The "All I Want for Christmas is You" Lawsuit

The headlines tell a version of the story:   “MARIAH CAREY
SUED AGAIN OVER ‘ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU’ — BY THE SAME
GUY,” according to Billboard.   “Mariah Carey is SUED AGAIN
over All I Want For Christmas Is You... as two writers claim her
1994 classic is a ripoff of their song of the same name” according
to The Daily Mail.   “Mariah Carey Sued By Random Man For
Allegedly Stealing ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ From Him,”
according to Pedestrian.tv.   The story of Andy Stone from New
Orleans’ Vince Vance and the Valiants’ copyright infringement
lawsuit over “All I Want for Christmas is You” was never taken
seriously, as if the idea of suing Mariah Carey was absurd on its
face. Withdrawing the suit once and re-filing it probably didn’t
help, but Valiant/Stone got to market first with a song titled “All
I Want for Christmas is You” in 1989, five years before Carey’s. It
charted in the 30s on country radio and showed some durability
including covers by LeAnn Rimes and Kelly Clarkson among
others.    Carey’s song will never be mistaken for the
Vince Vance and the Valiants’ song, but the specifics of copyright
law dictate that there are other tests of copyright infringement,
so the suit wasn’t obviously as frivolous as some headline writers
implied.    This week’s episode tells the story as we
know it so far based on media coverage. Along the way, we hear
Vince Vance’s version, along with Kelly Clarkson and LeAnn Rimes’
versions. We also hear Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas,”
along with the version from Love Actually and covers by She &
Him and PJ Morton.