Songs that start out the same, but are different...

or....... The Stranglers - No More Heroes From the Album No More Heroes »
and-

 

cheers,
rob

 

America - Sister Golden Hair
George Harrison - My Sweet Lord

 

Van Halen: "Little Guitars"
U2: "Bullet the Blue Sky"

Virtually identical drum patterns to open the songs!

 

The Cars "My Best Friend's Girl"
Mink Deville "Spanish Stroll"

 

Every time I hear "Good Times Bad Times" by Led Zeppelin start on the radio, I always think it is a Cars song. It sounds a lot like "Just What I Needed" and those beginning guitar strums just give me an overall "Cars" vibe.

 

Two of my favorite bands.
With all due respect, I've listened to both songs dozens and dozens of times and never once thought of the other song when one was playing. I can call up the intros to each in my head, and still do not "hear" much similarity in chord structure, although the guitar sounds are somewhat alike.

On the other hand, when I first heard Horace Silver's "Song for My Father" (referenced above) I instantly wondered if Steely Dan hadn't directly lifted the intro from that song for "Rikki".

We hear things differently I guess!

 

I know "Street Fighting Man" backwards and forwards but never heard the Feat song until I pulled it up on Youtube.

I don't think I'd mistake it for "SFM" if I heard it, but I can hear similarities...

 

The Allman Brothers - Melissa
Bread - Make It With You

 

Riff-wise...

Deep Purple's "Woman From Tokyo"
and
Joe Walsh's "Meadows"

 

The first two notes of "Instant Karma!" recall the Small Faces' "Tin Soldier" even more closely.

Also, the Rockin' Rebels' "Wild Weekend" ---> John Fogerty's "Rock'n'Roll Girls."

 

Guns n Roses's "It's So Easy"

and

The Sex Pistols's "Liar"

 

Steely Dan certainly lifted Silver's intro. Totally intentional.

 

Didn't the Dave Clark Five start all their records with the same two bass drum beats?
Even their cover of Southern Man.

 

Whenever I hear the opening of "The Wire" by HAIM, I think of "Heartache Tonight."

 

Gene Pitney - 24 Hours From Tulsa
Billy Joe Royal - Down in the Boondocks

 

Should I go there?...

Stairway-Led Zep
Taurus-Spirit

 

"Precious Angel" from Dylan's Slow Train Coming album begins almost exactly like "If Not For You" from New Morning...but there are probably many Dylan songs that sound alike.

 

Nina Simone - "I put a spell on you"
Don Henley - "New York Minute"

 

"Be My Baby" Ronettes

"Say Goodbye to Holywood" Billy Joel

It's an intentional tip of the hat, according to Billy Joel

 

Spirit - "Nature's Way" / Cheap Trick -'The Flame"
Judas Priest - "You Got Another Thing Coming" / Heart - "How Can I Refuse?"
Jeff Beck - "The Pump" / Foreigner - "Juke Box Hero"

 

"Up on Cripple Creek" - The Band
"Put Your Hand in the Hand" - Ocean

Both songs start with an almost identical drum pattern... if it wasn't for the guitar riff that accompanies the drums in UOCC, the two intros would be almost indistinguishable.

 

"The Weight"-The Band
"Shooting Star"-Bad Company

 

"Just What I Needed" and "Yummy Yummy Yummy." Intentional.