Diane Warren Sued in LA Over Power Ballad Covered by Chicago

LOS ANGELES, CA -- Hit-making songwriter Diane Warren was sued Tuesday in Los Angeles for allegedly ripping off a British teenager's song competition entry 31 years ago and using it as the basis for the power ballad "Look Away," which was a No. 1 single for the band Chicago in 1988.

According to the federal civil complaint for copyright infringement, a song called "Look Away" was allegedly penned in 1987 by then-14-year-old Brendan Greaves, who entered the song in a national schools music competition sponsored by a division of EMI Records in Britain.

Warren's "Look Away," the lawsuit alleges, reflects "note-for-note copying" of Greaves' song.
An email message sent to Warren was not immediately answered.

Attorneys for Greaves contend that Warren had a business relationship with EMI and was given "access" to the song when it was entered in the competition, according to the lawsuit. The "Look Away" credited to Warren is considered Chicago's largest-selling single, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in December 1988.

The lawsuit alleges that Greaves, who lives in a "quiet village" in Yorkshire, England, first heard Chicago's "Look Away" in 2015, "and immediately recognized his own work."

The lawsuit seeks $20 million in damages and all profits earned from the hit song.

--City News Service

Photo: Diane Warren attends the 90th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)