The Beach Boys’ ‘Surfin’ U.S.A’ caused quite the commotion with Chuck Berry’s lawyers.
The 1963 classic was meant to be a tribute to the late rock ‘n’ roll legend by Brian Wilson, but it soon turned sour when it was hit with a plagiarism case with similarities to Berry’s ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’.
In the end the surf group’s manager and Brian’s father Murry Wilson was forced to hand over the publishing rights to the ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ hitmaker’s publishers, Arc Music.
It took from 1963 until 1996 for Berry’s name to be added to the songwriting credits of the track.
The Beach Boys v Chuck Berry
