10 Shameless Rock Ripoffs That Are Great

During the late '50s and early '60s there was a fairly small pool of artists to draw inspiration from. Elvis was the king; Roy Orbison had the country/rockabilly thing covered; and Little Richard, and Chuck Berry were unrivalled in their ability as rock 'n' roll showmen.

Berry had a monopoly on pop savvy, blues-inspired rock 'n' roll. You knew a Berry riff when you heared it; his songs were always preceded by a flashy blues lick, before jumping into his usual chucka-chucka driving rhythm.

If you were starting a rock 'n' roll band in the late '50s early '60s, there was next to no chance you weren't looking at Berry, for what direction to go in. Well, Brian Wilson took that sentiment to heart, and essentially lifted the track Sweet Little Sixteen, and tried to palm if off as his own. He took the opening riff, the melody and the lyrical themes, but just altered the words to revolve around 'surfin' rather than 'rockin'. He added some signature Beach Boys background vocals, and called it done.

It didn't get past Berry though, who was understandably pissed for not being acknowledged on the original release. Berry got his representatives on the case, and eventually was credited on later issues of single.