Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page testified Wednesday that until a few years ago, he’d never heard a song the megastar band is accused of ripping off for the introduction to “Stairway to Heaven”.
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“‘Taurus’ was a special moment” during Spirit shows, former member Jay Ferguson said on the stand. He described it as a “pallet cleanser” between the band’s more rocking songs.
In addition, Skidmore, Anderson said in court papers, does not have the right to sue because Wolfe didn’t even own the rights himself to his own song at the time of his death.
Joe Bennett, who is a forensic musicologist at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, said both songs contain a chord sequence in A minor used in many other well-known songs, including “My Funny Valentine”.
Malofiy said Led Zeppelin opened for Spirit in their first United States show in December 1968 in Denver.
The defense said that they planned to call Page and Plant, who co-wrote “Stairway to Heaven”, to testify during the trial, as well as Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones.
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have appeared in court in California to deny plagiarising elements of their 1971 track “Stairway To Heaven”.
Spirit’s representative “failed to proffer evidence of striking similarity, but he has successfully created a triable issue of fact as to access and substantial similarity”, US District Court Judge Gary Klausner said in a ruling in May. The plaintiff’s lawyer, Francis Malofiy, has rattled off a long list of notable witnesses who would help Skidmore argue his case. Page and Plant are defendants in the lawsuit brought by the trustee of guitarist Randy Wolfe from the band Spirit.
The case began yesterday (14 June) with the jury being played various versions of both songs, including part of Led Zeppelin’s recording of Stairway to Heaven. One recalled learning to play guitar by plucking Stairway to Heaven.
“If they used one riff from Spirit, they might have used another riff from Spirit”, he said. They said that the opening chords are not unique. When played simultaneously, similarities and differences could be seen and heard. They had last appeared in public together in 2012 during a press conference to promote “Celebration Day”, the live album and DVD based on Led Zeppelin’s 2007 reunion concert at London O2.
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Wolfe drowned in 1997 saving his son in Hawaii. The lawsuit also came after a high-profile victory past year when a federal jury found that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams had copied a Marvin Gaye song to create their 2013 hit, Blurred Lines and awarded Gayes children $7.4 million.
