Stairway to Heaven Plagiarism Lawsuit (Spirit vs Led Zeppelin)

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• published: 21 May 2014
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http://www.steamboatislandrecords.com Did Stairway to Heaven lift its most iconic riff from the band Spirit? I think they did. Panned hard right is the introduction to Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. Panned hard left is the introduction to Taurus by Spirit. Notice how perfectly they synchronize? Notice how they are both in the same exact key, time signature, and use the same root notes and melody? We think it is time to give Randy California of Spirit his due songwriting credit! After all it is one of the most iconic and recognizable riffs in rock history... Stairway to Heaven has made over $500 million for Led Zeppelin, and Randy California deserves a fair share for his contribution. It's not a battle between bands or fans, it's just about giving the rightful credits to the original songwriters of the composition. Randy California was humble and often would not remark on the similarity of the songs when it was brought up. However, in an interview from the 1997 issue of Listener magazine he is quoted as saying: "Well, if you listen to the two songs, you can make your own judgment. It's an exact... I'd say it was a rip-off. And the guys made millions of bucks on it and never said, 'Thank you,' never said, 'Can we pay you some money for it?' It's kind of a sore point with me. Maybe some day their conscience will make them do something about it. I don't know." In the liner notes to the CD release of the first Spirit album Randy comments again: "People always ask me why 'Stairway to Heaven' sounds exactly like 'Taurus,' which was released two years earlier. I know Led Zeppelin also played 'Fresh-Garbage' in their live set. They opened up for us on their first American tour." ------------------------------------------------------ http://seadreamspirit.blogspot.com/ ------------------------------------------------------ Spirit was a unique and extremely talented band, and has a very interesting history. Check out some fun facts about them that would surprise anyone! ** Randy California was given his stage name when he was the second guitarist in Jimi Hendrix's first band called Jimi James and the Blue Flames. Unfortunately when Jimi left for England to further his career Randy was too young at the time and unable to follow, staying behind to create Spirit. ** Spirit was offered a slot in the Woodstock festival right after Jimi Hendrix, but their manager turned down the offer to instead have them tour in support of their latest album and new single. The magnitude of the missed opportunity became clear in hindsight. ** Ed Cassidy was one of the founding members and original drummer of The Rising Sons featuring Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal. Right before their first album was to be recorded Cassidy broke his wrist during a drum solo and was unable to stay in the band. He later went on to create Spirit. ** By the time Ed Cassidy formed Spirit he was already a seasoned drummer with 20 years of professional jazz experience from the 1940s and 50s. At one time in the late 1940s, Cassidy played 282 consecutive one-nighters in 17 states! ** Original Spirit keyboardist John Locke claimed to be the direct descendent of the 17th century English philosopher of the same name. ** Outside of Spirit, bassist Mark Andes worked with a number of other famous bands including Heart, Firefall, Canned Heat and Joe Walsh ** Spirit had trouble staying in the spotlight after the release of their single "1984" when the government banned the song from US radio airplay for being too politically provocative. ** Neil Young was inadvertently responsible for breaking up Spirit after their first reunion when he came on stage drunk during a show. Randy California didn't recognize him, proceeding to escort him off the stage. Unfortunately the rest of the band thought he had purposefully kicked Neil out and they ended the show right there. It wasn't until later that the situation became clear, but the band had already broken up... Take a listen to Randy's song "Rude Reaction" to hear some of his feelings at the time about the situation. ** Jay Ferguson wrote the acclaimed theme song to the hit American version of The Office! ------------------------------------------------------- This video is intended for educational purposes, to bring to light the similarities between the introductions of the two songs. The first 15 seconds of each song is looped to give ample time for comparison.