Jury to decide whether ‘Stairway’ riff is lifted

He claims Wolfe wrote “Taurus”, which fell “into the lovely hands” of Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and became the iconic intro to “Stairway”.

Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are being sued by the estate of Randy Wolfe, known as Randy California, for allegedly plagiarising his song Taurus in Stairway to Heaven.

That’s the question before a Los Angeles court, when trial is scheduled to begin in a lawsuit against the British rockers.

Malofiy, attorney for Wolfe’s trustee Michael Skidmore, said while many copyright cases are an uphill battle, Klausner’s ruling brought his client one step closer to getting Wolfe credit for helping create one of the most recognizable song introductions in rock history. He asked the jury to look at the lawsuit “almost like a taste test. Do these things sound the same?”

Skidmore’s attorney, Francis Malofiy, had requested that musicologist Lawrence Ferrera be dismissed because Ferrara has previously been hired by Zeppelin’s publisher to evaluate similarities between “Stairway To Heaven” and “Taurus”.

In stark contrast, the defense’s witness list is just one name long: Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones.

But surviving members of Led Zeppelin have submitted testimony that they never had substantive interaction with Spirit or listened to the band’s music.

“Do re mi appears in both songs”, attorney Peter Anderson also told the court.

Anderson said the two didn’t hear the song for decades.

“Forty-five years ago, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote some of the greatest songs in rock and roll history … half a century later, they’re being sued for it”, Anderson said, adding that there is still enough evidence “to show that history can not be rewritten”.

In the corridor, long-haired fans of Led Zeppelin lined up to be sure of a seat. It cites disputes over 16 other Led Zeppelin songs, including Whole Lotta Love and Babe I’m Gonna Leave You.

She said her brother was discovered by Jimi Hendrix at the age of 15 and wrote “Taurus” for his then-wife Robin based on her astrological sign.

Wolfe, of Ventura, California, recalled how the family had traveled to NY in 1966, where Randy, then just 15, met and befriended Jimi Hendrix.

But the jury deciding the fate of the rock masterpiece – and its millions of dollars in royalties – won’t hear a simple mash-up with the obscure 1968 instrumental Taurus by the group Spirit. She told the jury “it was something that upset him for many, many years”.

“It was a palate cleanser.it was lovely”.

Senior editor at The Hollywood Reporter, Eriq Gardner says he could indeed hear a similarity.

He also argues that evidence shows the descending chromatic line has been a “commonplace” feature of songs since the 1600s, noting that Spirit failed to credit “Michelle” by The Beatles on “Taurus”.