Robin Thicke is facing a high-stakes lawsuit for royalties from the family of Marvin Gaye, which alleges that the singer ripped off “Got To Give It Up.” In the deposition for the lawsuit, Thicke revealed several shocking secrets, including the reason for his divorce from high school sweetheart Paula Patton.
In an interview in April, Thicke had denied that there were any similarities between his his “Blurred Lines” and Marvin Gaye’s 1977 “Got To Give It Up.”
“It is a musical impossibility,” he had said. “They’re two complete different syncopations and note choices and different keys. One’s a minor key and one’s a major key.”
The Gaye family lawyers have hired musicologist Judith Finell as an expert witness, and she contends that there are striking similarities between Thicke and Gaye’s songs.
She said she has identified “a constellation of at least eight substantially similar compositional features between the two works… The signature phrase, vocal hook, backup vocal hook, their variations, and the keyboard and lines” are substantially similar and they share “departures from conventions such as the unusual cowbell instrumentation, omission of guitar and use of male falsetto,” she says.
Last summer, Thicke gave a very different account of the creation of the hit.
“Pharrell [Williams] and I were in the studio making a couple records, and then on the third day, I told him I wanted to do something kinda like Marvin Gaye’s ‘Got To Give It Up,’ that kind of feel ‘cause it’s one of my favorite songs of all time,” Thicke had told Billboard Magazine. “So he started messing with some drums and then he started going ‘hey, hey, hey’ and about an hour and a half later we had the whole record finished.”
Since the lawsuit, Thicke has been singing a very different tune, however, claiming that Pharrell “geniused the whole thing” and blaming drugs and alcohol.
He says he had lied in interviews, attempting to convince the public that “Blurred Lines” was his idea, but that he was actually so high and drunk that he does not remember.
“With all due respect, I was high and drunk every time I did an interview last year,” Thicke says in the deposition. “So there are some quotes I don’t remember saying, but I do generally remember trying to sell the public on the fact that ‘Blurred Lines’ was my idea in some way.”
“I thought that it being my song — my idea would make it more personal because my music has always been so personal, that this was the first time I had a song out that wasn’t personal and had nothing to do with me, and yet it was my biggest success, which, you know, was very tough for me. And so I lied in my story so I could at least make it seem like, hey, I’m the guy who came up with this great idea,” he also says in the deposition.
Thicke claims that he has been sober from Vicodin for several months, following his falling out with high school sweetheart and wife Paula Patton.
“When your wife leaves you, it gives you good reason to sober up,” he says. “Sorry, That’s why I”m starting to feel a little sad, because I had a tough year.”
Actress Paula Patton left Thicke in February following several rumors of infidelity, including the photograph in which he was busted grabbing a model’s behind in a nightclub and his racy performance with Miley Cyrus at hte MTV Video Music Awards.
“Do you consider yourself an honest person?” a prosecutor asks Thick during the deposition.
“No. That’s why I’m separated,” Thicke responds. “I told my wife the truth. That’s why she left me.”
Thicke also claims that he doesn’t know exactly how much money he has made off of “Blurred Lines,” as his business manager takes care of all the finances.
According to the court documents, “Blurred Lines” sold 6 million copies and stayed at the top of Billboard’s pop charts for a record 16 weeks in 2013. The lawsuit also alleges that Thicke stole from Marvin Gaye’s 1976 “After the Dance” in his 2011 “Love After War.”
Perhaps in an effort to unwind from the drama and stress of the lawsuit and divorce, Thicke headed to Cabo San Lucas this past week to enjoy some rest and relaxation. However, Hurricane Odile rolled through, leaving behind devastation and over 30,000 stranded tourists.
Thicke was on vacation with his son, a nanny, a publicist and a friend. According to Celebuzz, the group was in a line of 750-1,000 tourists in the Cabo airport. The publicist with the group began to approach people at the beginning of the line. She told them that Thicke would be approaching them and hugging them like they were family so that he could jump the line.
When the tourists refused, the publicist reportedly offered them cash. The continued to deny the offer, and later Thicke approached them himself. They denied him once again, and he began to approach other groups until finding a willing participant. Thicke and his crew jumped up much further in line than where they had begun.
He reportedly then took off his shirt and began to take photos with fans. Later, Thicke and his crew disappeared from the line and reappeared in a car coming from an area where Mexican Federales were congregating.
According to TMZ, Thicke and his group were airlifted out of Cabo by military aircraft.
