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.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

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