Posted on 09/30/2018 7:07:43 AM PDT by Eddie01
An earlier trial found in favour of Led Zeppelin but an appeals court ruled the judge had given misleading information to jurors.
A new trial will be held in a lawsuit that accuses Led Zeppelin of copying a 1960s instrumental in its 1971 classic Stairway To Heaven.
An earlier trial saw a federal court jury in Los Angeles find in favour of Led Zeppelin, but the US appeals court has since ruled that the judge in the original trial had given misleading instructions to jurors.
[snip]
The lawsuit was brought in 2015 by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Randy Wolfe, who was guitarist of rock band Spirit and composed an instrumental called Taurus in 1967.
[snip]
Mr Skidmore says the two bands toured together in 1968 and 1969 and this may have been when Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page was inspired to write Stairway To Heaven.
According to Mr Skidmore's lawsuit, Wolfe had complained about the similarity between the two songs not long before he drowned in 1997 while attempting to rescue his son.
Plant and Page, however, say that Wolfe was a songwriter for hire and, therefore, had no claim to copyright.
They also say that the chord progressions in Stairway To Heaven were too well-known for such protection.
[snip]
Also, jurors could only listen to experts' versions of the sheet music for Taurus - not the version of the song recorded by Spirit.
Steven Weinberg, a copyright lawyer who watched the trial, said the sheet music was not faithful to the recording, so jurors could not fairly compare the songs.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.sky.com ...
I don’t hear it. Different songs
The Chord progressions are as old as the baroque period. Maybe Bach’s family should sue both of them.
I believe it served as inspiration for the Stairway progression, but I don’t see it as a rip off either.
“I believe it served as inspiration for the Stairway progression, but I don’t see it as a rip off either.”
That’s my view too. The fact the 2 bands toured together adds a little more to the story, no doubt the song was part of Spirit’s set list. I am sure Page was at least influenced but it’s going to far to say he copied it. Too bad Spirit wasn’t better known they did some really good stuff and Randy California was a great guitar player
Of course the riff in Taurus was lifted by Zeppelin. What is smelly here is that Randy California never sued when he was alive.
Look, when George Harrison complained to the guys that they never wrote a ballad, they went ahead and wrote "The Rain Song" which is sort of based on Harrison's "Something." They "ripped off" a BEATLE! Let's be honest. It happened. And it continues, as does the Circle of Life: to wit, Robert Plant likes Greta Van Fleet.
For me, Zeppelin begins and ends with Achilles Last Stand which hasn't any whiff of plagiarism. Thus, they may be thieving magpies but Achilles is a masterpiece.
They should have just bought the “Stairway to Heaven.”
There is a hillarious Youtube rant on how many songs have copied the chord progression in Pachelbel's Canon in D.
British bands ripped off US R&B mercilessly, sometimes with credit but often without. Led Zeppelin did this quite a few times. But this? Spitting on the sidewalk by comparison. Wolfe’s estate is being used in a money-grab.
This isn’t nearly as bad as a copyright court case over the Bible would be...but still, the lawyers had to chisel “Stairway To Heaven” out of its platinum shrine in order to abuse it like this. Pure blasphemy.
https://youtu.be/CxfniXCwrJA?t=354
The boring part of the song sounds similar. I’d love to see where Page got this... which to my mind is one of the most miraculous feats on a guitar ever recorded. Wait for the b string to break... you almost can’t tell until you see the string hanging. In my book, God Bless Jimmy Page.
Nope. Nowhere close. Case closed.
https://youtu.be/CxfniXCwrJA?t=354
Well I gave it a look and I must be honest. It’s pretty sloppy. Jimmy goes off key and misses the beat MANY times. His best work was always in the studio.
Kind of amazing to me. That solo is to me as perfect as Fanfare for the Common Man, Pink Floyd’s Time, or the Doors Light My Fire on Alive She Cried—the fake live version. Intoxicating stuff that transports me to a different place. If you’re into guitars enough to be “gibson guy” I have no doubt your knowledge far exceeds mine. I guess ignorance can be bliss. :)
He is not a live performer, period.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.