By Deepti Hajela
NEW YORK (AP) --Ed Sheeran took the witness stand in a New York courtroom Tuesday to deny allegations that his hit song "Thinking Out Loud" ripped off Marvin Gaye's soul classic "Let's Get It On."
Sheeran, 32, was called to testify in the civil trial by the heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye's co-writer on the 1973 soul classic. The family has accused the English star of violating their copyright, claiming his 2014 hit bore "striking similarities" and "overt common elements" to the famed Gaye track.
Sheeran, in a dark suit and tie and his trademark ginger locks, was adamant that he had come up with the song himself. His testimony was at times contentious, as he sparred during cross-examination with the plaintiff's attorney, Keisha Rice.
In response to video footage played in the courtroom that showed the musician segueing on stage between the two songs, Sheeran said it was "quite simple to weave in and out of songs" that are in the same key.
"I'd be an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that," Sheeran said about the accusation that he copied songs.
Earlier in the day, a lawyer for Townsend's heirs, Ben Crump, had told jurors that the merging of the two songs was tantamount to "a confession."
"We have a smoking gun," he said of the concert footage showing Sheeran flipping between the two songs.
Crump said the case was about "giving credit where credit is due."
Sheeran looked on as his lawyer, Ilene Farkas, insisted that Sheeran and a co-writer, Amy Wadge, wrote their song independently and did not steal from Townsend and Gaye.
She said they "created this heartfelt song without copying 'Let's Get It On.'"
The chord progression and basic building blocks in Sheeran's song are frequently used, and didn't appear first in "Let's Get It On," his lawyer said.
"Let's Get It On" has been heard in countless films and commercials and garnered hundreds of millions of streams, spins and radio plays since it came out in 1973. "Thinking Out Loud" won a Grammy for song of the year in 2016.
The lawsuit was filed in 2017. The trial is expected to last up to two weeks.
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.
"I think Mr. Sheeran is a great artist with a great future," she said in her testimony, adding that she didn't want it to get to this point of the case. "But I have to protect my father's legacy."
Review: Writer-Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood’s “Heretic”
"Heretic" opens with an unusual table setter: Two young missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are discussing condoms and why some are labeled as large even though they're all pretty much a standard size. "What else do we believe because of marketing?" one asks the other.
That line will echo through the movie, a stimulating discussion of religion that emerges from a horror movie wrapper. Despite a second-half slide and feeling unbalanced, this is the rare movie that combines lots of squirting blood and elevated discussion of the ancient Egyptian god Horus.
Our two church members — played fiercely by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East — are wandering around trying to covert souls when they knock on the door of a sweet-looking cottage. Its owner, Mr. Reed, offers a hearty "Good afternoon!" He welcomes them in, brings them drinks and promises a blueberry pie. He's also interested in learning more about the church. So far, so good.
Mr. Reed is, of course, if you've seen the poster, the baddie and he's played by Hugh Grant, who doesn't go the snarling, dead-eyed Hannibal Lecter route in "Heretic." Grant is the slightly bumbling, bashful and self-mocking character we fell in love with in "Four Weddings and a Funeral," but with a smear of menace. He gradually reveals that he actually knows quite a bit about the Mormon religion — and all religions.
"It's good to be religious," he says jauntily and promises his wife will join them soon, a requirement for the church. Homey touches in his home include a framed "Bless This Mess" needlepoint on a wall, but there are also oddities, like his lights are on a timer and there's metal in the walls and ceilings.
Writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood — who also... Read More