Led Zeppelin goes on trial for 'Stairway to Heaven' in Los Angeles

[steve2470]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-music-ledzeppelin-idUSKCN0Z00XR

A musical riff Led Zeppelin is accused of stealing from another band for its 1971 classic "Stairway to Heaven" was not unique, singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page's attorney said at a civil trial on Tuesday.

"No one owns common musical elements," defense attorney Peter Anderson said in opening arguments for the copyright infringement trial in Los Angeles federal court.

The lawsuit, which alleges the British band stole the opening chords for "Stairway to Heaven" from the 1967 instrumental "Taurus" by the American band Spirit, was brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Randy Wolfe, Spirit's guitarist and the composer of "Taurus."

"Stairway to Heaven" is considered one of the most widely heard compositions in rock history and is the signature song of Led Zeppelin, which broke up in 1980.

[scscholar]

1. I think I've read about this at least half a dozen times before...

will this guy never give-up?

[napkinz]

2. Page and Plant plagiarized? Say it ain't ZoSo!

[liberal N proud]

3. Do you think they could have waited?

40+ years?

[dubyadiprecession]

4. Why now, instead of 45 years ago?

[Journeyman]

5. "So that all my best is dressing old words new . . .

Spending again what is already spent."

~ Bill Shakespeare

SONNET 76

Why is my verse so barren of new pride?
So far from variation or quick change?
Why with the time do I not glance aside
To new-found methods and to compounds strange?
Why write I still all one, ever the same,
And keep invention in a noted weed,
That every word doth almost tell my name,
Showing their birth and where they did proceed?
O, know, sweet love, I always write of you,
And you and love are still my argument;
So all my best is dressing old words new,
Spending again what is already spent:

For as the sun is daily new and old,
So is my love still telling what is told.

[FrodosPet]

6. Obligatory Stairway video

Plagiarized or not...it is still a classic

[napkinz]

8. Stairway to Gilligan's Island

[unblock]

7. i'm not buying this.

there are obviously certain similarities but this is nothing like
"i want a new drug" vs. "ghostbusters"
or
"pressure" vs. "ice ice baby"

music that is completely, 100% original is generally processed as "noise".
good music always builds on familiar riffs, structures, chord sequences, etc.
context and the emotions behind those familiar elements are an important part of composition.

any decent musician can tell you their "inspirations", i.e., whose musical elements they build on.

that's not plagiarism unless you aren't really building, you're just taking and passing off as your own.

vanilla ice added a single note to the bass line from "pressure". that's not enough to make it his own.

stairway to heaven's opening sequence is similar, and quite possibly directly inspired by taurus, but rather different -- enough to make it not legally plagiarism imho.

[upaloopa]

9. My wife was in the jury pool for this case today.

She wasn't picked because they had enough jurors by the time they got to her.

[FrodosPet]

11. Tough case. I am a huge Zep fan, but I just heard the Spirit song and they may have a point

[GreatGazoo]

10. Prince was so heavily inspired by Journey's "Faithfully" that he previewed "Purple Rain" for them.

they were taken aback by his candidness and then flattered by the track. Prince loved the guitar sound and the solo they had on "Faithfully." Classy.

[SwankyXomb]

12. Thing is, this is not the first time they've been accused of plagiarism

Or even the fifth. A cursory search will turn up close to a dozen songs where Zeppelin's authorship is in question.