Sometimes songs simply sound similar. There are only so many notes, chords, and progressions that songwriters can utilize to crank out the hits. However, if a song you wrote sounds very similar to another song that’s generally considered one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll tunes of all time and consequently made another band a shit-ton of money, you’re going to try to get paid.
Such is the case with Michael Skidmore, a trustee for Randy Wolfe, a.k.a Randy California, of the band Spirit. In 2014, Skidmore sued Led Zeppelin, claiming the Tolkien-loving rockers stole the intro to “Stairway To Heaven” from the 1968 Spirit song “Taurus.” And this past Friday, Judge Gary Klausner returned from his chambers—where he presumably had a bath towel pushed up against the base of the door—to rule that “Stairway” and “Taurus” were similar enough to warrant a hearing in front of a jury.
Klausner noted that both songs used a common chromatic four-chord progression, adding that the similarities here transcend this core structure as he dimmed the lights and lit an incense stick. According to Klausner, both of the tunes feature descending bass lines “played at the same pitch, repeated twice, and separated by a short bridge. What remains is a subjective assessment of the ‘concept and feel’ of two works…a task no more suitable for a judge than a jury.”