British musician Ed Sheeran took the witness stand in New York to defend himself from claims he stole from a classic Marvin Gaye song when he wrote his Grammy-winning hit “Thinking Out Loud,” ending the day by picking up a guitar and singing to the jury.
(Bloomberg) — British musician Ed Sheeran took the witness stand in New York to defend himself from claims he stole from a classic Marvin Gaye song when he wrote his Grammy-winning hit “Thinking Out Loud,” ending the day by picking up a guitar and singing to the jury.
Heirs of Ed Townsend, who cowrote Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On,” claim Sheeran lifted elements from the 1973 hit for “Thinking Out Loud” in 2014. They’re seeking damages for copyright infringement.
Under questioning from one of his lawyers Thursday, Sheeran, 32, told jurors about his career and his songwriting process, from composing his first real song at 13, to multiplatinum records, stadium tours and collaborations with the likes of Elton John, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Eminem and the Rolling Stones.
The singer spent an hour giving testimony that seemed intended to show he’s a prolific and talented song-writer who doesn’t need to steal from other stars to pen a hit song. Sheeran told the jury of four women and three men that he and his frequent collaborator, Amy Wadge, had written 10 new songs together over the weekend, just waiting for the start of the trial.
“If it was a day of the week, I was writing songs,” Sheeran said under questioning by Ilene Farkas, one of his lawyers.
Contemplating Loss
Sheeran testified that he wrote “Thinking Out Loud” in a session with Wadge in his home in February 2014. The two were discussing elderly relatives who faced the loss of spouses they’d been with for decades. Wadge isn’t named in the suit. Sheeran said the song was inspired by a new romantic relationship and the thought of love between elderly partners.
Sheeran has spent the last three days sitting in a dark suit and tie and flanked by members of his legal team in the courtroom of US District Judge Louis Stanton. The singer spent time on the stand Tuesday, when he was called as a hostile witness by the Townsend heirs. He listened silently as Ben Crump, a Florida lawyer who has represented the families of Black people who died in high-profile shootings, including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Trayvon Martin, painted him as a “British upstart” who had lifted material from the Marvin Gaye classic.
During trial lunch breaks, Sheeran sat in the courthouse cafeteria, sharing the space Thursday with E. Jean Carroll, the writer who, in a different courtroom, was testifying in a civil trial that she was raped by Donald Trump in 1996. The former president has denied the claim.
Earlier in the Sheeran trial, jurors viewed a video of him singing “Thinking Out Loud” in concert, transitioning to “Let’s Get It On” and then back to his own song. Crump told jurors in his opening statement that the mashup is a “smoking gun” that proves infringement. Stanton, a 95-year-old Reagan appointee, cautioned the jury, “We don’t allow dancing.”
At the end of the day, Sheeran picked up an acoustic guitar in the packed courtroom to play the series of chords that begins “Thinking Out Loud.”
“When your legs don’t work like they used to…” Sheeran sang.
He’ll continue his testimony when the trial resumes on Monday. Wadge is also expected to testify.
The case is Griffin v. Sheeran, 17-cv-05221, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
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