Jim Britt/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images; ABC/Ida Mae AstuteDid Ed Sheeran rip off Marvin Gaye‘s “Let’s Get It On” for his 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud”? That’s what the family of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the 1973 Motown classic with Gaye, is claiming in a new lawsuit.
Townsend’s heirs are suing Sheeran, claiming that he lifted key parts of the song and used them in his own hit.
According to the complaint, obtained by ABC News, the plaintiffs claim Sheeran copied the “heart” of “Let’s Get It On” and repeated it continuously throughout “Thinking Out Loud.”
“The melodic, harmonic and rhythmic compositions of ‘Thinking’ are substantially and/or strikingly similar to the drum composition from ‘Let’s,'” the complaint states. It also claims that Sheeran and the other parties named in the suit were notified about the alleged infringement in April of last year, and continued to infringe the copyrighted work.
This isn’t the first time Sheeran has been accused of plagiarism. He was sued back in June for more than $20 million for allegedly stealing pieces of his tune “Photograph” from two songwriters.
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