Did Led Zeppelin Steal The Opening Notes To Stairway To Heaven?

[Gompers]

Jake Holmes opened for the Yardbirds, and Page flat out stole this song

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTsvs-pAGDc

 

Hey, they don't call him Jimmy Plage for nothing.

:laughing yellow guy:

[ReRushed]

We all know John Paul Jones what the only member not to sell his soul to the devil.

Yup!

Man, I miss a lot of typos in my posts.

[g under p]

Came across this update.

 

'Stairway to Heaven’ trial jury mulling verdict after impassioned closing arguments

Plaintiffs are seeking millions in damages from Led Zeppelin

by Will Robinson • @Will_Robinson_

Posted June 22 2016 — 4:47 PM EDT

 

Jury deliberations have begun in the “Stairway to Heaven” copyright infringement trial after both sides made their closing arguments in a Los Angeles federal courtroom Wednesday.

 

Led Zeppelin is accused of lifting parts of the iconic rock song’s introduction from the song “Taurus” by a band called Spirit. After six days of trial, the jury is expected to deliver a verdict by Thursday.

 

more at: http://www.ew.com/article/2016/06/22/stairway-heaven-trial-closing-arguments.

 

[ReRushed]

Personally, I think this is a case were Led Zeppelin didn't intentionally rip someone off. The more I listen to the two songs the more I'm inclined to side with Zeppelin. I've heard worse similarities in other songs. The melody. The arrangement. The mood and feel. Overall, it's a totally different song than "Taurus". Edited June 22, 2016 by ReRushed

[goose]

From the Washington Post, a good article on Zeppelin's testimony... https://www.washingt...ll-a-rock-star/

 

Plant attended a Spirit concert in 1968, but contends he has no recollection of it, due to an accident. And then there's this...

 

But even if Plant had heard Spirit perform “Taurus” live, he maintained he couldn’t have transcribed the notes for his guitarist and songwriting partner Page. When defense attorney Peter Anderson asked Plant if he could read or write music, he laughed, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “I haven’t learned that yet,” he said.

Edited June 22, 2016 by goose

[ReRushed]

Even if the arpeggio was intentionally lifted I don't think it's enough to compensate monetarily. There are worse offenses out there. Every single major songwriter "ripped" something off. I remember hearing "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" for the first time and I was immediately reminded of "Satisfaction" and "Jumping Jack Flash".

[Lorraine]

How can someone who can't read or write music create music?

[ReRushed]

How can someone who can't read or write music create music?

You can create music without the knowledge of writing notation down on a piece of paper.

[Lorraine]

How can someone who can't read or write music create music?

You can create music without the knowledge of writing notation down on a piece of paper.

Eddie Van Halen claims he can't read or write music either.

 

I know it's possible, obviously, but I want to know how they do it. If a melody goes through their mind, what do they do since they can't run to a piece of paper and scribble the music down?

[ReRushed]

How can someone who can't read or write music create music?

You can create music without the knowledge of writing notation down on a piece of paper.

Eddie Van Halen claims he can't read or write music either.

 

I know it's possible, obviously, but I want to know how they do it. If a melody goes through their mind, what do they do since they can't run to a piece of paper and scribble the music down?

Tape recorders. Paul McCartney, another master who can't write or read music, said the Beatles lost tons of songs because they didn't have tape recorders available. Also, a lot of musicians come up with their own notation or system for writing music. I think Phil Collins used a unique system to write the horn sections for his solo songs. And, musicians know how to communicate with each other in numerous ways.

[Entre_Perpetuo]

How can someone who can't read or write music create music?

You can create music without the knowledge of writing notation down on a piece of paper.

Eddie Van Halen claims he can't read or write music either.

 

I know it's possible, obviously, but I want to know how they do it. If a melody goes through their mind, what do they do since they can't run to a piece of paper and scribble the music down?

 

Though I'm pretty sure Freddie Mercury could read and write music, at some point in the 80s he decided that he wouldn't waste a lot of time recording every musical idea that popped into his head or writing it down, declaring if it was worth recording he would remember it. Just another example. Some musicians work purely from memory.

[Rushman14]

BREAKING NEWS: A federal jury says Led Zeppelin did not steal the intro to "Stairway to Heaven."

[Lorraine]

[Lorraine]

How can someone who can't read or write music create music?

You can create music without the knowledge of writing notation down on a piece of paper.

Eddie Van Halen claims he can't read or write music either.

 

I know it's possible, obviously, but I want to know how they do it. If a melody goes through their mind, what do they do since they can't run to a piece of paper and scribble the music down?

 

Though I'm pretty sure Freddie Mercury could read and write music, at some point in the 80s he decided that he wouldn't waste a lot of time recording every musical idea that popped into his head or writing it down, declaring if it was worth recording he would remember it. Just another example. Some musicians work purely from memory.

 

How can they play an instrument if they don't know music?

 

Wish I had known this when I was younger. I would have bought myself a guitar and started strumming away. :guitar:

[toymaker]

How can someone who can't read or write music create music?

You can create music without the knowledge of writing notation down on a piece of paper.

Eddie Van Halen claims he can't read or write music either.

 

I know it's possible, obviously, but I want to know how they do it. If a melody goes through their mind, what do they do since they can't run to a piece of paper and scribble the music down?

 

Though I'm pretty sure Freddie Mercury could read and write music, at some point in the 80s he decided that he wouldn't waste a lot of time recording every musical idea that popped into his head or writing it down, declaring if it was worth recording he would remember it. Just another example. Some musicians work purely from memory.

