Led Zeppelin headed to court

[Harry P.]

Trial scheduled in May regarding the claim that Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" intro is a ripoff of the Spirit song "Taurus."

Wow. Forty years later, and they're going to court?

I know LZ is well known for, um... heavily "borrowing" from others and not giving credit. This isn't the first time they've been in a legal mess regarding stealing other people's music. But 40+ years after the fact?

[Belugawrx]

Can you imagine the accrued wealth from 'Stairway",.that Zep hasn't shared with Spirit ??

Goldmine !!

[SfanGoch]

But 40+ years after the fact?

 It took us that long to come down from the 4 Way Double Dose blotter acid we dropped in 1968 and realize we were ripped off, maaaaan. Who bogarted my Annie Green Springs?

 

[Can-Con]

I first hears of this several years ago and wondered back then why it never went to court. 

Apparently Spirit was an opening act for them in part of one of thier '70s North American tours. [ first one I think]

I never was a Zep fan, before my time.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Can-Con

[slusher]

I don't know how the law works but would Led Zeppelin have an advantage of Spirit not doing something sooner?  I thnk it's a good argument anyway...

Edited April 13, 2016 by slusher

[Can-Con]

Just copied this from Wiki,,

 

In May 2014, Mark Andes, bassist of the group Spirit, and a trust acting on behalf of Randy California, filed a copyright infringement suit against Led Zeppelin and injunction against the "release of the album containing the song" in an attempt to obtain a writing credit for the late California.^[26] A lack of sufficient resources is cited as one of the reasons that Spirit’s members and their survivors did not file the suit earlier. A friend of California's mother explained: "Nobody had any money, and they thought the statute of limitations was done", adding, "It will be nice if Randy got the credit". If the Spirit lawsuit is successful, past royalties earned by the song—estimated at more than US$550 million—will not be part of the settlement, but the publisher and composers may be entitled to a share of the future profits.^[27][28]

On 11 April 2016 a Los Angeles district judge ruled that there were enough similarities between the song and an instrumental for a jury to decide the claim and a trial was scheduled for 10 May. The copyright infringement action was brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Wolfe.^[

[Crazy Ed]

  Yea Harry, Led Zeppelin as a group are no strangers to law suits (who knows they may hold an industry record on Record Law Suits!). But I'm with you. 40 Years later......... Guess someone got hungry!

[CometMan]

 But I'm with you. 40 Years later......... Guess someone got hungry!

Or put all their money up their nose!

[Harry Joy]

Everyone knew AT THE TIME that Led Zeppelin ripped off Spirit. It is really obvious if you compare the songs, and know that Robert Plant was front row at a number of Spirit shows. They pretty much admitted it 40 years ago. Why they waited 40 years to sue? Money. And it is BS at this point. Spirit didn't sue at the time because they profited in other ways from their relationship with Zep. Randy California NEVER would have sued, btw.

It is a well-accepted practice in music to "borrow". The Greek philosophers wrote books about the practice. It is how art works! Nothing is truly original.

But what bugs me the most is Led Zeppelin, period. They didn't just "borrow" sometimes, they took whole damned songs and musical themes and put their twist on them, and never gave credit. And not just blues singers. There is one song that sounds just like Big Star, and every time it comes on the radio it makes me cringe a little.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Harry Joy

[Snake45]

Trial scheduled in May regarding the claim that Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" intro is a ripoff of the Spirit song "Taurus."

Wow. Forty years later, and they're going to court?

I know LZ is well known for, um... heavily "borrowing" from others and not giving credit. This isn't the first time they've been in a legal mess regarding stealing other people's music. But 40+ years after the fact?

Hey, I own that Dr. Sardonicus album! Only songs I remember from it offhand, though, are Mr. Skin, Nature's Way, and Animal Zoo. Oh, and And When I Touch You, which got a lot of play on the local acid-rock station at the time (circa 69, 70, somewhere in there?) Good stuff!

[Harry P.]

But what bugs me the most is Led Zeppelin, period. They didn't just "borrow" sometimes, they took whole damned songs and musical themes and put their twist on them, and never gave credit.

I agree. It's blatantly obvious. And I'm speaking as a huge Zep fan! But I have to admit the obvious... they stole a "whole lotta music" from others and never gave credit.

Exhibit A, your Honor. They didn't even bother to change the title!

[SfanGoch]

I first hears of this several years ago and wondered back then why it never went to court. 

Apparently Spirit was an opening act for them in part of one of thier '70s North American tours. [ first one I think]

I never was a Zep fan, before my time.

