The late guitarist for the 60's rock band Spirit had long claimed that Jimmy Page ripped him off when he wrote Stairway To Heaven. The opening bars of the Spirit song, "Taurus," do sound very similar to the beginning of Stairway. And Led Zeppelin did share a bill with Spirit for several shows in 1969.
In June of this year, the estate of Randy California filed suit to recover damages, citing as a cause for action the “Falsification of Rock N’ Roll History.”
A spokesman for the band and Warner Music has repeatedly declined to comment on the dispute, but Page called the claim “ridiculous.”
Lawyers for Led Zeppelin and its record company, Warner Music, have until Sept. 22 to respond to the suit.
Listen and decide for yourself. Or, if you're really into it, Business Week has created a game to help you decide. But ultimately the decision will rest with a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
-Spencer