LOS ANGELES – Led Zeppelin did not steal a riff from an obscure 1960s instrumental for the introduction of its classic rock anthem “Stairway to Heaven,” a federal jury decided Thursday, legally settling a debate that has divided music fans for decades.
The trust of the late Randy Craig Wolfe claimed that Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page lifted a passage that Wolfe, better known as Randy California, wrote for “Taurus,” a short work he recorded with his band Spirit in 1968.
The “Taurus” recording contains a section that sounds like the instantly recognizable start of “Stairway,” but it was never played for jurors. In trying to show the works were substantially similar, the trust had the tricky task of relying on expert renditions from the sheet music filed with the U.S. Copyright Office.
Jurors, who deliberated about five hours, reached their verdict shortly after having videos of a guitarist performing both passages in question replayed in court. Those renditions seemed more like distant cousins than twin siblings.
Page, 72, and singer Robert Plant, 67, both wearing suits and with their long hair pulled back in ponytails, hugged their lawyers after prevailing.