Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Leads Rock Legends to Courthouse

By Vernon Silver | February 4, 2016

  • February 4, 2016 at 10:04 am
    Gork says:
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    aaah,aaaaaah, ah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…….

    • February 4, 2016 at 1:17 pm
      yahtzee says:
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      Right band, wrong song.

      • February 4, 2016 at 2:25 pm
        Rosenblatt says:
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        Ooh……it really makes me wonder.

        • February 4, 2016 at 2:47 pm
          CarlPop says:
          Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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          If there’s a bustle in my hedgerow, I get alarmed. I don’t know why. I just can’t help it. Even if it is just a spring-clean for the May queen.
          Randy California must have heard Stairway thousands of times before he died 27 years after Zep released it, yet he never claimed a copyright infringement. What changed after all these years?

  • February 4, 2016 at 1:39 pm
    DukeLeto says:
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    Well played: >>Led Zeppelin’s guitarist, however, testified his memory of the era was vague, according to the filing by plaintiff’s lawyer Francis Alexander Malofiy, who conducted the questioning.>>

    I wonder why…

  • February 4, 2016 at 1:55 pm
    J.B. says:
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    and it took them 48 years to file suit….statute of limitations anyone?

    • February 4, 2016 at 2:07 pm
      DukeLeto says:
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      Perhaps they think this is a ‘crime against humanity’ or maybe the plantiff only now reached the age of majority?

  • February 4, 2016 at 2:38 pm
    Wayne2 says:
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    There’s a lawyer who’s sure all that glitters is gold and he’s suing a stairway to heaven. When he gets there he knows if the wallets are all closed with a word from the judge he can get what he came for. Couldn’t resist.

    • February 4, 2016 at 2:40 pm
      DukeLeto says:
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      Easy now…stick to your day job

      • February 4, 2016 at 2:51 pm
        Wayne2 says:
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        All my songs are rip offs. Got to keep the day job to pay those lawsuits. Too funny.

        • February 4, 2016 at 2:57 pm
          DukeLeto says:
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          I was just kidding. If I get caught signing a verse or 2 of any random song, my co-worker will ask, “Who sings that song?”. I answer. She says “good. why don’t you let them!” or, she’ll ask, “what did you do with the money your mom gave you?” I say, what money? She says, the money she gave you for singing lessons.

        • February 4, 2016 at 3:06 pm
          Rosenblatt says:
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          Weird Al – is that you posting on an insurance blog? :)

    • February 8, 2016 at 2:26 pm
      maqui42 says:
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      Try harder to resist.

  • February 4, 2016 at 3:15 pm
    Led to Gold says:
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    When this is all over it would make a good movie; if the Chinese don’t rip it off first.

  • February 4, 2016 at 4:26 pm
    ExciteBiker says:
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    Just did the “test” linked in the article. That was easy. Though there may be some structural similarity these are different compositions. There is no question about it.

    Here again I sound like a broken record. We are talking about songs written and released 45+ years ago. The guitarist that was allegedly slighted by Page has been dead for almost 20 years. The only people that “care” about this are the members of the trust– people that played no part in the creation of this music and do not deserve government protection of a decades-old melody which to my ears does not come close to legal infringement.

    Do you like music and want to play another game?? Look up the song “Lady Magnolia” by Piero Umiliani (it’s on YouTube) and then play the song “Breathe” by Pink Floyd (start at the 1:15 mark).

    Did Pink Floyd borrow that bass line from Piero Umiliani? Or was Piero Umiliani inspired by Pink Floyd? …more importantly, who cares, why would it even matter, and why would lawyers EVER need to get involved in a 50-year old composition?

    Our copyright system has gone so far off the rails. We need to wipe the current laws in their entirety and start over.

    • February 4, 2016 at 4:47 pm
      DukeLeto says:
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      stuffing your “thumbs up” ballot box. WELL SAID

    • February 5, 2016 at 1:29 pm
      UW Supreme says:
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      ExciteBiker, I have to disagree with you here. While Page’s recollection of the 60’s is vague at best, the documented evidence of his involvement with Spirit and the major similarities between both songs should be cause for protection (if found by the court), whether the songwriter from Spirit is alive or not. This stuff also takes lots of time to build a legal case around. But the statute here is limited to the most recent three years, so proper protection is at play.

      Art is art. I do agree that some aspects of our copyright system need to be reevaluated, but if infringement was made, then it should be corrected. I am ALL for artists who properly secure their work and follow the laws associated with that work to be compensated and out right own that work until they decide to sell it. Inspiration, consent to borrow, contracted sampling, and parodies are one thing; blatant ripping of a song structure that has endeared a song to earn at least $550M+ alone since it’s creation is quite another.

  • February 4, 2016 at 5:11 pm
    MadDog says:
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    Four chords – really? Get a life Spirit!! Oh wait – your dead!!!

    • February 5, 2016 at 4:51 pm
      insurance is fun! says:
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      He drown in Hawaii in crashing waves while saving the life of a child who was going under in the riptides. He swam out, grabbed the kid. Pushed him/her in front of the next wave and the kid tumbled to shore – safe and alive. Randy was not found. So shut up!

  • February 4, 2016 at 7:23 pm
    Tommy Peters says:
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    “And if you listen very hard” is looking like a ‘guilt-gift’ designed to bring the matter to its logical conclusion, given the citation for plagiarism in “Dazed and Confused,” “Bring it on Home” and “Whole Lotta Love” where the latter two were settled, amicably. On the other hand, “A good artist is obvious. A great artist is transparent” is a maxim demonstrated by Anderson when he openly attributed his poor man’s “Bouree” to a ‘transparent’ Bach by turning the classic into a ‘cocktail lounge’ jazz, but that’s a delightful story.

  • February 5, 2016 at 3:28 pm
    Caldude says:
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    Someone is going to get their lemons squeezed….

    • February 8, 2016 at 4:21 pm
      louie says:
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      If you have Netflix, check out “F is for Family.” It’s a cartoon like Family Guy but not quite as classy. There’s an episode where they go see a band called “The Stolen Riffs”, and the band is obviously a take-off on Zeppelin.

      That being said, Zep was an amazing band of musicians (and businessmen, for that matter). For as much as they “borrowed”, their influence on the world of hard rock can’t be denied.



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