Led Zeppelin cleared of plagiarising rock hit Stairway to Heaven
A lawsuit claimed the 1971 track copied a riff from an instrumental written by the band Spirit
LED Zeppelin have been cleared of stealing the intro to rock anthem Stairway to Heaven.
A lawsuit contended the 1971 mega-hit had plagiarised a riff from an instrumental work called Taurus, written by the band Spirit in 1967.
But after a week’s worth of testimonies, including denials from frontman Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page, a jury ruled in the legendary rockers’ favour.
The copyright issue has been a point music fans have debated for decades, but didn’t find its way to court until two years ago.
The trial, which began back on June 14, saw attorneys representing the estate of Spirit founder Randy ‘California’ Wolfe – who drowned in Hawaii in 1997 trying to save his 12-year-old son from a rip current - argue for him to be given a writing credit on the track and share of royalties.
Shortly before he died at the age of 45, Randy told Listener magazine he believed Stairway to Heaven was a rip-off of his own track Taurus after Jimmy and Robert regularly heard it when Spirit supported Led Zeppelin in 1968 and 1969.
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Randy said: “The guys made millions of bucks on it and never said, ‘Thank You’, never said, ‘Can we pay you some money for it?’
“It’s a sore point with me.
“Maybe someday their conscience will make them do something about it.”
However, the jury in the case did not agree and Led Zeppelin have been cleared of any wrongdoing.
Appearing in court in Los Angeles during the trial earlier this week, 72-year-old Jimmy said: “Something like that would stick in my mind.
“It was totally alien to me.”
However, he did admit to owning three Spirit albums and acknowledged the band may have influenced his writing of the song, but called accusations of plagiarism “ridiculous.
In a joint statement, Page and Plant said: "We are grateful for the jury's conscientious service and pleased that it has ruled in our favour, putting to rest questions about the origins of Stairway to Heaven and confirming what we have known for 45 years.
"We appreciate our fans' support and look forward to putting this legal matter behind us."