On the stand, Page claimed he hadn’t heard Spirit’s song “Taurus” until a few years ago. Attorney Francis Malofiy said they had ample opportunity when the two bands appeared together at performances in the late 1960s.
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Page was joined in court by Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant (69), who is also expected to testify in the case.
The second day of the copyright trial was largely devoted to Malofiy trying to elicit evidence that Page and Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant were familiar with Spirit and would have heard “Taurus”, at some point before they wrote “Stairway to Heaven” in 1970.
Asked under oath about his own past statements regarding the ancestral birthplace of “Stairway”, Page said his memory had been “glitching”, and that “the statement that was made was incorrect”.
The prosecution’s relationship with US District Judge R Gary Klausner continues to be fraught with tension.
CORRECTS ORDER OF IDS ON JIMMY PAGE AND JOHN PAUL JONES – FILE – This Oct. 9, 2012 file photo shows, from left, Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham; singer Robert Plant; bassist John Paul Jones; and guitarist Jimmy Page at the “Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day” premiere in NY.
Jimmy Page said nothing in federal court that would seem to support the theory that he stole the opening to “Stairway to Heaven”.
But when Page finally heard the other song, it sounded “totally alien” to him.
But he testified that of more than 65 songs the defense has said have a similar construction, including “My Funny Valentine”, the Beatles’ “Michelle”, and “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from the movie “Mary Poppins”, none contained all five elements shared by “Taurus” and “Stairway”.
The song has earned Led Zeppelin hundreds of millions of pounds and is one of the most successful rock songs of all time.
“Judge Gregory Klausner didn’t allow most of Pates’ testimony as he was not designated an official expert witness, with Led Zeppelin’s lead counsel Peter Anderson declining to even cross-examine Pates”.
The testimony from Page, whom many consider one of the greatest guitarists in rock history, is in line with similar statements made by attorneys for Led Zeppelin, who argue the chord progression has always been in common use. “Jimmy also chimed in when Malofiy ludicrously stated that “[in his youth, Page discovered he] had a gift in his ability to play guitar”.
“It was something that upset him for many, many years”, she said. In 2015, a jury determined that “Blurred Lines”, a hit 2013 recording by pop stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, copied music from Marvin Gaye’s 1977 tune “Got to Give It Up”, and awarded Gaye’s family $7.4 million.
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Additionally, a full-size electronic keyboard was wheeled into the courtroom before proceedings began, but it has not been played either.
