Pharrell Williams Takes Stand In 'Blurred Lines' Lawsuit
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — "Happy" singer/songwriter Pharrell Williams took the stand Wednesday to say he wrote "Blurred Lines" as an homage to the kind of music Marvin Gaye once wrote but that he wasn't trying to copy Gaye's work.
Williams told the court: "He's one of the ones we look up to so much. I respect his music beyond words. The last thing you want to do is create something of someone else's when you love him."
KCAL9's Randy Paige reported from the downtown Los Angeles courtroom.
Marvin Gaye's children believe "Blurred Lines," a 2013 mega-hit for Williams, Robin Thicke and rapper T.I., who are co-defendants in the lawsuit, sounds too much like their father's 1977 hit "Got to Give it Up" to be a coincidence.
On Wednesday, Williams told a jury in federal court in Los Angeles that he grew up listening to Gaye's music.
The singer/songwriter said it was possible he was "channeling" Gaye and 1970s music but not intending to copy him.
He believed the two songs at the center of the controversy had a similar feeling but that there was no infringement.
Paige reported that Thicke was in the courtroom Wednesday. He testified at the trial last month. T.I. is expected to take the stand.
In 2013, Thicke told VH-1 he has often been called "the white Marvin Gaye" and that "Got to Give it Up" was one of his all-time favorite songs.
