10 Most Blatant Ripoffs In Rock History 

When you're ripping off someone, usually its best if you don't really know the artist personally. After all, you never want that awkward conversation the next time you hang out and they realize that you've stolen their song from under their nose. In the case of Temple of the Dog, is it considered stealing when the riff is on lease from a completely different band?

Once Stone Gossard started to put together demos in tribute to Andy Wood for Temple of the Dog, the song Times of Trouble really set the tone for Chris Cornell's vocals, having a certain lonesome quality in the riff. While shopping tapes around though, it landed in the lap of Eddie Vedder, who used it to record the first batch of Pearl Jam songs under the working title of MamaSon.

Though Times of Trouble became one of the standout tracks with Cornell behind the mic, Gossard actually shoehorned it into the Pearl Jam B-side Footsteps, as Eddie tells the story of a killer driven mad and awaiting execution after going on a shooting spree. Despite having two completely different connotations, it actually works pretty well playing off both subject matters. Insanity and grief don't always go hand in hand, but there is a common thread when it comes to the great unknown that awaits you in the future.