Marvin Gaye’s children use mash up audio to prove Robin Thicke's “Blurred Lines” is a remake

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Any Marvin Gaye fan worth their weight in salt immediately noticed the similarities between last year’s hit “Blurred Lines” and Gaye’s 1977 classic “Got to Give It Up”.

At first, the chart topping single appeared to be a sanctioned homage to the legendary crooner. After all, producer Pharrell Williams is a musical golden child with twenty years of hits under his belt, and back then (pre “Paula” meltdown), Robin Thicke’s stock was on the rise. The two even went as far as to mention Gaye’s influence in promo interviews; citing him as their inspiration during recording.

So it came as a surprise to industry insiders and fans alike when Thicke and Williams filed a preemptive lawsuit against the estate of Marvin Gaye in August 2013.

According to a summary judgment obtained by the Hollywood Reporter, Williams’ camp offered this as their reasoning:

“The only reason Defendants claim infringement here is because Plaintiffs made certain comments in promoting their record about being inspired by Marvin Gaye. Defendants smelled money and rushed to make their infringement demand, but they chose to ignore that the songs had no similarity in actual notes or phrases.”

Nona Gaye, Frankie Gaye and Marvin Gaye III filed a counterclaim in October 2013 and have recently decided to take a page out of their dad’s book by letting the music speak for itself.

On Monday, they submitted to the judge an audio mash-up that’s meant to serve as “concrete musical illustrations of the substantial similarities” between the two songs. By laying Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” vocals directly over the instrumental version of “Got To Give It Up,” they’re hoping to prove — once and for all — that the songs are identical.

According to the Gayes’ bid for summary judgment:

“Not only was it, therefore, Thicke and Williams who actually ‘smelled money,’ but it was they who then played the role of bully by suing Marvin Gaye’s children when the Gaye children had the temerity to question why their father was not credited, or why ‘Got to Give it Up’ was not licensed, betting that the Gaye children would not have the will or resources to fight this battle. Thicke and Williams bet wrong, and they will now have to face the consequences of their misjudgment and their blatant copyright infringement.”

Only time will tell if Thicke and Williams did in fact “bet wrong” by starting this legal drama. But the Gayes’ lawyer, Richard Busch, touches on a much more personal motivation for his clients.

“They filed papers insulting the family of the great Marvin Gaye,” says Busch. “We responded with the facts and the law.”

And in that statement may lie the biggest lesson in all of this. A man’s legacy is sacred to his children. If you disrespect that, be prepared to have a fight on your hands.

A jury trial for this case has been scheduled for February 10, 2015.

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