Rod Stewart sued for copying song by early bluesman Armenter 'Bo Carter' Chatmon

British rocker and crooner Rod Stewart, in 2013, recorded - as bonus track on his album "time" -  a song titled "Corrina, Corrina"... and now he is apparently in trouble. Indeed a complaint was filed by heirs of the estate of early bluesman Armenter "Bo Carter" Chatmon, asserting that Stewart's song is "nearly identical" to a track called "Corrine, Corrina", written by Chatmon in 1928; according to the document, the two songs "contain substantially similar defining compositional elements, including, but not limited to lyrics, melody, rhythm, tempo, meter, key, and title".

The lawsuit says that the song is protected by copyright registrations in 1929 and 1932 on two different versions of "Corrine, Corrina". The complaint states, demanding statutory damages, actual damages and an injunction:

Defendants had access to the Carter Songs at the time they recorded and produced the Infringing Song due to the Carter Songs’ popularity and fame as well as its prominent publication since at least 1929

As "Billboard" notes:

Curiously, besides nodding to the longstanding fame of "Corrine, Corrina,” the lawsuit makes no mention of whether the many musicians who have covered the song over the years have made licensing payments. In fact, the lawsuit avoids the word "cover" altogether, maybe because the law provides a compulsory license for those making cover versions. (In other words, no permission required, just a set royalty.) Then again, it's not clear whether Stewart considers this to be a cover song.