Music
Led Zeppelin stole the Intro to “Stairway to Heaven”
Reason to be happy for Robert Plant and Jimmy Page: A court in the United States, the plagiarism refuted allegations that the British Band have supported the legendary Intro to the Spirit Song “Taurus”.
“Stairway to Heaven” is one of the
the most famous Songs of rock history – and perhaps due to the melancholic guitar run, ushering in the eight-minute-long piece. Today’s court decision invalidated claims that the piece is Plans is not an original idea of the two song-writer – singer Robert and guitarist Jimmy Page have been, but Randy Wolfe alias Randy California, the singer and guitarist of the Band Spirit. I composed the piece “Taurus” in 1967.
The saw, at least, his heirs and filed two years ago by a Trustee lawsuit for alleged plagiarism. Page and Plant had denied the theft, before the court, vehemently: The items that he had in common with Taurus, be would use ordinary chords in Western music for centuries. You didn’t know the Song at all, it was already in the run-up to the process.
So you knew Led Zeppelin in the 1970s. From left to right: Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Bonham
Whether it is the truth, Plants and Pages secret. Led Zeppelin and Spirit played at the end of the 1960s, often on the same festival, in 1968, Led Zepplin should have occurred even in Denver as the opening act of the Spirit. Wolfe himself, who died in 1997 in a swimming accident, had been detected during the lifetime of the Similarities, however, never taken to court. In an Interview shortly before his death, he said: “If you listen to both Songs, can each of the cases, his own judgment. They are the same.”
All just money making?
In the case of success, Wolfe’s heirs will have to run in a multi-million dollar windfall: Approximately $ 500 million is said to have introduced “Stairway To Heaven”. Since it is quite profitable to be in retrospect to the royalties involved. Wolfe’s heirs denied any unfair intention, you were concerned only with the recognition of a wolf as the author of one of the most famous rock songs in the world. However, how similar the two songs really are?
On the first Day of the trial, both versions of the controversial sequence were played to the jury. The instrumental song “Taurus” by Spirit, said the guitar riff is heard six bars in length. Only the bright tones that are missing – Led Zeppelin plays parallel to the descending bass line is an ascending melody.
In the classical and in pop music history, it is common to use minor chords in this way. Therefore, the use of such a composition by means of already theft? If that were the case, would have to be checked every played blue scheme on copyright infringement.
Not the first process of this type
This plagiarism process is just one in a long series of similar cases. 2015 hit it
Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams and their Song “Blurred Lines”. A sworn court saw it as proven that Thicke and Williams copied “Got To Give It Up” on soul legend Marvin Gaye. The heirs could look forward to after the judgment, around seven million euros in compensation payment. Led Zeppelin have reason to be happy.
as/sti (dpa/afp)