Introduction:
The Song That Stopped the World: The Lawsuit Behind “How Deep Is Your Love”
“Know your eyes in the morning sun…”
The world fell silent for a moment the first time that lyric floated through the radio. By the late 1970s, the Bee Gees were not just successful musicians. They were the heartbeat of an era. Their harmonies shaped culture. Their melodies defined entire lives.
Songs like How Deep Is Your Love, Stayin’ Alive, and Night Fever rose beyond fame. They became universal memory. They were the sound of youth, of heartbreak, of Saturday nights filled with glitter and possibility.
Yet behind the sparkle of Saturday Night Fever, another story was forming. Quiet. Painful. Unexpected.
A claim emerged.
A lawsuit was filed.
A melody that had moved millions was suddenly accused of being stolen.
The music world held its breath.
The Man Who Heard Himself in the Bee Gees
In a quiet Chicago suburb lived Ronald H. Selle, a former musician who had once dreamed of the same stardom the Gibb brothers achieved. He wrote songs, recorded demos, mailed them to publishers, and waited for a chance that never arrived.
Then one afternoon in 1977, while listening to the radio, he heard it.
A song called How Deep Is Your Love.
He froze.
The chord patterns.
The rise of the melody.
The emotional swell in the chorus.
To Selle, it was not simply familiar. It was personal.
It was his song.
A composition he called Let It End, written two years earlier.
The realization cut deeper than disappointment. It struck at identity.
David Challenges Goliath
In 1980, Selle made a decision few would dare. He sued the Bee Gees for plagiarism.
He did not have fame.
He did not have wealth.
He did not have industry power.
What he had was conviction.
During the trial, both songs were played back to back in the courtroom. Witnesses, jurors, and spectators alike heard the resemblance. The melodies were strikingly close. The jury listened, felt the similarity, and delivered a verdict.
Ronald Selle won.
For a brief moment, the unknown songwriter stood victorious over one of the most powerful musical acts in the world.
The Turning Point
However, the law requires more than similarity. It requires proof of access.
There was no evidence that the Bee Gees had ever heard Selle’s demo. No record, no witness, no letter, no connection. Without proof of access, similarity alone was not enough.
The verdict was overturned on appeal.
The Bee Gees were cleared.
Not because the songs were entirely different, but because no one could prove the Bee Gees had ever encountered Selle’s composition.
The Ripple Effect on Music History
The case did not end without impact.
• Music publishers stopped accepting unsolicited demo submissions.
• Songwriters began documenting every creative session.
• Artists became more cautious, more guarded, more aware of how inspiration can be questioned.
Barry Gibb, known for his instinctive and fluid songwriting process, felt the shift deeply. He spoke years later with quiet reflection.
“When a song connects with people, everyone feels like it belongs to them. Maybe that is what makes music beautiful. It can also make it dangerous.”
Who Owns a Melody?
Today, How Deep Is Your Love remains timeless.
It plays at weddings.
It echoes through film soundtracks.
It still stirs the heart the moment the first line begins.
Selle’s song faded into obscurity.
Yet his question did not.
Because music is not born in isolation.
Melodies echo memories.
Chords reflect the past.
Notes carry pieces of everything we have ever heard, loved, or lost.
In the end, the lawsuit was never just about two songs.
It was about why music matters.
It was about why we feel melodies in our bones.
A song may belong to the one who wrote it.
Or the one who performed it.
Or the one who listens and finds a piece of their life within it.
Perhaps the truth is this:
A song belongs to whoever needs it most.
