Does this happen very often?

I was listening to George Michael's "Hand To Mouth" and it struck me that it's remarkably like another song I know.

It took me about an hour to figure it out and I realized that one of the original versions of David Bowie's "Telling Lies" is clearly based on it.

If all of the parts are replayed from scratch, does any credit need to be given to the source material?

I'm not very versed in this and how often it happens, but all of a sudden I'm curious.

Paging Dr. Cee!

I used get 75% of my money from REPLAYING samples for rappers...It happens ALL THE TIME !
Its an easier way to get the "vibe" of a sample without paying clearance fees...
every so often someone gets busted..But thats really only if you start selling hundreds of thousands of copies..otherwise It doesn't pay for someone to pay the legal fee's to hunt you down and get their money..
In our modern music world *where people generally have far less REAL musical skills than in previous decades..Its happening ALL THE TIME !!!
Ask kanye ! Dr Dre..or the Neptunes..

the Adam F remix does sound like it.

I'm sure most of the times the very artists don't even know.

This time you could track the original because you happen to love Bowie but how many times you hear a familiar sound that you can't figure what it is. Maybe you heard it years ago. Maybe you dreamt it.

dawntreader said:

Doesn't it though? The bass, the rhythm, the synth, even some of the arpeggiations. There are too many similarities for it to be a coincidence.

Pharell copied Junior's Mama Used To Say for "Change Clothes"(Jay Z)

and he used "All Night Long"'s bass line for "Got your Money" (Ol D B)