feldkeen4 Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 My link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Took him long enough to decide it was "His" song/riff, not their's! Let's all sue everyone that's more successful, than we are, claiming they took our ideas, too! Christ, every blues song, has riff's that been "lifted" from nearly everyone, at some point. Where does it stop?! I guess that guy ran out of money? :unsure: LOL! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quapman Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 What didn't they steal? These claims shoulda been made decades ago. To cry about them now, be it right or wrong, is kinda pathetic. 40+ years later? Really? Ya they stole music... But I think they made it better and made people wanna hear it. If the originals they stole are so great why doesn't anyone know anything about them? Do they owe them anything? I don't care, not my problem. All I know is I love Zep and I love what they did with all the music they ripped off. All those artists have had 40+ years to challenge it. Today,, I don't care. Please,, let's not get into another discussion about copyrights and 'the cloud'... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryUK Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Not a chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 I've heard this said before and I've listened and there is no real, musicological similarities at all. I hope they fight this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 I've heard this said before and I've listened and there is no real, musicological similarities at all. I hope they fight this one. I can see how Spirit's phrasing might have "inspired" Page to write his opening to Stairway but there is no way it is a copy. At what point does a musical phrase which might (not that necessarily Page ever heard the song by Spirit) inspire another musician to write a similar phrase become a copy? What is common here is a descending minor key riff following a broadly (emphasis "broadly") similar pattern. If I were Page and co I'd fight it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturn Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 I like too how he waits until the rest of the band is gone, and won't be around to split any settlement he might get. We could also make a case that "Stairway..." is really "All Along The Watchtower" or "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" or that Steve Millers "In The Winter Time" is really "While My Guitar...". I guess we have to search in history for the first person ever to write an Am chord with a descending bass....or an Am, G, F, G progression. I'm surprised Lynyrd Skynyrd haven't been sued for "That Smell". Should I go on? Edit: I will add though that over the years I have read or heard in interviews with Page and especially Plant whining about artists copying LZ. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. But then they mostly talk about bands copying Zep's image more than the actual chords, riffs or lyrics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHTom Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 in cases like these, I have to say "Wow, then everyone who's ever played a rock song owes Chuck Berry a payment." For example, I have a song by a band from my highschool that was written ten years before a song by the Offspring.......identical opening riff....I'm quite sure the offspring NEVER heard this band......lol. Musical similarities happen. NHTom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Musical similarities happen. If a band, Spirit, has copyrighted a work and can demonstrate for a judge that x amount of Pages music can be mistaken for theirs, and the judge agrees, Zep will have to add Spirit to the writing credits and probably fork over some moullah. The problem for Zeppelin is they toured together before Stairway and while Spirits work was played. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 It's just "Nature's Way". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heymisterk Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 I am going to go against the mass opinion here: I think Page clearly ripped this riff off. This is not like ripping off a Chuck Berry riff: The intro to Stairway is painfully similar to Taurus, in all its intricacy. I think a lot of people on this Forum - including me - get blinded by our love for The Almighty Zeppelin. Bring your checkbook, Jimmy: You can afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 In fact, they didn't compose "Stairway To Heaven" themselves. The music is taken from the movie "Der Fall Lena Christ", West Germany 1968, released October 1st, 1970. Since this black & white film about a Bavarian lady writer isn't that famous, nobody ever discussed Led Zeppelin's plagiarism publicly. The composer isn't credited anywhere, see here on imdb.com: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065714/ and so the soundtrack was assumed to be free obviously. The piece appears several times in that film. Jimmy Page adopted it note for note. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Is copyright infringement like homicide with no statute of limitation? Just curious, maybe it is. I didn't know about the German movie. Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiser Bill Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 And yet a third tune could be added...Johnny River's "Summer Rain"...same progression... the Beatles "Michelle" has a similar progression as well...just a few bars is all it takes. Remember George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" vs "He's So Fine"?? George lost on that one big time, and it was only 3 notes. A definite similarity tho between the Spirits and the Zepplings....even the key is the same. JMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Is copyright infringement like homicide with no statute of limitation? Just curious, maybe it is. I didn't know about the German movie. Interesting. This is the reason why I am not a Led Zeppelin fan and never will be although I like many of their songs. Writing songs by myself, I am very sensitive in handling copyright and other people's ideas. My eighteen-years old son was shocked when viewing the TV film, he just couldn't believe what he heard, being a Led Zeppelin fan himself. Sadly I couldn't find a video of it on the web. I am sure you would be shocked the same manner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Well, my only question was WHY did it take "Spirit" SO LONG, to bring the law suit! "Stairway" has been out AWHILE, now...some 40+ years! So, Why Now?! And, all of this, is nothing new: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Melodia/List_of_popular_songs_based_on_classical_music CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 I am going to go against the mass opinion here: I think Page clearly ripped this riff off. This is not like ripping off a Chuck Berry riff: The intro to Stairway is painfully similar to Taurus, in all its intricacy. I think a lot of people on this Forum - including me - get blinded by our love for The Almighty Zeppelin. Bring your checkbook, Jimmy: You can afford it. This is exactly how I feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feldkeen4 Posted May 20, 2014 Author Share Posted May 20, 2014 Well, my only question was WHY did it take "Spirit" SO LONG, to bring the law suit! "Stairway" has been out AWHILE, now...some 40+ years! So, Why Now?! And, all of this, is nothing new: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Melodia/List_of_popular_songs_based_on_classical_music CB I believe that the reasons they chose now is they missed the boat earlier. And Zep is just about to try and make more money on the release of more master tapes and that is what the issue is. Not the previously released versions, that's ancient history. Plus the royalties wouldn't go to spirit, Randy California wrote it, and he's dead. It would probably go to his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 A win would go to the 'Animal Zoo" Foundation, and a thought of such a victory would be the good Doctor's 13th dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 It would go to whomever owns the rights to the song(s). Find out who that is, Harry Fox might help with that information. Probably, just guessing here, a large and wealthy corporation has come into those rights and has the muscle to do something about it. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 It would go to whomever owns the rights to the song(s). Find out who that is, Harry Fox might help with that information. Probably, just guessing here, a large and wealthy corporation has come into those rights and has the muscle to do something about it. rct or maybe Randy California's widow is broke and found a lawyer willing to have at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 A win would go to the 'Animal Zoo" Foundation, and a thought of such a victory would be the good Doctor's 13th dream. hmmm, didnt know that. it definately has similarities between the two. same with hotel california and jethro tulls "we used to know". they toured together and a year later Hotel California was born Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Took him long enough to decide it was "His" song/riff, not their's! Let's all sue everyone that's more successful, than we are, claiming they took our ideas, too! Christ, every blues song, has riff's that been "lifted" from nearly everyone, at some point. Where does it stop?! I guess that guy ran out of money? :unsure: LOL! CB This rumour has been around before, wonder why Spirit is taking action now? Spirit toured with Zepp and we know Page has made a habit of assimilating other people's work ... Dazed and Confused: Jake Holmes (Yardbirds actually did the Holmes lyrics as well), Whole Lotta Love and a bunch of other blues credited to Willie Dixon. Are there others? It's the whole matter of giving credit where credit is due. It seems that Zepp has done these artists justice though, we like, we like (their knock offs are really great and somewhat improved upon from the originals). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gralst Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Yeah, OK ....maybe "Stairway" and "Taurus" are a coincidence but I can name a dozen and a half other Led Zep direct rip offs....and this isn't the first time they were sued over "Stairway"....but I always thought "Stairway" was a rip off of Love Sculpture's "Summertime" (which was a rip off of Janis Joplin's "Summertime") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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