Led ZeppelinFollowing news in April that Led Zeppelin would be taken to court amid accusations they stole the opening riff of their classic, Stairway To Heaven, the jury has found today that the band did not plagiarise the song's opening from '60s rock band, Spirit.
As BBC reports, the jury found the riff was "not intrinsically similar" to Spirit's 1967 track, Taurus, but that Robert Plant and Jimmy Page did in fact have access to the original song after having played a show with Spirit in 1970 in Birmingham. They reportedly played snooker with Spirit afterwards.
The Guardian reports that Plant denied any connection or inspiration from Taurus: "I really don’t recall any of the bands I saw there or everyone I ever hung out with."
"I didn’t remember it then, and I don’t remember it now."
The case was brought forward by friend of Spirit, Michael Skidmore, and the estate of Spirit's late guitarist Randy Wolfe, with the estate's attorney Francis Malofiy stating he's "disappointed and upset" with the result.
"This case is about one thing, one six-letter word – credit," he said, and that handing the verdict down in favour of Led Zeppelin was "to take an iconic song … and [say] it’s got a new parent".
