In a Long White Room

How this easy-listening, faux-psychedelic ripoff ever avoided a plagiarism suit with Cream's "White Room" is a mystery for the ages. Maybe lawyers were stunned into inaction by the gonzo brilliance of the lyrics

"We will tuck each other in, and dream about trains/You'll call me 'Beauty' and I'll call you 'Brains.'"

Trippy, man!

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Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over forty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. Contact Us

Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 03, 2015
Category: Music | Homages, Pastiches, Tributes and Borrowings | Psychedelic | 1960s

Comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmjmlb7vpBU

Posted by BMN on 12/03/15 at 09:02 AM

Oops- it is BC. I didn't see the play arrow.

Posted by BMN on 12/03/15 at 09:38 AM

A little harsh -- there was enough innovation to take that out of the realm of plagiarism. But call me a traditionalist -- give me the original.

Posted by Harvey on 12/04/15 at 07:50 PM

Um ... first off, Nancy Wilson is hardly "easy listening." She was a respectable jazz singer, with crossover pop appeal (more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards). Second, just mentioning a white room is not a copyright infringement. If copyright law were that restrictive, there could be only one song that mentions love.... :>

More on Nancy Wilson at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Wilson_(jazz_singer)

By the way, the Nancy Wilson rock guitarist in Heart is not related.

Posted by Cougar Allen on 12/06/15 at 09:55 PM

Cougar Allen--excellent points. I've listened to several of her albums, and this song is anomalous.

Nonetheless, the opening riffs of her song conjure up the Cream song instantly, at least to my ears. Add in the psychedelic similarities and the title, and I think the unacknowledged source of the inspiration by NW's songwriters is pretty undeniable.

Posted by Paul on 12/07/15 at 10:17 AM

I can hear the similarities between the two, but Nancy's song sounds more like a James Bond theme to me.

Posted by GFinKS on 12/07/15 at 01:45 PM

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