Originally Posted by http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/05/31/104324.php

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are currently enjoying success with their new album Stadium Arcadium, but this success could soon be clouded by allegations of plagiarism.

Last week, radio presenter Dan Gaffney of Delaware-based WGMD accused the band of ripping off Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He claims that the leading single from the new album, "Dani California," sounds almost identical to Petty's "Mary Jane's Last Dance".

"Mary Jane's Last Dance" was first released on the Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers album Greatest Hits in 1993 as a previously unreleased track. They even won an MTV award for the video for the song in 1994.

Gaffney's show producer, Jarred Morris has posted a track on his blog demonstrating the similarities between the songs. He is quoted as telling reporters:

"The chord progression, the melody, the tempo, the key, the lyrical theme... they're identical."

Morris is keeping track of the madness on his blog, even blogging about a death threat, along with a whole slew of hate mail. It's hard to understand why this is happening, as the two songs sound very much alike.

It is unknown whether RHCP intentionally made the song sound like "Mary Jane's Last Dance." There is still a very fine line between flattery and plagiarism. Neither band has commented on this new allegation.

One can only hope RHCP get burned for releasing such a crappy single.