Copyright trial over Led Zeppelin's iconic 'Stairway to Heaven' begins in downtown L.A.
By Joel Rubin, Randy Lewis | Los Angeles Times | June 14, 2016The legal battle over one of rock music’s most monumental ballads got underway Tuesday as the famous opening guitar riff from Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” filled a downtown courtroom and members of the iconic band looked to defend themselves against allegations they lifted the music from another group.
In their opening statements, attorneys for the two sides offered jurors sharply different views of the 1971 hit that helped catapult Led Zeppelin into rock stardom.
Francis Malofiy, the lawyer representing the estate of singer Randy Wolfe, claimed the opening of “Stairway” closely mimics parts of “Taurus,” a song Wolfe wrote and played with his band Spirit. Experts, Malofiy said, would show how the musical structure of “Stairway” mirrors a unique construction used in “Taurus.”
“This case can be summed up in six words: Give credit where credit is due,” Malofiy told jurors.
But an attorney for Zeppelin’s front man, Robert Plant, and lead guitarist, Jimmy Page, said any similarities were because the two songs both relied on “basic musical devices that are completely commonplace” and found in songs dating back centuries.
He also challenged Malofiy’s claim that Page and Plant heard Spirit perform their song when the two bands shared the bill at several music festivals.
Page and Plant both sat with solemn expressions and their long hair pulled back in ponytails.
During breaks, the rock stars were escorted from the courtroom and ushered down a side exit by private security who kept inquisitive journalists and fans seeking handshakes at bay.
[...]
For his first witnesses, Malofiy called Wolfe’s sister and a former band mate in an attempt to prove that Wolfe wrote “Taurus” in 1966, a year before he signed a contract with a music company. The timing is important, because Zeppelin’s legal team plans to argue the rights of “Taurus” belong to the music company, not Wolfe’s estate.
More at link:
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... story.htmlEverything you need to know about Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' copyright trialhttp://www.latimes.com/entertainment/mu ... story.html