Has anyone here written a song covered by a noteable artist?

[Wizard of Wailing]

    Sometimes at my day job, I daydream about becoming a semi-professional songwriter.  It's nothing serious, but I'd like to try it one of these years.  I was just wondering if anyone on this site has ever tried or succeeded in writing a song that was covered by a well known singer or band?

 

[Cagey]

I wrote "Stairway to Eleven", and LED ZEPPELIN STOLE IT! They just changed the name and the lyrics and the chords and the lead and the timing a bit, and pretended it was original! Can you believe that? Rotten bastages!

 

[BigSteve22]

I Agree, "Fargen Ice-Holes".

 

[Wizard of Wailing]

    I think Zeppelin did get sued by some band that claimed Jimmy Page stole some of the music for Stairway.  I know they've been forced to give credit to a lot of old timey blues musicians for songs that they previously claimed as solely their own.  Jimmy Page is my all-time favorite guitarist and I have a guitarist friend who is not a Zep fan.  He always brings up that they were a bunch of plagiarists.  Me, I don't care.  The songs sound great and I'd rather listen to their version of "Nobody's Fault But Mine" than the old timey blues cigar-box guitar sounding version.

 

[Cagey]

My grandmother stole a song of mine once. Once!​

 

[BigSteve22]

I Agree, "Fargen Ice-Holes".

But still one of my all time favorite bands!

 

[Cagey]

    I think Zeppelin did get sued by some band that claimed Jimmy Page stole some of the music for Stairway.  I know they've been forced to give credit to a lot of old timey blues musicians for songs that they previously claimed as solely their own.  Jimmy Page is my all-time favorite guitarist and I have a guitarist friend who is not a Zep fan.  He always brings up that they were a bunch of plagiarists.  Me, I don't care.  The songs sound great and I'd rather listen to their version of "Nobody's Fault But Mine" than the old timey blues cigar-box guitar sounding version.

Yeah, they did. The band "Spirit" was the plaintiff. There's an article about it here if you're interested. There's an example of their work and you can hear some similarity, but I'm not sure I'd argue about it if it was me. I suspect the only reason they did is due to the "deep pocket" nature of Led Zeppelin. You generally don't sue people who don't have any money or insurance, as it's an expensive waste of time.

 

[Wizard of Wailing]

    The arpeggio with the descending root notes is similar, but that has been used in a ton of songs, and after all, there's only twelve notes a man can play.  My friend also dislikes Zep because Jimmy Page is a slop artist.  That's exactly why I love him.  There are a lot more sloppy guitarists (like me), than there are flawless players like Steve Vai.  Page was always willing to screw up in an effort to push himself over the edge of his abilities and break new ground.

 

[TBurst Std]

    The arpeggio with the descending root notes is similar, but that has been used in a ton of songs, and after all, there's only twelve notes a man can play.  My friend also dislikes Zep because Jimmy Page is a slop artist.  That's exactly why I love him.  There are a lot more sloppy guitarists (like me), than there are flawless players like Steve Vai.  Page was always willing to screw up in an effort to push himself over the edge of his abilities and break new ground.

Actually if you go back and listen to Page's works as a studio guitarist before Led Zep, he wasn't sloppy. He was actually quite good. No Tommy Tedesco or Waddy Watchel, but still quite good.

 

[Wizard of Wailing]

    He's not sloppy in the studio, but during live performances he threw caution to the wind and went all out.

 

[TBurst Std]

    He's not sloppy in the studio, but during live performances he threw caution to the wind and went all out.

Well I believe that was at least partially due to the intoxicants in him. Saw him twice with Led Zep. He was gone with the wind so to say both times.

 

[aarontunes]

I've had several of my country songs cut by various artists. I've also had my songs used in TV shows and indie-level movies. It's pretty cool to see your name in the liner notes of somebody else's CD or in the credits of a TV show, and even more cool to get mailbox-money from ASCAP every so often. Overall though, it's not a very profitable endeavor.

I'm still waiting for lightning to strike in the form of a cut and subsequent mega-hit by a "name-brand" artist.

My biggest advice:

1. Your songs have to be top-notch and commercially bulletproof. If you are trying to attract outside artists to your song, you have to follow all the "rules" of commercial songwriting. You have to be really honest with yourself here. If your songs aren't there, you will be wasting your time and money.
2. Make sure your demos are top-notch, and be ready to spend money for a great demo singer.
3. Hang on to your publishing. These days the internet is a pretty big equalizer, and despite what they tell you, most publishers need you more than you need them. Learn about the legal aspects of copyright, become your own publishing company, and blast your songs out there all over the internet. Unless you have some wicked industry connections (and if you did you wouldn't be posting here) don't go hunting for the "big score" right out of the gate. Look for grass-roots cuts, and start small. There are artists at every level looking for songs. Most of my cuts have come from aspiring artists.

 

[fdesalvo]

Yah, have a few songs running in some commercials, a couple films, and a video game or two.