Marvin Gaye reaps from his sweat…even from the grave

From the grave, Marvin Gaye is still earning big and enriching his family as a US jury ordered pop stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams to pay more than $7 million in damages to Marvin Gaye’s family for lifting part of his 1977 hit song, “Got To Give Up”.

According to Billboard, Pharell and Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” sold more than 6 million copies becoming the biggest-selling song of 2013 in the United States. After that, the family of the Marvin Gaye who believed part of his music was copied without authorization while making the song dragged the duo to court asking that they be paid part of the 16.5 million dollars made from sales since two years it has been in the market.

After the “miracle” verdict, Gaye’s daughter, Nona, said, “I’m so filled with emotion that it’s hard to get the words out. The family took legal action because he (Marvin) can’t do it for himself,”

The family’s lawyer also plans to seek an injunction in court blocking future sales of “Blurred Lines”.

But a spokeswoman for Williams said: “While we respect the judicial process, we are extremely disappointed in the ruling made today, which sets a horrible precedent for music and creativity going forward.

“Pharrell created ‘Blurred Lines’ from his heart, mind and soul, and the song was not taken from anyone or anywhere else. We are reviewing the decision and considering our options.”

Neither Williams nor Thicke, who had both testified during the trial, were in court to hear the verdict. But then, during the two-week trial, Williams had said he understood why fans connected the two songs, “Soul music sounds like soul music… I must’ve been channeling that late ’70s feeling.”

-Ify Chiemezie

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