Stairway to Heaven, the song that skyrocketed Led Zeppelin to fame has allegedly been claimed to be a rip off of the Spirit song Taurus written by Randy Wolfe (known by his professional name Randy California).
This isn’t the first time Led Zeppelin, made up of Robert Plant and Jimmy Page have been blamed for copying parts of other popular musicians songs. Anne Bredon, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon and Jake Holmes have all claimed similar combinations and notes of music.
Whilst Wolfe died in 1997, the man in control of his estate is contesting the similarity between Stairway to Heaven and Taurus. The descending base line of Randy Wolfe’s Taurus is very similar to Zeppelin’s descending bass line.
Lawyers are however arguing that Stairway to Heaven and the 1968 hit Taurus use popular combinations and notes of music such as descending chromatic lines and arpeggiated chords. Page argues that these are typical chords that any guitar player learns.
Are the royalities Zeppelin earnt in the millions un-deserving to one of the most iconic rock bands in history? Only time will tell in the court hearing. Plant and Page have been at a court trial under the judgement of Attorney Francis Malofiy. Here is a link to Taurus’s song.
