Before Mariah Carey's mega 1994 Christmas hit, "All I Want For Christmas Is You" was on the charts, Vince Vance wrote and released a Christmas hit in 1989 with the exact same title. Vance is now suing Mariah Carey over copyright infringement because Carey's hit has the same title as Vance's hit. Is this copyright infringement?
Vince Vance's version of "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is a melodic ballad that is completely different from Mariah Carey's upbeat and danceable "All I Want For Christmas Is You." The melodies and the lyrics of both songs are completely different.
Last year Vance filed a lawsuit against Mariah Carey in the New Orleans area and the suit was dropped. This year Vance has taken the lawsuit to Los Angeles where he hopes to find more appreciation for his claim.
Vince Vance is getting an incredible amount of publicity following the filing of the lawsuit - but does he have a strong case?
There is precedent for totally different songs to bear the same name:
"Jump" The Pointer Sisters / Van Halen
"Best of My Love" The Eagles / The Emotions
"Surrender" Elvis Presley / Cheap Trick
"Shout" The Isley Brothers / Tears For Fears
"Forever Young" Rod Stewart / Alphaville
"Photograph" Ringo Starr / Def Leppard
"Fire" Jimi Hendrix / The Ohio Players / The Pointer Sisters
"Lady" Styx / Kenny Rogers / The Commodores
These are just a sample of the songs that are different but have the same name. These songs have been allowed to exist with the acknowledgement that as long as a song's melody and lyrics are different - sharing the same title is not an issue.
I am friends with Vince Vance and have always respected his talent and his ability to entertain an audience - but - hoping this doesn't negatively impact our friendship - I have to say that I think the lawsuit is bogus.
However, the publicity that is being generated is nothing short of amazing and has introduced many Americans to Vince Vance's name and his version of "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and that should lead to financial gain. The only downside is the possibility that Vance's image will suffer from his attempted copyright coup.