Led Zeppelin have been sued by Randy Craig Wolfe a.k.a ‘Randy California’, the founding member of Spirit, that they have ripped off the basic music line from Spirit’s best-known instrumental song ‘Taurus’.
The first trial took place in 2014, when Led Zeppelin lost the case. This week, specifically on Wednesday 15th June, the artists of the two bands appeared on court again with their lawyers aiming to present stronger evidence.
‘Taurus’ was written about four years before ‘Stairway To Heaven’, and that’s the basic claim from Wolfe’s side. As a response, the Led Zeppelin’s side underlined the origin of the melody which is medieval. The rest of the evidence have been a ping-pong of testimonies, such as the fact that the members of the two bands once hanged out together or that Jimmy Page had never heard ‘Taurus’ by the time he wrote ‘Stairway…’.
Another important issue that has been put on the table, was the difference between the natural evolution of music in which there is a natural inspiration based on previous sounds, and the clear copy of a music line. So, it’s all about distinguishing ‘copy’ from ‘influence’, and wait for the court to decide.
Mary Kalaitzidou