Did Led Zeppelin steal ‘Stairway To Heaven’?
Led Zeppelin are no strangers to a plagiarism debate. The Robert Plant-fronted band have been accused of adapting work from others on many occasions, and the court case surrounding their hit song, ‘Stairway To Heaven’, is the most high-profile example.
Over the course of eight studio albums, Led Zeppelin accrued a reputation for interpolating music from their peers. Therefore, even when they weren’t guilty of such crimes, they still had bands coming forward with new accusations, many of whom were hoping for a significant payday.
With ‘Whole Lotta Love’, Zeppelin didn’t have a leg to stand on. While the music was wholly original, on the other hand, the lyrics were a “nick”, according to Robert Plant. In a moment of a lapse of creativity, Plant deceitfully took inspiration from ‘You Need Love’ by Willie Dixon. The case was eventually settled in 1985, with Dixon compensated handsomely.
Plant later told Musician Magazine: “Page’s riff was Page’s riff. It was there before anything else. I just thought, ‘well, what am I going to sing?’ That was it, a nick. Now happily paid for. At the time, there was a lot of conversation about what to do. It was decided that it was so far away in time and influence that… well, you only get caught when you’re successful. That’s the game.”
However, ‘Stairway To Heaven’, is a trickier affair to determine, and it’s less clear-cut than other cases involving Zeppelin. They have defended themselves in court on two occasions over the track and are adamant of no wrongdoing, but are they telling the truth?
Who accused Led Zeppelin of stealing ‘Stairway To Heaven’?
American rockers Spirit accused Led Zeppelin of plagiarising their instrumental, ‘Taurus’. In 2014, the copyright dispute made headlines internationally when it was lodged on behalf of the estate of Spirit frontman Randy Wolfe by journalist Michael Skidmore.
In 1996, Spirit re-released their debut album, which featured ‘Taurus’. In the liner notes, Randy California said: “People always ask me why ‘Stairway to Heaven” sounds exactly like ‘Taurus’, which was released two years earlier. I know Led Zeppelin also played ‘Fresh Garbage’ in their live set. They opened up for us on their first American tour.”
While they did appear on various bills together, Led Zeppelin never officially supported Spirit on-tour, and California was flexible with the truth. However, there is a recording of the group covering ‘Fresh Garbage’, which proves they were fans of Spirit’s work.
What happened in the ‘Stairway To Heaven’ plagiarism case?
Wolfe’s estate claimed Plant had seen the band perform in Birmingham in 1970, which was around Zeppelin recorded ‘Stairway To Heaven’. In the court case, Spirit bassist Mark Andes claimed to have met Plant after the show and played pool with the singer following the concert. However, the Led Zeppelin frontman claimed to have no memory of the incident because of a car crash on the way home. While the crash is true, it’s Jimmy Page’s opening acoustic guitar arpeggio which was scrutinised rather than Plant’s contribution.
Due to the history between Zeppelin and Spirit, the jury rejected Page and Plant’s claim they had no “access” to the song. After all, there’s recorded footage of the group covering a track from the same album. However, the duo were found innocent. Musicologists found the pattern which connected the two rock tracks and claimed it had “been a common musical device for centuries.” Furthermore, the jury also concluded the two songs are “not intrinsically similar”, which placed Led Zeppelin in the clear.
So, did Led Zeppelin steal ‘Stairway To Heaven’ from Spirit?
Undoubtedly, there are striking similarities between both songs, which are hard to shy away from. Furthermore, both bands knew one another from their touring exploits, which makes Page and Plant’s line of defence redundant. However, I sincerely believe Zeppelin wouldn’t have gone through the ordeal of a trial and an appeal if they were genuinely guilty. When the band has been in the wrong in the past, they’ve settled the issue out of court and owned up to their errors. Yet, it’s also plausible ‘Taurus’ had soaked into their minds subconsciously, and it was an honest mistake, but I don’t believe it was deliberate.
Furthermore, ‘Stairway Of Heaven’ is far from a source of pride for Plant, who publically renounced the track in 1988. “I’d break out in hives if I had to sing that song in every show,” he told the Los Angeles Times. It’s not an opinion that has changed much over the years, either. Later, the singer referred to it as “that bloody wedding song” and donated $1,000 to a radio show benefit to prevent them from playing it on air.
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