Jimmy Page is accused of plagiarising Stairway To Heaven. Image by Heinrich Klaffs . Creative Commons
Led Zeppelin have been accused of stealing the riff for Stairway To Heaven, one of the most famous songs ever
He’s been called the father of the riff. However, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is currently having to defend himself against accusations that one of his most famous guitar lines is not his own, in a plagiarism case centering on Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven.
Page appeared in court on 15 June amid claims that the band’s 1971 song was stolen from Californian band Spirit’s 1968 song Taurus. Spirit’s former bassist Mark Andes said that Taurus had been played at a 1968 gig in Denver, during which Led Zeppelin were the opening act.
Page has protested his innocence and claimed that he didn’t hear Taurus until a few years ago, explaining: “Something like that would stick in my mind. It was totally alien to me.”
However, Page has admitted that his personal record collection includes three Spirit albums and that Led Zeppelin used a riff from a Spirit song during their first tour in Scandinavia.
Stairway To Heaven was released on 8 November 1971. It is the biggest-selling piece of sheet music in rock history, with over one million copies sold in total.
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Really worrying new trend all this especialy for new writers.Music mags etc now need to tell us how to protect ourselves otherwise we can be made bankrupt if a song charts etc