A federal jury last month rejected a lawsuit alleging that members of Led Zeppelin stole the opening guitar motif of the band’s signature song “Stairway to Heaven” from an obscure tune by the defunct Los Angeles group Spirit.
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The legal argument centred on the suggestion that the chord sequence in question had been in use for three centuries.
In court, Page said in his testimony that he first heard “Taurus” two years ago when his son-in-law alerted him to the comparisons with “Stairway to Heaven” that were emerging online, while Plant claimed to have “no memory” of watching Spirit play at a 1970 Birmingham gig as he was involved in a serious auto crash that same night.
According to Courthouse News, Michael Skidmore – a trustee for the late Spirit guitarist and songwriter Randy Wolfe (AKA Randy California), whose song Taurus is claimed to have been partly lifted by Zep – filed the appeal on 23 July.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to personally thank all those who contributed such a positive energy to me”.
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As Rolling Stone reported, attorney for the estate Francis Malofiy told Law360 that he believes Page and Plant “won on a technicality”.
