ADVERTISEMENT

AOL Radio

Listen to AOL Radio Now
play arrow
Top Country - Today's Hottest Hits
Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts
play arrow
'90s Country - '90s Biggest Hits
Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, George Strait
play arrow
New Country First - Today's new country hits
Keith Urban, Toby Keith, Sugarland
Online Radio Guide

Exclusive Interviews

Chats with your favorite country stars.

Exclusive Performances

Watch live, in-studio performances.

Blogroll

Rascal Flatts Accused of Song Stealing

Did Rascal Flatts steal part of a song from Pat Benatar? A veteran pop songwriter thinks so, and he's suing the country superstars for copyright infringement.

D.L. Byron has filed a federal lawsuit against Rascal Flatts, their producers and record label, contending that the first 17 seconds of their song 'No Reins' is too similar to a song he wrote for Benatar, the 1982 hit 'Shadows of the Night.'

"It's just too much, too strikingly similar," Byron tells the New York Post. "They'd have to have a tremendous lapse of memory not to realize what they were doing. It's my contention there's willful infringement."

'No Reins' was written by Rascal Flatts' bassist/keyboard player Jay DeMarcus and veteran Nashville songwriters Wendell Mobley and Neil Thrasher. Rascal Flatts contend any similarities between the songs were not intentional.

"To the extent that 'No Reins' shares any similarities with the plaintiff's alleged copyrighted work, any such similarities between the two works are the result of coincidence and/or the use of common or trite ideas," report lawyers for guitarist Joe Don Rooney.

'No Reins' is on Rascal Flatts' platinum-selling 'Still Feels Good' album.

Listen to 'No Reins' and 'Shadows of the Night' below, to see if you think they're too similar. Then tell us what you think.





All the AOL Music info you want to know

Kenny Lattimore: 'Back 2 Cool' Album…

The Boombox

Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images For Kenny Lattimore, authenticity is about…

Prop 8 Ruled Unconstitutional: Music…

AOL Music Blog

Kevin Mazur, WireImage A federal appeals court has ruled California's…

Jonquil, 'It's My Part' -- Video of the…

Spinner

Artist: Jonquil Video: 'It's My Part' Highlight: "On the coldest day of 2011 we…

See all AOL Music »

Add a Comment

Sign in »
*0 / 3000 Character Maximum

31 Comments

Filter by:
Doug Jette

It is perfectly legal for songs to sound similar, not identical. No Reins is by far not identical to Shadows of the Night

February 24 2009 at 10:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
carriestar44

thats dumb, they don't even sound that much alike and theyre no where close enough sounding to make a case outta this... lame stuf.
Rascal Flatts is too awesome for this ish. lol Have you guys heard "Here Comes Goodbye!?" love that song, i cant wait for Unstoppable to come out!

February 18 2009 at 2:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
John

Rascal Flatts do not have the intelligence to jack a song, but if they did then I believe they would do it in a heartbeat. I listened.If I were on the jury...guilty!
No different than the ridiculous theory that George Harrison stole He's so fine.

February 16 2009 at 3:30 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
joe

Hey ya'll,

I'm a music theorist and a songwriter...and the honest truth is...there's nothing new under the sun, ladies and gentlemen. In American tonal music, we have only a 12 note scale and we have major chord scales that go I ii iii IV V vi vii* or in minor, i ii* III iv V VI vii*...i mean half the songs out there today go G to C to D...why? because it sounds good. it's an easy progression. the truth is that all this music has been writen before...even the melodies...a brand new melody? almost IMPOSSIBLE to create something never played before...it's just the structure of music. this guy's gotta get over it. now if you copy lyrics...you don't have much of an arguement. but enough of this song has been changed...also...has anyone considered maybe the writers of this song never heard this other guy's song? how can you know you're not copying something unless you know and have memorized every song composed. chew on that, ya'll.

February 16 2009 at 3:03 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
jen

similar but just as in with vanilla ice and queen/david bowie; there are slight changes..... so it doesn't count... but once Rascal Flatts song gets into it, there is really no similarity.
and artists sample waaaaay too much in songs--- rihanna, etc
that the kids nowadays think it's originals when they are O-L-D songs!

February 15 2009 at 1:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Meriful04

You know, with this country in the condition it's in, everyone is looking to make a buck. The intro keyboard has a similar sound and that's about it. Good luck dude. Rascal Flatts takes such pride in their work, and sells out concerts without copying someone else. And when they do, it's called a cover - like the "Life is a Highway" cover. And then they would give credit where it's due. It's not due here. Quit being a whiny, woe-is-me has been and write some new songs if you want money. Leave the quality musicians alone - there's too few of them as it is!

February 15 2009 at 6:28 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
BRIANNA

dude should be flattered that a rascall flatts song even remotely sounds like his song. i mean really, how long has it been since pat benatar has even been mentioned? at least she's getting some airtime thanks to the little video thing up here, because i so wouldn't even have bothered looking that up myself.

February 15 2009 at 12:48 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
toot2066

I have listen to both don't see what the problem is!!

February 14 2009 at 10:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
screwged

Rascal Flats looks strange, sing like girls . ME AND MY GANG is a sick song. They are more like Michael Jackson on corn pone, than a real country group.

February 14 2009 at 1:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to screwged's comment
Bunny Conant

Michael Jackson... lol mr strangelove himself... lol Ok wanna be rapper lol whatever

February 14 2009 at 2:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bunny Conant

oh and about Rap... that is not music... just alot of noise

February 14 2009 at 2:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bunny Conant

If I read the story correctly it is about Lyric theft. I read them and they are not alike. Many song writers write about similar situations in life. War, 9/11,death..etc. This is not the same. NOW.... if you want to talk about similar music... it does sound similar but not the same. In my many years of life I have heard many a song that sounded similar but is not the same with note changes here and there. It does happen and to me not a crime or theft. Get over it and make more great sounds for both at hand..... I like both.

February 14 2009 at 1:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply