Led Zeppelin cleared- Stairway to Heaven is original!

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Fritzo

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
2,161
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In case you've been living in a cave, Zeppelin is being sued for supposedly stealing part of Stairway to Heaven from a song called Taurus from a 2nd-rate band called Spirit. They hired a cocky lawyer to sue Zeppelin on "behalf of Spirit's founder's estate", and in a unanimous decision....GOT SHOT DOWN.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-36611961

BAM! Victory dance!

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Sheik Yerbouti

Sheik Yerbouti

Lifer
Feb 16, 2005
14,076
5,446
136
anyone with a passing knowledge of music knew this was going to go in direction it did. Where's that confounded bridge?
 
R

Renob

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2000
7,596
1
81
most overplayed song ever! love me some Zep but that song is so so at best
 
ImpulsE69

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
14,946
1,077
126
I knew this was going to go this way and I'm glad it did, considering the circumstances..but really. They stole that riff.
 
Fanatical Meat

Fanatical Meat

Lifer
Feb 4, 2009
35,862
17,402
136
Not an expert but I do hear stairway in that song but I question why its taken so long for them to act its not possible to have never heard stairway to heaven.
 
Fritzo

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
2,161
126
D

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
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The writer of the other song did not think Stairway stole from him.

It's the estate: greedy relatives and lawyers looking for a buck they didn't earn.
 
C

Craig234

Lifer
May 1, 2006
38,548
350
126
Even though I think they stole that riff, it's not as if that was the song - they massively created a new song on top of it.

It's hard to see how we can expect there not to be re-use - bands have a hard enough time not copying their own earlier stuff, much less everyone's songs.
 
D

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
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Fritzo

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
2,161
126
Craig234 said:
Even though I think they stole that riff, it's not as if that was the song - they massively created a new song on top of it.

It's hard to see how we can expect there not to be re-use - bands have a hard enough time not copying their own earlier stuff, much less everyone's songs.
Click to expand...

Please click on the links I posted above.
 
CraKaJaX

CraKaJaX

Lifer
Dec 26, 2004
11,905
148
101
Anyone who knows (and better yet, plays) music can pick out all sorts of songs that sound the same. You can sing lyrics to literally hundreds of songs playing 1, 3, 5 chords in any key.

https://youtu.be/JdxkVQy7QLM

Oh, and I'm glad they got off even though it wasn't really a worry in the first place. Some of the interviews I watched, the faces on Plant and Page are just like "I don't have time for this Bullshit."
 
Blackjack200

Blackjack200

Lifer
May 28, 2007
15,995
1,688
126
Craig234 said:
Even though I think they stole that riff, it's not as if that was the song - they massively created a new song on top of it.

It's hard to see how we can expect there not to be re-use - bands have a hard enough time not copying their own earlier stuff, much less everyone's songs.
Click to expand...

Hell, I think Nickelback can sue themselves at this point.

CraKaJaX said:
Anyone who knows (and better yet, plays) music can pick out all sorts of songs that sound the same. You can sing lyrics to literally hundreds of songs playing 1, 3, 5 chords in any key.

https://youtu.be/JdxkVQy7QLM

Oh, and I'm glad they got off even though it wasn't really a worry in the first place. Some of the interviews I watched, the faces on Plant and Page are just like "I don't have time for this Bullshit."
Click to expand...

Is that the Pachelbel video? So good!
 
ImpulsE69

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
14,946
1,077
126
Fritzo said:
O'REILY?

It's a standard decending chromatic progression. Here's a song from the 1600's. Sound familar?

https://youtu.be/zKpbJ5Kjy2I?t=29

How about Davy Graham's 1959 hit "Cry Me a River"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWeejHJxGjs

I think the defense had examples of over two dozen popular songs that used a similar structure.
Click to expand...

I know it happens. I've heard it happen with bands I know. However, there are too many other circumstances around those two bands that point to, he probably was high and heard it, and later fiddled with it, not realizing he'd heard it.

Also, it's not like they haven't blatently ripped off other work. This isn't their first rodeo with this...or even their 2nd.

That being said, as I mentioned before, given the circumstances I'm glad it went the way it did. Either way, it's apparent the other band didn't really care one way or the other. It was the greed of the estate that brought this up.

But, if they didn't steal it, then on that note then, I guess Vanilla Ice did not steal from Queen.
 
Last edited:
thesmokingman

thesmokingman

Platinum Member
May 6, 2010
2,302
231
106
CraKaJaX said:
Anyone who knows (and better yet, plays) music can pick out all sorts of songs that sound the same. You can sing lyrics to literally hundreds of songs playing 1, 3, 5 chords in any key.

https://youtu.be/JdxkVQy7QLM

Oh, and I'm glad they got off even though it wasn't really a worry in the first place. Some of the interviews I watched, the faces on Plant and Page are just like "I don't have time for this Bullshit."
Click to expand...


The 4 chord video too... Omg, everyone should sue everyone, they all stole from each other@!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pidokakU4I
 
ctbaars

ctbaars

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2009
1,565
160
106
Randy Wolfe was a really, really good guitarist. Can we give him that?
 
Sheik Yerbouti

Sheik Yerbouti

Lifer
Feb 16, 2005
14,076
5,446
136
ctbaars said:
Randy Wolfe was a really, really good guitarist. Can we give him that?
Click to expand...

You can fill volumes of books with under-appreciated musicians, especially guitarists, cause there's so damn many of them. And 99.9% can play better than me.
 
IGBT

IGBT

Lifer
Jul 16, 2001
17,967
140
106
let's sue somebody over "Do-Re-Mi"..it must be stolen from somebody.
 
E

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
50,419
8
81
I had been following a bit, some of the testimony was hilarious and classic. :D

Glad Zep won.
 
C

Craig234

Lifer
May 1, 2006
38,548
350
126
Fritzo said:
Please click on the links I posted above.
Click to expand...

I did. I gave weight to that the two bands did perform at times at the same place and date, and that it seemed likely they had picked up on the nice riff they liked and used it.

That may or may not be right. You did find some good example of also somewhat similar sound, but those of course don't have the connection to Zed Zeppelin.

I do see now that Page denied recalling ever hearing the other song before 2014, though he found their album in his collection and doesn't know how it got there.

At worst, I think Stairway was an almost entirely, 98% original creation - if not 100%.

On the other hand, those are two nice pieces of music regardless of the Stairway issue.

I don't recall hearing guitar music from that period with that sort of melody, and the other guitar piece is quite nice as well.
 
D

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
I don't recall hearing guitar music from that period with that sort of melody, and the other guitar piece is quite nice as well.
Click to expand...

Yes, Page might well have been inspired by Wolfe, though Wolfe (or both of them) might have been inspired by hearing some classical guitar records played by their parents or that they heard in school.

There also were some electric folk groups in the 60s-70s like Fairport Convention (1967-present) that mixed in rock with centuries old tunes, and the prog-rock groups like Yes and ELP did too. So either or both might have been exposed to similar sounds that way. And "heavy metal grammy winner" Ian Anderson likes his Bach on flute.
 
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