 Led Zeppelin opened for Vanilla Fudge and Spirit at The Auditorium Arena (what a catchy name) in Denver, on Dec. 26, 1968. This was the first show of Led Zep's North American Tour 1968-1969, which was also their first ever concert date in the States. Spirit's setlist from that show:

"Intro Jam", "I'm Truckin'", "Fresh Garbage", "Poor Richard", "Caught", "Ground Hog", "Policeman's Ball", "Drum Solo", "Mechanical World", "I Got a Line On You", "Aren't You Glad", encore "Nature's Way".

Led Zeppelin's setlist:

Train Kept A-Rollin' (Tiny Bradshaw cover), I Can't Quit You Baby (Willie Dixon cover), As Long As I Have You (Garnet Mimms cover), Dazed and Confused (Jack Holmes cover), White Summer/Black Mountainside, How Many More Times

 

Play Video

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Harry P.]

They never credited Jake Holmes for "Dazed and Confused."

[Harry Joy]

This is a nice basic primer, although it leaves out a bunch of stuff: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Led_Zeppelin_songs_written_or_inspired_by_others

[MrBuick]

Unfortunately, the entertainment industry often isn't about "who created it" but instead "who perfected it" or "who made it famous."

[SfanGoch]

They never credited Jake Holmes for "Dazed and Confused."

Go through their discography and you'll see how often that was the case. I was never a fan of Zep, even though I saw them in concert numerous times. I thought they were pretentious and really in awe of themselves. I always thought Deep Purple was better.

[Harry P.]

Yep, they "borrowed" heavily from other artists. Quite a few "Zeppelin" songs were direct ripoffs, others more of a "rearrangement." But still, they stole a lot from others, and never gave credit to the source.

[Danno]

Fine line between 'cover' and 'covet.'

[SfanGoch]

 

Alan Freed and Morris Levy were pros at adding their names to writing credits and leaving artists and writers broke. An old friend of mine, the late Raoul Cita, didn't play along with them. He was the writer, accompanist, pianist, arranger and founding member of the classic R&B vocal group The Harptones. Raoul made sure he got what was coming to him. Every piece of work created by him had his name on it. Raoul is the fellow in the lower right corner of the photo:

 

Yeah, I dig them Doo Wops too.  

 

Edited April 13, 2016 by SfanGoch

[Harry Joy]

Lots of recording artists added their names to songs. Off the top of my head, Marvin Gaye did it frequently, and is a good example. Gaye was a great songwriter on his own, but typically added his name as he felt his interpretation of a song was something that forever changed that song. He also felt that if the original songwriter didn't want to have Gaye add his name, he was free to let someone else record, and sell fewer records.

[1972coronet]

I'm a visual artist ; and to add to what's been stated previously : we all learn by imitating some-one else's work . The big difference is that I've never profited from stealing / plagerising another's work !  I've been writing my first novella ( its working title is The Protected Spœcies ) , and yes , I've quoted song lyrics periodically throughout ; how-ever , full credit will be given to the artists' names , and their influence / inspiration will be emphasised .

In my opinion , Led Zeppelin is so-so at best . There's maybe 3-5 songs that I like that they perform , but that's it .

Jimmy Page was better off as a member of the Yardbirds ; his role in Blow-Up certainly bested any-thing he did in Yawn Zeppelin .

[Snake45]

In my opinion , Led Zeppelin is so-so at best . There's maybe 3-5 songs that I like that they perform , but that's it .

Jimmy Page was better off as a member of the Yardbirds ; his role in Blow-Up certainly bested any-thing he did in Yawn Zeppelin .

Heretic!

Actually, my opinion isn't far from yours. I love almost everything on their first two albums; from III on, not so much. I think part of my problem is that much of the Zep III and later stuff has been so over-played on the radio for 40+ years now that I'm just plain tired of it.

[Harry P.]

Well, for the record, I'm a huge Zep fan. They are definitely one of my top 3 favorites ever. But I never knew the extent of their plagiarism until fairly recently, which I basically learned via watching youtube videos, which of course didn't exist back in the day.

I have to say, given the musical talent of Page, Plant, Bonham and Jones, why they had to resort to ripping off other artists is beyond me. Or at least if you're going to "borrow" someone else's songs, give them credit on the album. I mean, some of Zep's songs were such direct, blatant, obvious ripoffs, I can't believe they thought they would get away with it.

[Harry P.]

Jimmy Page was better off as a member of the Yardbirds...

Gotta disagree. 

[1972coronet]

My *disdain* for the majority of Led's catalogue definitely is due in no small part to the ad nauseam play their songs receive on the radio . That being said ; I like songs such as Ocean (Yes , lots of radio play , but not nearly as much as the others) , In The Evening , Tramplled Under Foot , and maybe a couple I'm forgetting at the moment . 

My 'assertion' that Page was better off in the Yardbirds was partly tongue-in-cheek , as I really like Blow-Up