In the movie Wayne’s World
Led Zeppelin’s critics, such as Will Shade, are quick to point out, however, that the opening guitar riff bears a striking similarity to the song “Taurus” by Spirit, included on their self-titled debut album which was released in 1968. Randy California, who wrote “Taurus”, was aware of the similarity between his song and “Stairway to Heaven” but always maintained a low-key response when asked about it. A number of websites have repeated (without attribution) the notion that Randy California didn’t regard “Stairway to Heaven” as plagiarism, but rather as a “reworking” of his song. This is definitely not the case. Randy California clearly had strong feelings about this, even though he chose not to make a big issue of it. According to his mother, Bernice Pearl, “when people would ask Randy about [Stairway to Heaven], he used to always say, ‘Let it go.'” but then she went on to say, “There should have been at least one telephone call from Led Zeppelin, some sort of ‘Thank you.’ Something. But it never came.”
He had the chance to have his say about the similarity between “Taurus” and “Stairway to Heaven” in his song-by-song liner notes for the 1996 reissue of Spirit
Listener: Speaking of Led Zeppelin, the guitar introduction to your 1967 composition, “Taurus,” is a dead ringer for Zeppelin’s introduction to “Stairway to Heaven,” released in 1971. Did they ever acknowledge their artistic debt to you? They must of known “Taurus,” having performed as your warmup band.
California: Well, if you listen to the two songs, you can make your own judgment. It’s an exact… I’d say it was a rip-off. And the guys made millions of bucks on it and never said, “Thank you,” never said, “Can we pay you some money for it?” It’s kind of a sore point with me. Maybe some day their conscience will make them do something about it. I don’t know. There are funny business dealings between record companies, managers, publishers, and artists. But when artists do it to other artists, there’s no excuse for that. I’m mad! [laughs]
Listener: Well, take comfort in the fact that you’re the true author of one of the most instantly recognizable guitar riffs in rock history.
California: Yeah, right…
from Jeff McLaughlin, “Spirit’s Still Willing: A Conversation with Randy California,” Listener, Winter 1997, p. 51. Special thanks to Jeff McLaughlin for providing an original issue of Listener containing his interview with Randy California
Given the similarity between “Stairway to Heaven” and Randy California’s “Taurus”, Robert Plant’s lyrics “There’s a feeling I get when I look to the west/And my spirit is crying for leaving” take on a different meaning. Perhaps this is some sort of nod to Randy California, but Led Zeppelin never acknowledged their debt to Randy California.
Beyond that, however, other claims of plagiarism leveled against “Stairway to Heaven” are groundless. A few other songs that predate “Stairway to Heaven” feature a descending chord pattern similar to the one that opens the song. The website Everthing2.com mentions a couple of songs that fall into this category, “Summer Rain” by Johnny Rivers and “Ice Cream Dreams” by Cartoone, but the opening used in each of these songs is more rudimentary and clearly distinct from “Stairway to Heaven”. What’s more interesting about Cartoone is that they only released one album and Jimmy Page actually plays on it. “And She’s Lonely” by the Chocolate Watchband contains a section that is very similar to the opening of “Stairway to Heaven.” Listen particularly to the passage at about three minutes into the song and you’ll hear the pattern, although it resolves a little differently. “And She’s Lonely” was included on the 1969 LP One Step Beyond
Everything2.com also mentions that Jimmy Page’s guitar solo in “Stairway to Heaven” bears some resemblance to Jimi Hendrix’s guitar solo in “All Along the Watchtower.” Everthing2.com rightly points out, however, that these are common patterns that have been worked and reworked in many songs.
