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LED ZEPPELIN’S JIMMY Page and Robert Plant have appeared in court to deny accusations they “lifted” the opening bars to iconic rock song Stairway to Heaven.
The musicians arrived to a throng of reporters at Los Angeles federal court, where a jury of four men and four women was played their anthemic hit.
Spirit, a psychedelic LA band that enjoyed a niche following but never attained the superstardom of Zeppelin, claims the melancholic guitar that opens Stairway was taken from its instrumental track Taurus.
Spirit’s guitarist Randy Wolfe — who went by the nickname Randy California — never took legal action and drowned in Hawaii in 1997, but a lawsuit was filed by his trustee and friend Michael Skidmore, who was in court.
“This case can be summarised in six words: Give credit where credit is due,” said Francis Malofiy, Skidmore’s attorney.
Malofiy told the jury it could look at the lawsuit “almost like a taste test”, asking: “Do these things taste the same? Do these things sound the same?”
The attorney played a recording for the jury of the introduction to Stairway, describing the arpeggio as a “lifted composition”.
At issue is whether Led Zeppelin had access to 1967′s Taurus before recording Stairway in London in December 1970 and January 1971.
No recollection
Zeppelin opened for Spirit when the hard British rockers — Plant, Page, John Paul Jones and the since deceased John Bonham — made their US debut on 26 December 1968 in Denver.
But surviving members of Led Zeppelin have submitted testimony that they never had substantive interaction with Spirit or listened to the band’s music.
Defence attorney Peter Anderson told jurors that Page (72) and Plant (67) were not familiar with Spirit or its output, and that Page had no recollection of ever hearing Taurus.
Anderson played the first two minutes and 14 seconds of Stairway as Page nodded along. He said:
Stairway to Heaven was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and them alone, period.
Skidmore has not specified the damages he is seeking, but various stories in the music press have posited a possible settlement at anywhere between a symbolic $1 (about 89 cent here) plus a writing credit to as much as $40 million (€35 million).
The lawsuit speaks of Led Zeppelin’s “deep-rooted history of lifting composition from blues artists and other songwriters who they have repeatedly failed to credit”.
It lists disputes over 16 other Led Zeppelin songs, many of which were settled by giving the complainant a songwriting credit and royalties, including classics Whole Lotta Love and Babe I’m Gonna Leave You.
‘Prodigy’
The court heard from California’s younger sister, horse trainer and musician Janet Wolfe, who described her brother as a “prodigy”.
Wolfe, of Ventura, California, recalled how the family had travelled to New York in 1966, where Randy, then just 15, met and befriended Jimi Hendrix.
The rock legend hired the youngster to play back-up guitar, and gave him the name Randy California to distinguish him from another Randy in the band, the court heard.
Wolfe (62) recalled how California had complained later in life about Led Zeppelin plagiarising Taurus, which he had written for a girlfriend.
“It was something that upset him for many, many years,” she said.
Multi-instrumentalist Jay Ferguson (69) who played with Spirit and later wrote music for film and television, described Taurus as a “really special number”.
It was a palate cleanser… it was beautiful. It was a different style of music than anything else we played in the shows.
Ferguson, who has written music for Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie The Terminator (1984) and comedy series The Office, said Spirit played the song at the majority of their concerts.
He described having a “meet and greet” with Plant at a Spirit gig in Britain in the 1970s, recalling he was “flattered” that the singer had turned up to see the band.
The trial is expected to last about five days.
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Why are the 3 of them going wouldn’t the president be enough
@John O brien: you know how it is. It’s about being seen. You would be more noticed by your absence.
@offside again: and a nice junket in the sun, why say no?
@John O brien: The president is an atheist. The government could at least send someone who the event has meaning.
@Mark R: He’s not only an atheist, he’s also a fully paid-up card carrying gob$hite!
@John O brien: the president represent Ireland.
the 2 others are unnecessary and should concentrate on their home work !!!
@John O brien: hopefully plane fall out the ski
@John O brien: hopefully the 3 of them will be ordained over there and STAY there for the
Hardly necessary to send the 3 of them over, one is enough. Free holiday for the boys
Parish Priest Lowry and Mother Superior Verona not going?
Yet they did not wish a Happy Easter to the country between them,avoided the term..hypocrites
@KO: That’s not true at all. Look up twitter. It’ll take you 2 minutes.
@honey badger: What, you mean it wasn’t done through the official government mouthpiece in rte
@honey badger: it is MM was badgered with requests to do so..forcing a response does not count
@KO: pathetic.
Of course Harris has to go with his I’m an important person facial expression
The 3 stogies are back together again. Ok, so the pope has passed on may he ready in peace. The question still remains, when are the religious orders going to acknowledge the hurt, suffering and pain they caused some citizens of our country and in other country. When are they going to pay their share for the damage inflected on our citizens and the country.
Why are 3 going?? Sure Micheal D is the man to go.
They might as well go sure the whole off Montrose is there already.
The irony of Mohammad Martin going to the Holy Father’s funeral.
If the Taoiseach, Tánaiste aka prime minister and deputy prime minister the holders of executive power and the President aka head of state, are all going to absent from Ireland, who holds the reins of power in the event of a national emergency, natural disaster, terrorist attack or the alleged imminent Russian invasion of Europe, which is prompting the EU to push to spend billions of Euros on defence over the next few years to do nothing but line the pockets of hedgefunds.
Don’t tell me it’s Paschal Donohoe…
@Dvsespaña: probably Lowry…
@Matt D: Lowry, sure he’ll take all them brown envelopes for himself.
@Dvsespaña: didn’t HealyRae look after us when the entire government took off on St Patrick’s weekend.
Martin and Harris have no business being there.
Seems a bit perverse that these three represent Ireland at such a gathering when their very vocal support for abortion, described by the late pontiff as the work of hitmen, should really rule them out.
@AnthonyK: Three hypocrites.
Very embarrassing thee of them going over
Larry, Moe and Curly.
It will present opportunities to share time with others who respect peace efforts Pope made and have important meetings on the sidelines and after and say a few prayers or sentiments.
@thomas molloy: what? You mean the pedo protector in chief?
Ah sure they are well entitled to a mid term break all the work they have made out to have done
Bill and Bob have to go together
Wonder how the three pro abortionists will be received?
@Billy Joe: Hopefully. they can enlighten the acolytes of that superstitous and backward cult.
The entire Cabinet should be present. It’s our beloved Pope who is being laid to rest. I’d go myself except I wasn’t invited.
@Paul Whitehead: at the taxpayers expense? Are you mad? For the head of a cult? And let’s be real that’s all it is.
@Paul Whitehead: he’s not my beloved pope . I’m a Protestant and my rights are guarenteed by our constitution .theres absolutely ref my no justification for the three of them going
Why not send Connor !. RIP to the Pope, sound like he didn’t want any of the fanfare.
@did you every wonder: because he’s a total gimp?
So just to be clear , the 3 great offices of the state ? And just who would be in charge if there was a national crisis of some sort . We live in a democracy not a theocracy . I’m respectful of those who have religious belief and I’ve also no problem with a representation at the funeral but many of us are of a different faith or none .
have your say