Music

A judge ruled that Led Zeppelin may have ripped off "Stairway to Heaven"

by Richard Howard

April 12, 2016

Led Zeppelin may have stolen the song's iconic intro from a band called Spirit.

It’s no secret that a number of early rock bands “borrowed” portions of (or entire) blues, folk, and traditional songs wholesale. In most cases the original artists were never credited because that’s how things worked at the time and, quite simply, what were they going to do about it?

Led Zeppelin is especially notorious for straight jacking tunes with no remorse on a massive scale. Whether it’s a matter of Robert Plant lifting lyrics and the melody from the Willie Dixon penned Muddy Waters tune “You Need Love” for Led Zep’s “Whole Lotta Love” or Jimmy Page blatantly stealing Jake Holmes’ “Dazed and Confused,” these guys were ruthless. I mean, there are even cases when they would rip off two tunes while creating one of theirs.

Still, when the similarities between the iconic intro of Led Zeppelin’s seminal song “Stairway to Heaven” and the little-known band Spirit’s “Taurus” came to light, even the biggest Zep fans were forced to say “OK, that’s pretty ridiculous.”

Come on, Jimmy. And just like “Dazed and Confused” (Jake Holmes opened for The Yardbirds in 1967), there’s a clear connection between the two bands, as Led Zeppelin opened for Spirit in 1968 and 1969. “Taurus” was released in 1967, while “Stairway to Heaven” came out in 1971. The odd thing is that Zeppelin faced legal action related to a number of tunes, most of which they settled out of court, but never a suit over “Stairway to Heaven” – that is, until 2014 when surviving members of Spirit and a trust acting on behalf of late singer Randy California filed for copyright infringement.

Spirit explained that they simply didn’t have the resources up until that time to pursue legal action, and had also assumed the statute of limitations had expired. In their defense, Page and Plant argued that as a ‘songwriter for hire,’ California (real name Randy Wolfe) had no claim, and further, the chord progression was an exceedingly common one that didn’t deserve copyright protection.

Yesterday, Los Angeles district judge Gary Klausner ruled that the songs were indeed similar enough to have it put to a jury whether Plant and Page can be held liable for copyright infringement in a trial scheduled to begin on May 10. Seemingly a pretty savvy dude with a firm grasp of copyright, Klausner outlined the reason for his decision:

“While it is true that a descending chromatic four-chord progression is a common convention that abounds in the music industry, the similarities here transcend this core structure. What remains is a subjective assessment of the ‘concept and feel’ of two works… a task no more suitable for a judge than for a jury.”

Here’s what’s crazy, though. Should the jury rule in favor of the plaintiffs, the composers of “Taurus” will be rewarded with writing credits: as a result, they and the song’s publishers will be entitled to a share of future profits. However, past royalties will not be part of the settlement – royalties that are estimated at US $550 million. That’s half a billion smackaroos, man.

I guess it’s pretty clear why Page and Plant decided to roll the dice on this one – even if they lose, they still kind of win. It’ll be great for Randy California and company to finally receive the credit they deserve… although I hope they’re ready to also shoulder some of the blame for the nightmare that is the daily life of a music store employee forced to listen to learning guitarists play the “Stairway to Heaven” intro ad nauseam.