Robert Plant and Jimmy Page were front and center for the first day of Led Zeppelin plagiarism trial, which kicked off in Los Angeles more than 40 years after “Stairway to Heaven”, the song in question, was recorded by the iconic British band.
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Skidmore said Page may have been inspired to write “Stairway” for Led Zeppelin after hearing Spirit perform “Taurus” while the bands toured together in 1968 and 1969, but that Wolfe never got credit.
Malofiy, attorney for Wolfe’s trustee Michael Skidmore, said while many copyright cases are an uphill battle, Klausner’s ruling brought his client one step closer to getting Wolfe credit for helping create one of the most recognizable song introductions in rock history. I’m a fan of Led Zeppelin, but in this situation, we want credit for Randy.
According to Mr Skidmore, Wolfe had complained about the similarity between the two songs not long before he drowned in 1997 while attempting to rescue his son.
Led Zeppelin was the opening act for Spirit when the hard British rockers – Plant, Page, John Paul Jones and the since deceased John Bonham – made their USA debut on December 26, 1968 in Denver.
Spirit claimed that Led Zeppelin became familiar with the song when the band was supporting Spirit in various performances across the U.S. in the 1960s.
A judge ruled in April that evidence presented in hearings made a circumstantial case that Led Zeppelin may have heard “Taurus” performed before writing their song and sent the case to trial. Led Zeppelin’s attorneys argue both songs use notes and combinations that have been circulating in music for centuries.
Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are being sued by the estate of Randy Wolfe, known as Randy California, for allegedly plagiarising his song Taurus in Stairway to Heaven.
His lawyer Francis Malofiy told an eight-person jury in Los Angeles Wolfe wrote the song for “the love of his life”.
In his opening statement, Malofiy said that Page and Plant were “incredible performers, incredible musicians but they covered other people’s music and tried to make it their own”.
Taurus, a two minute and 37 second instrumental with a distinct plucked guitar line, was released by Spirit in January 1968. The legal case, he said, will hinge on only comparing the sheet music for the “Taurus” song with “Stairway to Heaven”.
Lawyers for the two rockers said at the time he was songwriter-for-hire who had no copyright claim, and that the chord progressions were too well-known for such protection.
When asked if she and her brother had ever discussed “Stairway to Heaven”, Janet Wolfe said yes.
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The trial follows a high-profile victory a year ago when a federal jury found that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams copied a Marvin Gaye song to create their 2013 hit, “Blurred Lines” and awarded Gaye’s children $7.4 million. Plant and Page claimed they didn’t know the song “Taurus”, though they shared the bill at some concerts starting in December 26, 1968.
