Jimmy Page Testifies In Stairway To Heaven Trial

(hennemusic) Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page testified in a Los Angeles federal court on Tuesday as part of a copyright infringement lawsuit over the band's 1971 signature song, "Stairway To Heaven."

At issue is a lawsuit brought by Randy California's (aka Randy Wolfe) estate and members of Spirit by trustee Michael Skidmore over claims that the acoustic introduction to "Stairway" was lifted from their 1968 instrumental, "Taurus."

MyNewsLA reports Page revealed that although he enjoyed and owned several of Spirit's later albums, he first knowingly heard the track "Taurus" a few years ago when his son-in-law played it to him as fans buzzed about the two songs online.

"I knew I'd never heard it before," Page said of Wolfe's classically inspired guitar instrumental. The concept of comparing the two songs, Page testified, "was just totally alien to me."

The guitarist confirmed after hearing the songs he later searched for and discovered a copy of Spirit's debut album in his collection, although he had no recollection of actually listening to it or buying it.

To establish any potential similarity, the plaintiffs are using a video recording of a musicologist-guitarist playing "Taurus" note-for-note from the copyrighted lead sheet. In the 1960s, musical notation was deposited with the Library of Congress to establish copyright - not recordings. Read more and listen to both songs here.

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Copyright hennemusic - Excerpted here with permission.

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