and Elton John's longtime co-songwriter Bernie Taupin.

"When you can go from Link Wray, who was one of the early influencers, to Missy Elliott and Kate Bush and The Spinners and Rage Against the Machine and Willie Nelson, you have a very diverse body of work. What we are always trying to show is that rock 'n' roll is a big tent and a lot of people belong," said Joel Peresman, president and CEO of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation ahead of the unveiling.

Elliott, the first female rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, an MTV Video Vanguard Award recipient and a four-time Grammy Award winner, now becomes the first female hip-hop artist in the rock hall, which called her "a true pathbreaker in a male-dominated genre."

Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they're eligible for induction. Eight out of 14 nominees were on the ballot for the first time, including Crow, Elliott, Michael and Nelson. This is the first year of eligibility for Elliott.

Bush was a nominee last year but didn't make the final cut then. She got in this year due to a new wave in popularity after the show "Stranger Things" featured her song "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)." The hall hailed her for "using lush soundscapes, radical experimentation, literary themes, sampling, and theatricality to captivate audiences and inspire countless musicians."

Michael, first as a member of Wham! and then as a solo artist, was cited for "paving the way for a generation of proud LGBTQIA+ artists, from Sam Smith to Lil Nas X to Troye Sivan" and the 90-year-old Nelson was simply described as "an American institution."

Crow was recognized for key songs in the 1990s musical canon like "All I Wanna Do" and "Every Day Is a Winding Road," while Rage Against the Machine "forged brazen protest music for the modern world."

The hall called DJ Kool Herc "a founding father of hip-hop music" who "helped create the blueprint for hip-hop." And Chaka Khan was described as "one of the mightiest and most influential voices in music" a "streetwise but sensual hip-hop-soul diva," who paved the way for women like Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu and Janelle Monáe.

The Spinners became a hit-making machine with four No. 1 R&B hits in less than 18 months, including "I'll Be Around" and "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love." Rock guitarist Wray was said to be ahead of his time, influencing Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Springsteen.

Taupin, who made it into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and has a Golden Globe and an Oscar for "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from the biopic "Rocketman," makes it into the rock hall 29 years after his writing partner, John.

Cornelius was celebrated for creating a nationally televised platform for African American music and culture. He "became a visionary entrepreneur who opened the door — and held it open — for many others to follow him through."

"Does a Willie Nelson fan know anything about Missy Elliott? Probably not, and vice versa," said Peresman. "But this is an opportunity for someone who is into one of these artists to take a look at it and say, 'Gee, I love Missy Elliott' or 'I love Rage Against the Machine. But The Spinners, who were they? Let me check that out.' If that can open some minds and open some attitudes, then we've done our job."

Nominees Iron Maiden, Cyndi Lauper, A Tribe Called Quest, The White Stripes, Warren Zevon, Joy Division/New Order and Soundgarden didn't earn a spot in the hall this time. While the late Zevon has been eligible since 1994, Billy Joel led a push in vain for his entry, writing to the nominating committee urging them to consider Zevon.

The induction ceremony will take place Nov. 3 at the Barclays Center in New York City.

Nominees were voted on by more than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals. Fans could vote online or in person at the museum, with the top five artists picked by the public making up a "fans' ballot" that was tallied with the other professional ballots.

In a packed New York courtroom, Ed Sheeran picked up his guitar Thursday and launched into a tune that has him locked in a copyright dispute over Marvin Gaye's soul classic "Let's Get it On" as the only audience that mattered — a jury — looked on.

Sheeran was an hour into testimony in Manhattan federal court when his lawyer, Ilene Farkas, pressed him to tell how he came to write "Thinking Out Loud" a decade ago.

He reached back, grabbed his guitar from a rack behind the witness stand and explained that writing a song was second nature to him. He said he used his own version of phonetics to create songs so quickly that he could write up to nine in a day. Even last weekend, Sheeran claimed, he wrote 10 songs.

Then he sang just a few words of the pivotal tune, bringing smiles to the faces of some of the spectators in the courtroom of Judge Louis L. Stanton.

"I'm singing out loud," he sang, loud enough to be heard but not raising decibels in the court.

After he finished singing those words, he spoke a few too, saying "and then words fall in" as he tried to teach the jury his method of creating music. He said he collaborated on the song with a co-writer, Amy Wadge, who wrote the opening chords.

Though he's performed with some of the world's great artists and become a regular at music award shows by age 32, he said from the witness stand with his chair tilted toward the jury: "I'm not the world's most talented guitar player."

And when he bumped his hand against the witness stand microphone, he said a quick "sorry."

Then he launched into the song that heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye's co-writer on "Let's Get It On," say has "striking similarities" and "over common elements" to the famed 1973 Gaye musical treasure.

"When your legs don't work like they used to," he sang earnestly, like he might go deeper into the song. Then, after just a few bars, he abruptly placed the guitar back in the rack behind him as his lawyer told the judge it was an appropriate spot to adjourn for the week.

Two days earlier, he had been called to testify by attorneys for the plaintiffs and was adamant in telling jurors that he and Wadge came up with the song without copying anyone else's music.

