Tag Archives: Stairway To Heaven

Led Zeppelin wins “Stairway” case once again, will you accept that they aren’t thieves and move on?

I think this Michael Skidmore clown needs to accept that Jimmy didn’t steal the “Stairway” riff from “Taurus” and move on. Of course this Skidmore guy never will… he’ll figure out another way to get at Led Zep.

https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-led-zeppelin-stairway-to-heaven-court-rules-20200309-jphuicz44jarhfhbbejgudxf4a-story.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-51805905

I think Led Zeppelin getting accused of being song thieves is getting old and tiresome. It’s all pretty silly, in my opinion. Even if Led Zep did take bits and bits from other songs here and there, I wouldn’t call it “stealing” or “ripping off”… it’s more like “borrowing”. There is nothing wrong with “borrowing” from other songs for your own original music ’cause bands & artists do these things all the time. There is nothing wrong with taking a little piece of music that you like from another song to try and re-write it to make your own. It’s unfair that artists get called “song thieves”.

Congrats to Led Zep on another victory, though. I’m sure Page, Plant and Jones are pretty happy about this.

Kev

 

The Smashing Pumpkins covers “Stairway to Heaven” live on stage… pretty good but Billy’s voice doesn’t fit the song…

Well the Smashing Pumpkins reunion tour begins and this live performance was taken from their first show on the tour. As you can see here, The Pumpkins tries to cover “Stairway to Heaven” which is Led Zep’s most iconic song.

I thought the band played the song pretty well but like the title of this blog topic says, Billy’s voice doesn’t fit which is understandable. “Stairway” is a very difficult song to sing vocally. I noticed the band transposed the song to a lower key so it can fit Billy’s voice ’cause I know Billy has a pretty low range singing voice. At the “As we wind on down the road” part, Robert sings really high in that part but Billy sang it his way.

Are the costumes, gimmicks and the video screen in the background really necessary? I understand that Billy is trying to make the Smashing Pumpkins shows more theatrical like but that is not needed. How about focusing on the music?

Other than that, the band played the music well like I said. I thought the best part was Jeff Schroeder nailing the solo. That Schroeder dude is a great lead guitarist for sure.

Kev

Classic Rock magazine names Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” as no. 1 guitar solo ever but what are Jimmy Page’s thoughts about that?

Classic Rock magazine has named Led Zep’s “Stairway To Heaven” as their no. 1 guitar solo but did Jimmy Page, the man himself accept that honor? Not really. Page said the solo on Led Zeppelin IV for “Stairway” was pretty good but not his best. Everyone may say that the solo is the best but Page begs to differ. Page says there are a few different versions of the “Stairway” solo and Page likes the other versions better.

http://www.guitarworld.com/artist-news/jimmy-page-his-stairway-solo-there-are-others-i-prefer/29973

I wonder why Page ended up picking the version that’s on “Led Zeppelin IV” but not the others? Probably for radio airplay, I bet.

Gotta give props for Jimmy’s humbleness and honesty. Whenever a musician has made it on a best of poll or whatever, the musician would be like, “Oh that’s great, I’m honored” but not Jimmy. He’s just trying to keep it all real. Trying to leave his ego at the door which is a great attitude to have.

Fuck all those best of poll things, I don’t pay any attention to that garbage.

Kev

Led Zep wins “Stairway” trial dismissal, jury ruled band didn’t steal opening riff…

Everybody wants to accuse Led Zeppelin of stealing songs and everyone wants to be “right” on Led Zep stealing “Stairway” from Spirit. Well, look like they’re wrong after all ’cause the mighty Zep just won the trial dismissal today.

Today is a great day for Led Zeppelin and their fans. Now they don’t have to add any additional credits and they don’t have to pay any money either. Which is good news. Now the band can leave this all behind them and they can use the song however they want to now.

Everybody wants to see Led Zep guilty of stealing songs but even if they did, who cares? All rock bands steal songs all the time. It’s pretty common in the music industry anyways. Get the fuck over it, sheesh.

Kev

Things aren’t looking good for Led Zep, band members questioned over “Stairway” alleged infringement…

Led Zeppelin lost their battle against Willie Dixon in the past but could the band lose again? Hopefully not. This isn’t look too good for Led Zep ’cause the band been questioned by the federal court.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-03/led-zeppelin-rock-gods-deposed-in-stairway-to-heaven-lawsuit

I’m hoping Led Zep will prevail though ’cause it would be sad if Spirit wins. If Spirit wins the demands would be pretty harsh too. Spirit is asking for lots of money in damages, plus they demand Randy California to get a writing credit in “Stairway”.

http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-06-03/stairway-to-heaven-lawsuit-demands-jimmy-pages-casette-tapes

I don’t know why Led Zep is a huge target for “plagiarism” so much. I mean look at the Rolling Stones and The Beatles. Those two iconic bands rip off songs all the time but you never see people get mad at them either.