Often the charges of plagiarism leveled against Led Zeppelin involve Robert Plant’s lyrics, but that is not the case with “Stairway to Heaven”. On the eve of the release of Led Zeppelin IV
Skip Softly (My Moonbeams)
by Gary Brooker, Keith ReidSkip softly, my moonbeams, avoid being seen
Pretend that perhaps you are part of a dream
which seen by some other such person as me
would only glow smiling and nod and agreeSkip softly, my moonbeams, for I have heard tell
that the stairs up to heaven lead straight down to hell
that pride is the last thing which comes before fall
I’d as soon talk to you as make love to a wall
The image of a “stairway to heaven” had been employed a number of times before Led Zeppelin used it. Jack Guthrie recorded a song called “I’m Building a Stairway to Heaven” in 1944, and a song of the same title was recorded by the Lewis Family some years later. The 1946 British film “A Matter of Life and Death” was retitled “Stairway to Heaven” when it was released in the United States, and Neil Sedaka had a hit with a song called “Stairway to Heaven” in 1960. No one would suggest, however, that Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” had anything to do with Neil Sedaka’s song or any of the other works mentioned. They only share the title image. It’s interesting to note how these earlier songs use the image of a stairway to heaven in a purely positive way, while Procol Harum and Led Zeppelin use it in a darker, more ironic sense. Neil Sedaka swoons for his “heavenly angel” and promises to build a stairway to heaven to reach his idealized love, and the Lewis Family build their “stairway to heaven” through their faith in Christ. Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” maintains that you can’t buy your way into heaven. The shift in the meaning of the imagery says more about the spirit of the times than about any specific debt Led Zeppelin owes to Procol Harum, though.
If you’re going to name every single form of art, musical or otherwise that included the words “Stairway to Heaven”, the 1941 movie referenced above could be said to have inspired Warren Beatty’s 1978 film “Heaven Can Wait”, which acknowledged its origins as a remake of the 1941 movie, “Here Comes Mr. Jordan”. However, it was clearly “plagiarized from the other movie as well, as the word “plagiarism is being used at present. You can read about the rest of the movie, released in the US under the name; Stairway to Heaven, under the following Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Matter_of_Life_and_Death_(film)
This claim against Led Zeppelin is a joke, and by merely mentioning that another song that has a similar opening to Stairway belongs to a band that Jimmy Page not only played on, but which said band, “The Chocolate Watchband” played a show in California with the Yardbirds when Jimmy was still with them, opens the possibility, or to me the probability that the musical opening to Stairway that is under question now, 43 years after its release, ORIGINATED with Jimmy, but was used by the band(s) claiming he plagiarized them, before he got around to using his own set of notes in writing the music to Stairway.
Lastly, whether or not Robert Plant meant any nod to anyone by his lyrics about looking to the west, anyone who knows anything about Celtic legends knows that the west represents death, in a positive way, similar, but not identical to the Christian idea of heaven. It has been called the ‘Summerland” and “Tir nan Og”. (Even J.R.R. Tolkien used that reference in his novel “The Hobbit” and the trilogy that followed, “The Lord of the Rings” (which many people whose only exposure to this great example of fantasy literature influenced by real life events had no idea that the trilogy was based on Hitler and the Second World War.) So legend may have been the only reason Plant wrote those lyrics, or he may have used them to also give a symbolic nod to someone who might have inspired him. That also doesn’t prove plagiarism. I once heard Bob Dylan live in concert publicly acknowledge that the finest version of HIS song “All Along the Watchtower” was performed by Jimi Hendrix. Not only was it an amazingly generous statement, particularly since it was said 16 years after Jimi’s death, so that wasn’t the reason, but it also pointed out that to most real musical artists, imitation really is the highest form of flattery. The real artists are satisfied by being admired enough by hearing their own songs performed well and interpreted by others, and as long as the end product is being done well, I truly doubt suing for plagiarism is the first or the 200th thought in their minds.
If Randy C’s riff was so influential, why wasn’t it a big hit in it’s own right? You can also find this groove in Hit the Road Jack and Arthur Brown’s version of Put a Spell on You amongst many others. personally I blame it all on Robert Johnson.