He had also said a video that showed he had segued on stage between "Thinking Out Loud" and "Let's Get It On" was not unusual, adding it was "quite simple to weave in and out of songs" that are in the same key.

On Thursday, his lawyer posed friendly questions, eliciting from Sheeran how he became interested in music after joining a church choir with his mother when he was 4.

Sheeran appeared self deprecating as he told his story, saying: "I can't read music. I'm not classically trained in anything."

He said he quit school at 17 so he could perform up to three times a night, playing anywhere that would have him, from bingo halls to restaurants to "anywhere nobody was."

Within a decade, he was performing with some of the biggest names in music, from Taylor Swift to the Rolling Stones, 50 Cent to Eric Clapton.

Before long, he said, he was writing eight or nine songs a day, explaining: "When inspiration hits, you get excited and it just comes out."

Near the end of his testimony, Sheeran was asked by his lawyer why an expert called by the plaintiffs had tried to show how chords in "Thinking Out Loud" resemble "Let's Get It On."

"He was saying that because it helps his argument," Sheeran said.

The trial resumes Monday.

Jury selection and opening statements are set to begin Monday in a trial that mashes up Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" with Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On."

The heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye's co-writer of the 1973 soul classic, sued Sheeran, alleging the English pop star's hit 2014 tune has "striking similarities" to "Let's Get It On" and "overt common elements" that violate their copyright.

The lawsuit filed in 2017 has finally made it to a trial that is expected to last a week in the Manhattan federal courtroom of 95-year-old Judge Louis L. Stanton.

Sheeran, 32, is among the witnesses expected to testify.

"Let's Get It On" is the quintessential, sexy slow jam that's been heard in countless films and commercials and garnered hundreds of millions of streams, spins and radio plays over the past 50 years. "Thinking Out Loud," which won a Grammy for song of the year, is a much more marital take on love and sex.

While the jury will hear the recordings of both songs, probably many times, their lyrics — and vibes — are legally insignificant. Jurors are supposed to only consider the raw elements of melody, harmony and rhythm that make up the composition of "Let's Get It On," as documented on sheet music filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Sheeran's attorneys have said the songs' undeniable structural symmetry points only to the foundations of popular music.

"The two songs share versions of a similar and unprotectable chord progression that was freely available to all songwriters," they said in a court filing.

Townsend family attorneys pointed out in the lawsuit that artists including Boyz II Men have performed seamless mashups of the two songs, and that even Sheeran himself has segued into "Let's Get It On" during live performances of "Thinking Out Loud."

They sought to play a potentially damning YouTube video of one such Sheeran performance for the jury at trial. Stanton denied their motion to include it, but said he would reconsider it after he sees other evidence that's presented.

Gaye's estate is not involved in the case, though it will inevitably have echoes of their successful lawsuit against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I. over the resemblance of their 2013 hit "Blurred Lines" to Gaye's 1977 "Got to Give it Up."

A jury awarded Gaye's heirs $7.4 million at trial — later trimmed by a judge to $5.3 million — making it among the most significant copyright cases in recent decades.

Sheeran's label Atlantic Records and Sony/ATV Music Publishing are also named as defendants in the "Thinking Out Loud" lawsuit. Generally, plaintiffs in copyright lawsuits cast a wide net in naming defendants, though a judge can eliminate any names deemed inappropriate. In this case, however, Sheeran's co-writer on the song, Amy Wadge, was never named.

Townsend, who also wrote the 1958 R&B doo-wop hit "For Your Love," was a singer, songwriter and lawyer. He died in 2003. Kathryn Townsend Griffin, his daughter, is the plaintiff leading the lawsuit.

Already a Motown superstar in the 1960s before his more adult 1970s output made him a generational musical giant, Gaye was killed in 1984 at age 44, shot by his father as he tried to intervene in a fight between his parents.

Major artists are often hit with lawsuits alleging song-stealing, but nearly all settle before trial — as Taylor Swift recently did over "Shake it Off," ending a lawsuit that lasted years longer and came closer to trial than most other cases.

But Sheeran — whose musical style drawing from classic soul, pop and R&B has made him a target for copyright lawsuits — has shown a willingness to go to trial before. A year ago, he won a U.K. copyright battle over his 2017 hit "Shape of You," then slammed what he described as a "culture" of baseless lawsuits intended to squeeze money out of artists eager to avoid the expense of a trial.

"I feel like claims like this are way too common now and have become a culture where a claim is made with the idea that a settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court, even if there is no basis for the claim," Sheeran said in a video posted on Twitter after the verdict. "It's really damaging to the songwriting industry."

The "Thinking Out Loud" lawsuit also invokes one of the most common tropes in American and British music since the earliest days of rock 'n' roll, R&B and hip-hop: a young white artist seemingly appropriating the work of an older Black artist — accusations that were also levied at Elvis Presley and The Beatles, whose music drew on that of Black forerunners.

"Mr. Sheeran blatantly took a Black artist's music who he doesn't view as worthy as compensation," Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who represents the Townsend family but is not involved in the trial, said at a March 31 news conference.

Dalton reported from Los Angeles.