It’s Time To End These Conspiracy Bullshits
Remember “Taurus,” a song of the band called Spirit? The guitar of it, especially it’s placement at the beginning of the song is very similar to the intro to “Stairway To Heaven,” and that creates a talk, an issue of decades, and hatred, of course.
You can say that the “note/s” used creates a very similar ambiance at the start of both songs. And yes, I’d say Led Zeppelin borrowed it from the band because they knew them, and had played with them.
So did Jimmy Page steal anything from the band “SPIRIT?” — The ANSWER IS NO!
Have a listen to it first, especially from 44secs in.
So, there you go. Is it PLAGIARISM? — HELL, F’ING NO! You can tell just by listening to “Taurus” that it totally diverges after the intro, while “Stairway To Heaven,” of course, is on a different level and a much better masterpiece! If you can call borrowing riff as plagiarism, then a lot of musicians would have been in the dock in the 60s. “YOU CAN’T OWN A CHORD PROGRESSION!”
Many people didn’t know that Randy California of “Spirit” and Jimmy Page of “Led Zeppelin” were very close friends and toured together since early as 1968. And of course, as being friends, each of them has loved each other’s work.
People should do a little research before opening their mouths. — The lawsuit came after Randy’s passing in 1997, and it looks to be driven by people not even related to him.
I guess you should check this out for more information: Randy California v. Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven Copyright Lawsuit
A quote that I (don’t) love from Pablo Picasso:
“Good artists copy, great artists steal.”
People should always remember that popular music is layer upon layer, especially rock music, it always builds on what has done or gone before. Just because these two songs are very iconic doesn’t mean they are an example of plagiarism. People often forget that many recordings include riffs from songs by other artists, and sometimes it can be considered as an homage. THAT’S WHY THERE IS SOMETHING THAT WE CALL “GENRE!”
But of course, what I loved regarding this lawsuit issue is it will encourage many people to listen to both songs, especially to Stairway To Heaven and the music of Led Zeppelin again and again. And it will, of course, draw some quite an attention to the music of Randy California and Spirit. So, all I can say is — All is good!
Folks who are very in into this type of conspiracies, by all means, go ahead and sweat every moment of it as you waste your time. But, I hope you do me a favor, and listen closely again.