So Led Zeppelin is being sued for allegedly plagiarizing Stairway to Heaven from a song from a band that once opened for them. Are they guilty? You be the judge.
whats the statue of limitations on stealing songs
Apparently a long time. The song was from 1968 and they are just suing them now, more than forty years later.
2 Likes
Life plus 70 years in the United States.
Spirit was a California psychedelic band of some note in the late '60s. I will swear on a stack of bibles that I had a telephone conversation with their former drummer, Ed Cassady, in 1977. (Mightta been a little druggy at the time, but I wasn’t sz… or psychotic. Hahahaha.) I didn’t pass the audition.
Hey @77nick77 I have Twelve Dreams of Dr Sardonicus on vinyl but see they have a cd reissue. Thanks for the reminder.
These kids that pine for vinyl just didn’t have to listen to clicks and pops for a decade.
But even if Spirit were first, they didn’t have Robert Plant, and sexy sells. Now Zepplin is milking the reissues for retirement funds.
Spirit is just looking for a piece. Can you blame them?
1 Like
I used to have that Spirit album on vinyl too years ago in Florida. I’m surprised I didn’t catch the similarity of that song. I don’t agree that Zeppelin didn’t add their own bridges and ending to Stairway to Heaven. “Rougher Road” I didn’t see how it sounded like “makes me wonder”. Maybe. Jimmy Page was heavily into the occult so I don’t think stealing a melody would really bother him. There was always the story how Jimmy Page was playing the first chords for Plant and Plant immediately came up with the first verse to the song and they both were amazed. Maybe that still happened. Maybe it didn’t. I think Spirit deserves a cut of profits from the song.
Didn’t you post this already?
Actually I did, but it’s probably new to a bunch of people and it was in the news again a couple of days ago.
Who the â– â– â– â– cares 
Sounds like they ripped off the first part.
But led zepplin is better in my opinion.
Pay em.
1 Like