The lawsuit was filed by Michael Skidmore, the administrator of the trust of Spirit’s guitarist Randy Craig Wolfe.
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But the hearing, before Los Angeles district judge Gary Klausner, could be cut short after the lawyer representing late Spirit guitarist Randy California apparently used evidence that had not been included in trial plans.
It is claimed that Led Zeppelin copied the iconic 1971 song’s guitar riff from “Taurus”, a 1968 song by Californian band Spirit.
Perhaps a larger hurdle for the plaintiffs is that the jury must find the recording of “Stairway” is similar to the sheet music for the song because that’s what is filed with the U.S. Copyright Office. Plant and Page said that although the bands toured together, they had very little interaction.
Andes testified that Spirit played “Taurus” in 1968 at a Denver show where Zeppelin was the opening act, and that in 1970 he and Zeppelin singer Robert Plant drank beer and played the billiards-like game snooker after a Spirit show in Birmingham, England.
Testimony in the case began with Janet Wolfe, sister of Randy Wolfe, who said her brother had written “Taurus” for his wife, Robin.
Spirit claimed that Led Zeppelin became familiar with the song when the band was supporting Spirit in various performances across the USA in the 1960s.
The fact that Led Zeppelin used “Fresh Garbage” in its earliest days implies that Page and Plant liked the band and may have emulated more than one song, he said.
Anderson told jurors in his opening statement that the descending chromatic scale that Led Zeppelin is accused of having stolen from Wolfe’s composition is exceedingly common in pop music and isn’t something that can be protected under copyright law.
However, Malofiy hit a stumbling block on the trial’s opening day when he tried to play a video of an acoustic session musician performing “Taurus” and “Stairway to Heaven” first separately. Even if the jury hears a similarity, Anderson says the use would likely be de minimus, derivative or composed of uncopyrightable musical building blocks.
“Forty-five years ago, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote some of the greatest songs in rock and roll history… half a century later, they’re being sued for it”, Anderson said, adding that there is still enough evidence “to show that history can not be rewritten”.
Wolfe died in 1997, drowning while saving his son in Hawaii.
“Stairway to Heaven” has generated hundreds of millions of dollars over the years.
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Page, Plant and bandmate John Paul Jones are all expected to testify at the trial, though Jones has been dismissed as a defendant in the case.
