Plagiarism Controversy Behind Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway” Resurfaces
By Shawn Christ
For 43 years, “Stairway to Heaven” has been the most popular song in the Led Zeppelin catalog, capturing listeners from Jimmy Pages’ first glimmering notes to Robert Plant’s fading vocals.
However, Bloomberg Businessweek reported last week that legal action has been taken to block the release of the band’s Led Zeppelin IV reissue because of a plagiarism conflict with the song’s famous intro, which can be heard at any time by stepping into a Guitar Center of your choice nationwide. Attorney Francis Alexander Molofiy is representing deceased guitarist Randy California, who played with the band Spirit) and claimed before his death in 1997 that the beginning of “Stairway to Heaven” was lifted from his band’s 1968 song “Taurus.”
The similarities in the songs become evident right around the 1:38 mark in the video above.