In a statement released recently, David Bellamy of the 1970s country/pop duo said, according to the Salt Lake Tribune, “Howard and I have no personal beef with Britney. She’s a talented gal. But professionally, well, in all honesty, we feel completely ripped off. Where’s the originality?”
In the just-released song by pop singer Spears, she sings, “If I said I want your body now/ Would you hold it against me?”
In the 1979 Bellamy Brothers song, the lyrics are: “If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?”
Bellamy goes on to claim, “If you listen to the lyrics of Britney Spears’ new single, ‘Hold It Against Me,’ you’ll find some major similarities.”
“Hold It Against Me” is the first single off Spears’ upcoming album, scheduled for a March release.
The L.A. Times reports this oft-used flirtatious line was first uttered to the masses by Groucho Marx on the television program “You Bet Your Life”. He would say to women who came within his gaze, “If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?”
TMZ reports The Bellamy Bros are not taking legal action “but they are pissed off.”
Spears or her manager could not be reached for comment.
