Similar Song Compositions

As a fan of continuity, I love when I spot composer "signatures" in music. Take Billy Finn for example. I was just listening to "And They're Off" from A NEW BRAIN, and I realized how similar it is to "The I Love You Song" from SPELLING BEE. In form, not content...although there are a few references that can be extruded in their similitude. Other same-composer comparisons that I've noticed are Jonathan Larson's "No More" from TICK, TICK BOOM! and the opening song "Rent" from RENT. "Somewhere That's Green" from LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is compositionally similar to "Part of Your World" from THE LITTLE MERMAID. A lot of the Ashman/Menken music was brilliant yet similar, especially when listening to the scores they created for Disney. I have no problem with this at all...I say, arguably, if it works and it's sucessful, do it again!

Although there have got to be TONS of examples out there, what others have YOU spotted? I'm curious...

-John

I have noticed that in Wicked and also in Phantom there is much repetition

You could practically do an entire cabaret act on Jerry Herman borrowing from Jerry Herman.

However Jerry did rile Richard Rodgers when Mr. Rodgers heard the title song to Dear World ("Come take your medicine, dear world.") and heard similarities to Oh, What a Beautiful Morning. Go ahead, sing them.

Rodgers retaliated with the title song to Two By Two when he wrote "Two by two, bum BUM, the animals..." which was a direct quote from "Yes New York, bum BUM, its really us..."

Jerry Herman also borrowed liberally from a song called Sunflower or something like that when he wrote Hello Dolly. I have compared the sheet music. It is very, very similar. A lawsuit was filed and this infringement cost David Merrick dearly.

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