Acknowledging samples

Hi,  

Quick question. Our choir was practicing a song last night. As I was listening to it, I realized that the primary beat of the song was taken from an old disco tune of all places. On the music, there was no attribution to where this melody came from, only to the lyrics and the arrangement. My question is whether you can take from another artist in this way without attribution? First, is this alright within copyright law? It seemed to be similar to plagiarism to me as well, since there is no credit given.  

Thanks,  

Virgil E. Varvel Jr.

Illinois Online Network

University Outreach and Public Service

University of Illinois

Vvarvel[_at_]uillinois.edu <mailto:Vvarvel[_at_]uillinois.edu>   Received on Thu Sep 14 2006 - 21:00:01 GMT