Did Led Zeppelin steal ‘Stairway to Heaven’ song?

Led Zeppelin rock legends Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are accused of stealing the opening chords for their 1971 classic “Stairway to Heaven.”

The lead singer as well as the guitarist have been ordered by US District Judge Gary Klausner to appear before a jury to determine whether they have copied their song’s opening notes from a song of rock band Spirit.

Judge Klausner from Los Angeles said “Stairway” and the 1967 instrumental “Taurus” by the band Spirit were similar enough for a trial to decide whether Plant and Page were guilty for copyright infringement, says Mirror.

The claim was brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Randy Wolfe, who was Spirit’s guitarist and composer of Taurus.

According to Skidmore, Page was inspired to write “Stairway To Heaven” while listening to Wolfe’s song when the two bands toured together in 1968 and 1969.