Just days after a California court ordered Pharrell Williams to pay Marvin Gaye’s estate millions of dollars for copyright infringement, the artist could find himself in the midst of another unhappy legal drama.
A Los Angeles jury awarded Marvin Gaye’s children nearly $7.4 million Tuesday after finding Williams and singer Robin Thicke had borrowed heavily from their father’s music to create “Blurred Lines” in 2013.
Now Gaye’s family is pointing out that another Williams hit, the 2014 single “Happy,” bears a striking structural resemblance to Gaye’s 1965 song “Ain’t That Peculiar.”
“I’m not going to lie. I do think they sound alike,” Nona Gaye, Marvin’s now 40-year-old daughter told CBS News of Pharrell’s “Happy.”
Marvin’s ex-wife, Janis Gaye also spoke to CBS about the possibility of new legal action against Williams, but hinted the family would first enjoy their “Blurred Lines” victory. “We’re just in the moment today and we’re satisfied.”
“I heard the mash-ups — but I didn’t really need to hear them,” she said. “I know ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’ and I’ve heard ‘Happy.'”
Pharrell’s “Happy” sold millions units worldwide, won the 2015 Grammy award for Best Music Video, and peaked at no. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 songs chart.
Listen to the mashup of “Happy” and “Ain’t That Peculiar” below: