Led Zeppelin’s Page Dodges Court Questions, Riffs Air Guitar

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has wrapped up his testimony in a lawsuit accusing him of stealing the intro to “Stairway to Heaven”. Starting Tuesday, June 14, 2016, a Los Angeles court will try to decide whether the members of Led Zeppelin themselves ripped off that riff.

The civil action, brought by a trustee for Randy Wolfe, the late guitarist for the American band Spirit, contends the British band stole the descending chromatic four-chord progression at the beginning of their signature song from Spirit’s 1967 instrumental “Taurus”.

“I may have said the chord sequences are very similar – because that chord sequence has been around for ever”.

But he testified that of more than 65 songs the defense has said have a similar construction, including “My Funny Valentine, ‘ the Beatles” “Michelle, ‘ and “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from the movie ‘Mary Poppins, ‘ none contained all five elements shared by ‘Taurus” and ‘Stairway’.

But Page was reluctant to compare the tempo of Stairway to Heaven and Taurus or their structure, thwarting the lawyer representing Wolfe’s estate in the case against Led Zeppelin, Page and singer Robert Plant, as well as several music companies. On cross-examination, however, Hanson says he can easily tell the two songs apart.

Ferrara, a professor at New York University, says the notable descending minor chord progression in both songs is a common building block that no writer can claim to own. “Something like that would stick in my mind”, Page told the eight jurors in Los Angeles federal court. The estate of Spirit’s late guitarist Randy Wolfe says the artists incorporated the instrumental in the introduction to “Stairway”. The band’s lawyers have challenged that 2008 date, saying that it falls outside the statute of limitations.

Giving evidence on the fourth day of the trial, Jones said he joined Led Zeppelin after his wife read that Page was forming a band.

Friday’s testimony in the copyright trial followed that of witnesses including Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, who told jurors “Taurus” was alien to him when he first heard it a few years ago. When video of the two pieces were played simultaneously, Hanson says they sound like one piece of music. Perhaps a larger hurdle for the plaintiffs is that the jury must find the recording of “Stairway” substantially similar to the sheet music for the song because that’s what is filed with the U.S. Copyright Office. Page said that wasn’t the case. “They lifted people’s music, they never gave credit, and now, you know, it comes back to haunt them”, Spirit’s attorney Francis Malofiy said.

Page and Plant, 67, sat next to each other in court during the copyright infringement trial, which is expected to conclude next week. Page, one of rock’s guitar greats, paused for a long moment and finally said, “Well, yeah”.