Alicia Keys sued over Girl on Fire

"GIRL ON FIRE" VS. PANTS ON FIRE? According to The Hollywood Reporter and other sources, Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire" is the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by tunesmith Earl Shuman. The suit alleges the 1962 Shuman-Leon Carr co-composition "Lonely Boy," which became a #2 hit when recorded by Eddie Holman in 1970 as "Hey There Lonely Girl," is used as an "uncredited sample" in the Keys song. The claim appears to have been prompted by a post on Roger Friedman's Showbiz411 blog--which seems to form the legal basis of the argument leveled by Shuman's attorney, Philip Kaplan. This despite the fact that blogger Friedman's post (which went up in November) mistakenly declared that both of "Lonely Boy"'s writers had "gone to rock 'n' roll heaven" (according to Roger, he was told by the publisher both were dead). Carr passed away in 1976, but Shuman is alive and suing. Friedman also misspells Billy Squier's name in the post as "Billy Squiers." "Is [the suit] based on a blogger's ear?" The Reporter wonders aloud. (12/17p)