In the red corner:



Isley's "Love is a wonderful thing"



In the blue (eyed soul) corner (sorry couldn't resist):



Bolton's "Love is a wonderful thing"



http://findarticles.com/p..._62590962/






http://www.rollingstone.c...ove_appeal



I got alot of respect for the Isleys, even own a few of their (later) albums, but I sorta side with easy target Bolton here. Basically, The Isley's sued him for plagiarizing their song "love is a wonderful thing", which they said Bolton used for his song of the same name.

Isley's won, and despite a counter sue by Bolton, he still had to pay up LOL.
Not only that, but future profits from the "Time love and tenderness" album aswell (obviously as the song was never taken off the album). I guess Bolton had the last laugh here, as by the mid 90's when the case was settled, that album wasn't gonna sell anymore copies anyway LOL.

I like the Isley's lawyers comment though, "Its a wonderful victory.."LOL.
[Edited 1/14/10 18:09pm]

This is gonna be good.

banks said:

What do you reckon then? Iam a big Bolton fan but am no zealot though so whilst the hook itself of "love is a wonderful thing" is similar to the Isley's cut, I think Bolton and his co-writing partner got robbed here.

thesexofit said:

Don't worry they'll be here soon enough

banks said:

I said, Iam no Zealot of Bolton, and would love to one day explore the Isley's pre 80's back catalogue more, so Iam not against them musically at all, but I just want to know your opinion LOL. I don't even like Bolton's song. I never hear it, but I still feel he got robbed.
[Edited 1/14/10 18:33pm]

Somebody is tryin' to start some *&^!.

Lemme just say this, Michael Bolton tried so hard to be "down with the brothers" after his failed attempt to be a metal singer. I guess he figured since he had women screaming over his pseudo-R&B material that he could actually take music that the Isleys did conceive. No matter what portion of it, what I do think is Bolton GOT what he deserved trying to get the Isleys' catalog after they beat him in court for stealing parts of their song. In my opinion, I don't think Michael and his co-writer got disrespected. Compared to the other so-called "blue-eyed soul" men like Hall & Oates, Michael McDonald, George Michael and the like, he was the only one who fake the funk.

Just my opinion.

TD3 said:

I gotta feeling this is gonna be one of those threads that will go down in Org history

And yes Michael didn't fully credit the Isleys for the chorus if anything. You can't add an extra "a wonderful" to it and call it original lol That's like the Vanilla Ice/Queen/David Bowie controversy.

Timmy84 said:

I agree that he failed in the hard rock/aor world, and like how Kenny G changed from rnb to pop/MOR, so did Bolton, but despite this, bottom line is, I really think its a stretch to say he plagerized the Isley's song, no matter how much you think he deserved it. I admit trying to buy the Isley's catalog as retaliation was ludicrous, but I guess he really took this case to heart. I know alot of people hated him then and hate him now, and pretty much all his covers do suck, but I still side with Bolton.

Did something new happen? This case is at least 10 years old.

Timmy84 said:

But its not the same. The way he phrases "love is a wonderful thing" and the way they phrase it are different. I admit they are similar, but its not the same, or near enough the same for a sue I feel.

Vendetta1 said:

And LOL. I dont have any new music stories Besides, I never heard the Isleys "love is a wonderful thing" until very recently.

thesexofit said:

I'm sorry.

Vendetta1 said:

Thats OK, I know the org has a "Vendetta" against ole' Bolton LOL.(Sorry I couldn't resist-again)

Timmy84 said:

'Boys and Girls can you say the word, P-O-S-E-R? That's right, repeat after me... poser".






=====

Fuck a George Michael, damn white man always breathing up the black man's air.



BLACK POWER!!!

Sandino said:

And what kinda fuckery is this thread espousing???

This feels apropos for some reason

I'm here to tell ya, the chickens is comin' home to roost ya'll . . .


[Edited 1/14/10 19:59pm]

thesexofit said:

It's not about Michael Bolton, or any kind of "Vendetta". The problem here is that you created a forum for him to be brought into an Isley Brothers conversation. You are knowlingly stirring up some shit. Next time stir up some shit that has some irony, or humor and wit, or insight, finesse...

P.S. - the heavy metal Michael was smokin' hot. I don't remember any of the music, but he sure did work my visuals.

Michael Bolton was the Justin Temberfake of his time.

Wanna be like black artists but too arrogant to acknowledge them.

I loved how he try to play it off like he have never heard of the Isleys Bitch, please
[Edited 1/15/10 15:32pm]

My vote goes to The Isleys. F*** Michael Bolton!
[Edited 1/15/10 15:33pm]

TonyVanDam said:

What in the name of black & blueberry fuck I didn't even realize this was a poll thread, OH HELL NO

TonyVanDam said:

Easily.

Harlepolis said:

Harlepolis said:

The sins of Michael Bolton were far worse than the sins of Justin Timberlake.

Forget about stealing OR sampling a song without permission. The very fact that Michael Bolton lied about the whole incident by denying any songwriting credit to The Isley Brother is as evil as how most of the white elitist used to screw over many black artists in the 1950's R&R era.

Harlepolis said:

I've only notice the "VS" in the thread title.

NMuzakNSoul said:

Harlepolis said:

I didn't know that. Bolton needed to be slapped.... he needs to be slapped still. What a prick.

Honestly, the Bolton hate is so overplayed and tired. He has a penchant for singing old R&B classics. So what? I think he's got a great voice and he sings the shit well! I don't even see why he's still bothering people so nuch. This ain't 1995. He's been flopping for years and years now, so its not like he's on top or in your face. His albums don't even get released in America anymore! Anyway, I have his new album, and its really really good. Probably his best since "Time Love and Tenderness."



He's clearly just singing over a demo done by Gaga, but they sound great together and the song is really hot.
[Edited 1/15/10 15:58pm]