Yesterday the verdict in the case brought on by the estate of the late Randy Craig Wolfe of the band Spirit and against Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement vis a vis the song Stairway to Heaven and its similarity to Spirit’s Taurus was reached and Led Zeppelin was found not guilty.

When I first heard a comparison between Spirit’s Taurus and Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven, it was clear there were similarities.  Strong ones.  So strong that on an earlier post I was convinced Led Zeppelin must have swiped the material.

But listening to the longer clip above and reflecting (and reading) learned opinions regarding music creation and the use (and re-use) of certain notes over the years/centuries, my opinion changed.

There’s a saying that goes: “there’s nothing new under the sun” and, after so many years of civilization and artistic creation, this may well be true.

Any story you write will have echoes to others before it.  Any movie made will build on the history of movie technique which came before it.

And any song created, likewise, is bound to have echoes of things that came before.    While there are clear similarities between Taurus and Stairway to Heaven, it is equally clear, especially in the larger clip above, that Led Zeppelin and Spirit may have started their respective songs in a similar way but each song went in far different directions.

During his lifetime Randy Craig Wolfe, the man behind Taurus, didn’t bother to initiate a lawsuit against Led Zeppelin though he was the one who was most justified -if indeed he had perceived they had lifted his material- in doing so.

In the end, I believe the right verdict was rendered, even if initially I thought quite the opposite.  The entire case becomes a footnote in the history of Led Zeppelin and their most famous song.

Ironically, in some small ways the lawsuit has had a positive effect on the works of the late Mr. Wolfe.  Perhaps people will re-examine his career in light of this lawsuit, one he didn’t bring about himself.

A couple of days ago (you can read it here) I noted the similarities between what is arguably Led Zeppelin’s most famous song, Stairway to Heaven, and Spirit’s Taurus and how a judge has ruled that a copyright infringement lawsuit can go forward against Led Zeppelin regarding this most famous song.

Now comes Paul Campos for Salon.com to defend Led Zeppelin:

Led Zeppelin are not thieves: Stairway to Heaven fight rests on a nearly impossible copyright standard

In my post, frankly, I sided with the late Randy Wolfe, aka Randy California, the man who wrote Taurus and whose estate is now suing Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement.  I presented the below video which shows the similarities between the two songs:

I still believe Led Zeppelin took the riffs from Taurus in the creation of Stairway to Heaven but I have to give Mr. Campos credit for opening the argument up a little.

While he notes Led Zeppelin had taken material from others, it is clear, even to me, that Stairway to Heaven is far more than those very similarly sounding Taurus opening cords.

That being the case, it is to Mr. Campos’ credit that he has swayed my opinion, if only a little.  While I still feel it obvious Led Zeppelin “appropriated” those opening chords for Stairway to Heaven, it is equally obvious they created something far more intricate than those opening few seconds of music with their song.

Further, if Randy Wolfe, the artist who actually created Taurus, didn’t bother to sue Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement during his lifetime (again, this lawsuit was brought about by the Wolfe estate), then perhaps this is the strongest testament to the fact that he as an artist didn’t feel Led Zeppelin “robbed” him.

As with so many other things, we’ll see what happens…