Do you NOT know that Randy California was just 16 yrs old when he wrote and recorded Taurus on the first Spirit album in 1967. Page was a huge fan of RC and was heavily influenced by the style and technique of the 17 yr old prodigy, and Page was already 25 yrs old, imagine that! After all the 15 yr old Randy played along side Jimi Hendrix in a band called Jimmy James and the Blue Flames in 1966.
Page ripped off more than the instrumental song Taurus from randy California…..
I agree. If any one listened to songs of the 1950s they could see how many could have been said to be stolen. And probably were then. I tried to hear the similarities here and really couldn’t. It would be a stretch at best. We hear music every day and some are inspired by it and may unconsciously take a few notes or chords from it. But with limited chords and notes in music you are bound to have replication to some degree. Stealing??? NO!!
This video clearly shows the similarities between the two songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Oj2kXCFkaA
It is a well documented fact that Taurus came out 2 years before Stairway to Heaven, before Zeppelin even came to the US.
Randy California deserves songwriting credit!
well in that case, both page & california should b sued by the writer(s) of my funny valentine, which was played in a musical way back in 1937. it uses the same type of 3 chord progression, arppegiated.
I love you for saying that! Especially for knowing it! I wanted to say something about the fact that there are only so many notes, but I don’t play an instrument or read music so… But along the same lines, have you heard the new song that’s out called “I’m the Man” and it starts out the EXACT same way as Elton John’s “Your Song”? Is Elton suing? I doubt it.
That video shows the same thing every other video shows, the only similarities are in the opening chord progression. aside from that there are nowhere near enough similarities in that song for him to deserve writing credit. This whole thing is just an f’ing fallacy, and the only reason the lawsuit is happening is because people are greedy for money. I find it interesting that you’re calling yourself Randy California.
Give credit to the man, to the right thing….
I don’t know where else to post this but Zep also borrowed Rock n Roll from the 4th LP from Train Kept a Rollin -same chords just slowed way down.
On Zep 69 tour they opened with Train, then by 71 they opened with Rock n Roll,then on 80 tour they went back to Train (talk about incest)
Drum beat was stolen from little richard
Well written. Maybe I’m one of the few who thinks this, but part of the Stairway to Heaven riff sound suspiciously similar to part of You Never Give Me Your Money by The Beatles. I feel it’s fitting for you to give a listen based on your URL.
You’re not the only person who thinks that. I’ve always thought so! I’m sure Zeppelin had heard Abbey Road in its entirety quite a bit by 1971 – not too much of a stretch to think that that portion (which is also repeated at the end of Carry that Weight) got stuck in their head.
There is only one real composer of the music of Stairway to heaven. His name is Johan Sebastian Bach. He wrote music for lute. Suite in E-minor, part 5 Bourrée.
Led Zeppelin copied every note exactly, but the result is quite nice, anyway.
Thumbs up for this comment!
Davy Graham’s Cry Me A River guitar descending chord pattern is almost exactly like the intro to STH. Listen to the song and you will see where it’s most likely the songs into was taken from. Also Considering JP’s White Summer is a direct copy of DG She Moved Through The Fair we can begin to see pieces of the puzzle starting to fit quite nicely.
Give a rest. Spirit could never have written a song of that caliber. So there are similarities in the chord structure. What’s next, lynyrd skynyrd riping off chuck berry for the use of A,D and E.?
I was the ghost songwriter for the band I named Led Zeppelin. Everyone involved was quite aware of the fact that I had borrowed from other artists, especially Howlin’ Wolf who recorded the Willie Dixon songs, Jerry Lee Lewis (Big Legged Woman), etc. In fact, a call was made to Neil Sedaka’s people to let them know I had written a song using Stairway to Heaven…and he was okay with it as long as it was different from his. Though, it was the film title starring David Niven’s that I used. It was due to Niven appearing as James Bond in the original adaption of Casino Royale that inspired me. It was the same when I wrote Shout at the Devil for Motley Crue using the British film title starring Roger Moore who I had just met and started working with. The whole “lawsuit” and plagiarism instigations are just for publicity. Move on…it’s old news.