Turns out it’s never too late to sue Madonna: The Delaware-based VMG Salsoul is suing the singer, claiming she used part of Salsoul Orchestra’s “Chicago Bus Stop (Ooh, I Love It),” in her 1990 hit “Vogue” without its consent. The company says it hired producer Richard “Shep” Pettibone to remix “Chicago Bus Stop,” which originally came out in 1975. He later worked on “Vogue,” and VMG believes he “intentionally disguised” a sample of the horns and strings from "Chicago Bus Stop" in the song—which was lived on through “various mixes, remixes, videos, YouTube versions,” and so on—and further claims that Madonna herself “deliberately hid” the samples within the track “so as to avoid detection.” In fact, the suit says, “It was only when VMG specifically looked for the sample with the technology available to it in 2011 that the sampling could be confirmed.” The tracks are below for your comparison and skeptical judgment.
VMG says it has twice filed a notice of copyright infringement with both Madonna and her label, but it's never heard back. It is, of course, seeking damages, “in addition to [Madonna’s] profits that are attributable to the copyrighted material.”