(Newswire.net — April 14, 2016) — Led Zeppelin’s lead singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page may face trial over whether they stole opening chords from the 1967 instrumental Taurus written by band Spirit, for their hit Stairway to Heaven, the Guardian reported.
In a decision on April 8th, Los Angeles US District Judge Gary Klausner said Stairway to Heaven and Taurus were similar enough to warrant a trial and let the jury decide. The trial is scheduled for May 10th.
Led Zeppelin and Spirit toured together in 1968 and 1969 so Robert Plant and Jimmy Page may have heard Taurus and used it as inspiration for the 1971 classic, Stairway to Heaven.
The lawsuit was brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Randy Wolfe, also known as Randy California, who was Spirit’s guitarist and the composer of Taurus.
Skidmore said Page may have been inspired to write Stairway to Heaven for Led Zeppelin after hearing Spirit perform Taurus while the bands toured together in 1968 and 1969, but that Wolfe never got credit.
The defendants say the chord progressions were very clichéd at the time and used many times that they can’t be protected by copyright law. However, the judge decided the similarities are too obvious so it is a reasonable assumption it was more than just inspiration. According to the judge, the first two minutes are almost the same in both, and that it is “arguably the most recognizable and important segments” of the songs.
“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,” Judge Klausner wrote. “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,” he concluded.
“This case, from our perspective, has always been about giving credit where credit was due, and now we get to right that wrong,” said Francis Malofiy, a lawyer for Skidmore.
Reportedly, Randy Wolfe accused Led Zeppelin of lifting his chords in an interview shortly before he drowned in 1997 in the Pacific Ocean while attempting to rescue his son.