Why Elvis Costello didn't sue Olivia Rodrigo over brutal guitar riffs

In conversation with Vanity FairCostello reflects on his illustrious career spanning over 50 years and is asked what he thinks of his first two albums – My goal is true (1977) and This year's model (1978) – dominates his legacy as his time as a musician comes to an end.

“When my dad died, he was the voice of a very famous soda commercial,” he remembers. “The headlines actually said, 'Secret soda drinker dies.' As if he had never done anything else in his 50-year career. I have no doubt that my death will be accompanied by a similar humiliation.

“But the truth is, if you wrote a song 50 years ago, which has been the case almost since I wrote the first drafts of it Alisonand that's still being played by someone – think about the year I started writing the songs I'm known for.

“Some of them are from 1975. Go back 50 years and tell me what songs were still being played (mid-70s). If they persist, they are considered standards. So whether anyone else likes it or not, I suspect there are some who have joined this company.

He continues: “I don't consciously look at it that way, but it is a historical fact. The strange thing is that very few of my songs are sung by other people. By far the most successful and ubiquitous music for other performers I have been involved in writing The Julia letters… There aren’t that many people playing – except maybe Pump it up. And then they usually don't play it, but allude to it in their own arrangements. Just like Olivia Rodrigo's producer apparently did.

“Well, I haven't found any reason to prosecute her for this because I think it's ridiculous. It is a common language of music. Other people clearly thought differently about other songs on this record. But if there were no quotes, there would be no Bach. There would be no Mozart. There would be no Sonny Rollins. So we can’t worry about it.”