This month saw the 70th birthday of the late Rory Gallagher, who quite possibly remains one of the greatest guitar players who ever lived, and who most of today’s generation probably never heard of. Born on March 2, 1948, the late Irishman’s down to earth appearance and aw-shucks (in the best way possible) demeanor and attitude almost masked a musical talent that literally and not arguably sometimes stood toe to toe with other heavyweights of the craft like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page, all of whom sang his praises and were in complete awe of his talents, like millions around the globe.

And yet, there still remains a kind of ambiguity and mystery about who the man was if one asks the John Q guitar playing public.

Guitar wizard Joe Satriani is suing snooze rockers Coldplay, claiming that the band’s hit song “Viva La Vida” uses riffs from his 2004 instrumental “If I Could Fly.”

In the lawsuit, Satriani states that “Viva La Vida” used “substantial original portions” of his song from the album Is There Love in Space? One listen to both of these tunes and it’s obvious that this is an open and shut case, in favor of Satriani.

Now, I should be really angry with Satch (a musician for whom I happen to love) for making me actually listen to Coldplay for four whole minutes, but I was laughing so hard at Coldplay’s blatant rip-off that I decided to forgive him.

You can listen to both songs here below — and I apologize in advance for subjecting you to Coldplay, but seriously, you have to hear this. At almost a minute into “If I Could Fly” there’s a lead guitar track that is the exact melody of the chorus of “Viva La Vida.”