Randy Wolfe used to be the guitarist of Spirit and composed the number Taurus for the band in 1967. Wolfe aka Randy California was also hired by other bands to write songs. In 1971, Led Zeppelin made music history with its “Stairway to Heaven” which was written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. The track features on Led Zeppelin’s untitled fourth studio album, often referred to as “Led Zeppelin IV”.
Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Randy Wolfe, is suing Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement. Skidmore claims that Plant and Page wrote “Stairway to Heaven” for Led Zeppelin after hearing Spirit perform Taurus while both bands were touring together in 1968-1969. According to Skidmore, Led Zeppelin never gave Wolfe any credit for his contribution. Skidmore states that the first two minutes of Stairway to Heaven are identical to those of Taurus. According to the lawsuit, Wolfe complained about the similarities of the songs in 1997 shortly before his death in an interview.
US district judge Gary Klausner found that there are indeed enough “substantial”’ similarities to warrant a court case. He pointed out those first two minutes are “arguably the most recognizable and important segments” of the songs.
“While it is true that a descending chromatic four-chord progression is a common convention that abounds in the music industry, the similarities here transcend this core structure,” the judge wrote. “What remains is a subjective assessment of the ‘concept and feel’ of two works ... a task no more suitable for a judge than for a jury.” (Skidmore also wanted to sue Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and Warner Music Group, but those claims were thrown out of court).
Led Zeppelin’s lead singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page don’t have a choice; they must appear in court (scheduled for June 14) to defend themselves against the claim that they infringed Wolfe’s copyright. For now, they take the view that Wolfe was a songwriter-for-hire and had no copyright claim to begin with. Furthermore, they point out that the chord progressions are so common, that those cannot be protected by copyright anyway. They have a point: “Sonata di Chitarra, e Violino, con il suo Basso Continuo” written by Italian Baroque guitar player and composer Giovanni Battista Granata (1620-1687), features the Stairway to Heaven melody.
Even if the jury would decide in favor of the Wolfe, Skidmore as the trustee would only get up to 50% of any damages awarded, due to the terms and conditions of the contract that Wolfe signed way back in 1967. According to Skidmore and his lawyer Francis Malofiy, it’s all about getting credit. “This case, from our perspective, has always been about giving credit where credit was due, and now we get to right that wrong.” It’s not that simple - once an artist is credited, he or she is automatically entitled to part of the proceeds.
For Led Zeppelin, its iconic Stairway to Heaven had turned to a Highway to Legal Hell courtesy of a bar-brawling lawyer.