 

How can they play an instrument if they don't know music?

 

Wish I had known this when I was younger. I would have bought myself a guitar and started strumming away. :guitar:

 

Musical notation is just a formalized way of showing the notes and note durations and all that. If you pick up a guitar and press on the strings, making certain shapes with your fingers, and then strum, you've pretty much made music. Even if you strum the open strings of a guitar you've more or less made music. You discover certain notes and chords sound pretty good together, and you can be delicate with your picking hand or you can use more aggression. You can do all of that stuff without knowing how to make those little squiggles on a sheet of paper.

[toymaker]

Lorraine, this might help, too. You've probably seen chord charts like this one: the numbers refer to which fingers you use, and the little boxes refer to the fret spaces on the guitar - the fret space against which you'll press down the string. The note names of the strings are written along the top (which really represents the end of the guitar neck, what notes are sounded when the strings are not "fretted" with your fingers). The X means "don't sound this string" and the o means sound the string "open" or not fretted with the fingers. The first one is A, which is the first chord of all kinds of Rush tunes, like In the Mood. The second one, D, is the first chord of Fly By Night.

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lk6NlBUbzbk/TfEdPlp7uLI/AAAAAAAABb8/_Yh9yXsKvw8/s1600/Guitar%2BMajor%2BChords.gif

 

Guitar players who don't read traditional music notation can use "tablature," which is similar to how chord charts are made: the top part is an example of traditional music notation, and the bottom part shows the corresponding tablature - six lines that represent the six strings of a guitar, the numbers being what fret on that string you hold the string against to make the note.

 

http://powaymusiclessons.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/tablature-notation.jpg

 

These tools are great because they don't require anyone to memorize what notes are represented by those black spots on a piece of sheet music. I was always either too lazy or too impatient to learn. I did take a course in university but I didn't stick with it. When I write a little riff and don't have the time to play it over and over again to memorize it, or if I don't have a recorder handy, I can grab a scrap of envelope, draw six straight lines, and write down my riff so I can come back to it later. Very handy!

Edited June 23, 2016 by toymaker

[LedRush]

According to the book I read, Robert wants little to nothing to do with Jimmy.

 

Why is that, Lorraine?

 

He blamed Jimmy and his dabbling into the occult for his son's death, and the accident he and his wife were in, and Bonzo's death.

 

All this Led Zep talk makes me want to go listen to the song most TRFers despise - Kashmir! :wub:

 

Was that the very fun, and often fictional book by the former road manager? I think it was Hammer of the Gods.

[Lorraine]

According to the book I read, Robert wants little to nothing to do with Jimmy.

 

Why is that, Lorraine?

 

He blamed Jimmy and his dabbling into the occult for his son's death, and the accident he and his wife were in, and Bonzo's death.

 

All this Led Zep talk makes me want to go listen to the song most TRFers despise - Kashmir! :wub:

 

Was that the very fun, and often fictional book by the former road manager? I think it was Hammer of the Gods.

 

That's the book, but they have Robert's statement in quotes, and Miss Pamela doesn't lie. ;)

[g under p]

Lol, I didn't know that the plaintiff's lawyer was a moron.

I also didn't realize that the jury wasn't even allowed to hear the actual songs in question!

 

More info.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/led-zeppelin-prevail-in-stairway-to-heaven-lawsuit-20160623?page=2

 

 

Edited June 23, 2016 by g under p

[HemiBeers]

There simple wasn't enough similarity in the small sections of the songs in question. How many other songs start in a minor and descend from there? a ton.

[Lorraine]

Lol, I didn't know that the plaintiff's lawyer was a moron.

I also didn't realize that the jury wasn't even allowed to hear the actual songs in question!

 

More info.

http://www.rollingst...20160623?page=2

 

That's why I would never ever make a good juror. I would have voted "not guilty" just to spite the plaintiff's attorney. You are right. He was an arrogant jerk.

[g under p]

Lol, I didn't know that the plaintiff's lawyer was a moron.

I also didn't realize that the jury wasn't even allowed to hear the actual songs in question!

 

More info.

http://www.rollingst...20160623?page=2

 

That's why I would never ever make a good juror. I would have voted "not guilty" just to spite the plaintiff's attorney. You are right. He was an arrogant jerk.

 

To me the key to this nonsense was that when Randy California was alive he didn't bring forth a suit. Even though I'm sure he was well aware that he could've. There was no need to go forward with any of this......I'm sure greed and the past copyright infringements LZ has done was a factor here.

Edited June 23, 2016 by g under p

[ReRushed]

There simple wasn't enough similarity in the small sections of the songs in question. How many other songs start in a minor and descend from there? a ton.

Here's one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb6uCV2RoLI

[treeduck]

Lol, I didn't know that the plaintiff's lawyer was a moron.

I also didn't realize that the jury wasn't even allowed to hear the actual songs in question!

 

More info.

http://www.rollingst...20160623?page=2

 

That's why I would never ever make a good juror. I would have voted "not guilty" just to spite the plaintiff's attorney. You are right. He was an arrogant jerk.

 

To me the key to this nonsense was that when Randy California was alive he didn't bring forth a suit. Even though I'm sure he was well aware that he could've. There was no need to go forward with any of this......I'm sure greed was a factor here.

Greed is always a factor in these cases especially after nearly 50 years.

[ReRushed]

Jake Holmes HAS a case and I think he would win in court. But Randy California's estate most definitely did not have a case. This trial was a waste of time.