Kev

Led Zeppelin vs. Spirit legal battle over “Stairway” is officially greenlighted…

This is not good news for Led Zep. The judge have sided with the band Spirit and allowed them to go ahead with the case over their claim that Led Zep ripped off one of their songs for “Stairway”. Even though this isn’t good news for Led Zep, I’m still interested in how this is gonna end. I don’t think Jimmy Page is gonna make a confession that he stole the song. Jimmy is gonna do whatever he can to defend himself.

I remember Led Zep lost their legal battle against blues legend, Willie Dixon. Could they lose against Spirit? I think no. I think Jimmy will prevail this time. That group Spirit is now gonna have to prove their case on how Led Zep stole their song which is gonna be difficult to do.

Led Zep have been accused of stealing songs from other bands & artists for years but who cares ya know? Many bands & artists steal stuff from others. Lots of the bands in the 60’s and 70’s have stole music — that includes The Beatles, The Stones, The Doors, The Who, Pink Floyd, The Allman Brothers, etc. I’m sure they all ripped off songs from others. It happens all the time in the music business and there is no outrage from the public when other bands do it. Why does Zeppelin have to be accused of it all the time?

On top of that, I wouldn’t really call it “stealing” or “ripping off” are the wrong words to put it. I would call it more like borrowing. You borrow riffs and song ideas for your own songwriting. You borrow riffs and licks from other artists ’cause you’re big fans of their work.

Sometimes it even happens by accident. When you write a riff or a guitar lick and it sounds exactly the same as someone else’s when you didn’t know that someone else had it. These things happen.

I think Spirit will get nowhere with this. If Zeppelin loses, that’ll be very sad since “Stairway” is an important piece of music history. That’s what happens when you become big and legendary, ya know? Other egotistical bands will get all jealous and they’ll try to accuse that band of plagiarism just to get more attention and more money.

I wish Jimmy Page the best of luck. He’ll probably be the one to be in trial for this one.

http://classicrock.teamrock.com/news/2014-10-20/led-zeppelin-lose-stairway-heaven-lawsuit-round-1

Kev

Jimmy Page talks about how he wrote, “Stairway” w/ Led Zeppelin…

Check out this nice video of Jimmy Page himself talking about how he wrote the Led Zep anthem, “Stairway” with the band. Jimmy is sitting in a chair while he plays the song on vinyl and he talks about how the band wrote it together. Jimmy wasn’t the only writer for the song, “Stairway”. Each member had their own contributions to the song.

You can tell that Jimmy is very proud of the song as he sits there and listens to it.

See the video here:

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29550639

Kev

Led Zeppelin sued for plagiarism again but this time for their anthem, “Stairway to Heaven”…

Throughout the years of their career, Led Zeppelin have always been accused of ripping off songs by other musicians claiming they wrote it first. Even regular music fans have accused the band of stealing songs. Led Zeppelin have also been sued many times. I remember blues legends, Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters both sued the band. I think Willie Dixon was victorious over the lawsuit, though. I remember back in 2010 a folk singer sued Led Zeppelin accusing the band of ripping off, “Dazed and Confused”.

This time, a band by the name of Spirit have sued the band accusing them of ripping off the opening intro for “Stairway To Heavens”. Fans argued that “Stairway” is very similar to Spirit’s song, “Taurus”, which this is nothing new. This has been a debatable topic for decades.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-targeted-for-plagiarism-20140519

In defense to the band, I don’t think Led Zeppelin stole songs or ideas at all. I call it “borrowing”. It’s called inspiration. Looking after the music you loved over the years. I’m tired of people accusing Led Zeppelin of stealing song ideas. Where was the outrage when classic rock bands like the Doors, the Beatles, and the Stones did the same exact thing??? A lot of bands are copy cats out there, don’t fucking accuse Led Zeppelin.

That’s the problem with Led Zep. The more legendary and the bigger the band gets more and more greedy musicians will sue the band accusing them of something. Why? Because that’s it, other bands & musicians are greedy. Why sue them now when they should have done it a long time ago??? Other bands accuse Led Zeppelin as a way for a money making opportunity or they are just pissed that Led Zeppelin is more successful than them. Take your pick.

Sometimes in songwriting, when you write a song… it might sound like another one but you never heard the other one before. Sometimes plagiarism happens by accident, ya know?  Coincidence is probably the correct word I’m looking for and I’m calling it that.

Kev

 

 

Not A Cool Video: Mary J. Blige, Steve Vai, and Orianthi butchers “Stairway to Heaven”…

I like Steve Vai and Orianthi, and all. Both are amazing guitarists, but why would they go on Idol to cover “Stairway” with Mary J. Blige? I know they’re trying to be cool by covering Led Zeppelin, but this cover version is such an embarrassment, it makes me want to vomit all over the place. Did Simon Cowell actually enjoy this? This is such a nightmare performance. I know Mary J. Blige is trying to be rock n’ roll, but she doesn’t fit the genre. Sorry, Mary J., go back to R&B where you belong. She’s getting a pretty big backlash for covering this song too. What were Jimmy Page and Robert Plant thinking when they gave her the permission to cover it? Wow, this is terrible.

Kev