Stairway to Heaven

[Loz]

As someone who thought the 'Blurred Lines' decision was utterly ridiculous, I think Led Zepp might be ponying up the dosh for this one.

(If you want to jump the rather overlong intro, skip to about 40 seconds in.)

 

[shoshntosh]

i honestly don't see what the fuss is about. IF they did rip it off, they improved upon it so much that it's virtually unrecognisable. then again, i'm no musician (and i am a LZ fan so...)

[*Bob*]

I think you?re right Loz, they?ll have to pay up.

Thicke (the one with the horrible eyes that the record company makes him hide behind sunglasses) nicked the feel and groove from a classic track and added some unpleasant lightly rapey lyrics, making for a giant smash-n-grab hit that was instantly (and best) forgotten.

The Zep took a commonplace chord sequence and expanded it into an iconic 8-minute prog opus in three movements which will be played, basically forever.

Of the two, I feel more sorry for Zep. But it's still going to cost them, not that they're short of dough.

[DulwichFox]

Why has it taken close on 50 years to come about.. ?

Or am I missing something. ?

Foxy

[Jeremy]

TBH I've never heard of "Spirit". But surely if they were that bothered about it, they would have sued back in the day?

[*Bob*]

AFAIK The dude who wrote the 'original' had piped-up about it sounding a bit you know, inspired by, (especially since Zep supported them on tour!) but didn't feel sufficiently slighted to take it to court. He probably took the reasonable position that while they nicked the four chords, they'd gone on to make it their own - and then some.

Unfortunately he's dead now - and his estate (and publishing) is now in the hands of someone who SMELLS MONEY AND LOTS OF IT

[Jeremy]

*Bob* Wrote:

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> Thicke ... nicked the feel and groove from a classic track

Well actually as I understand it, Pharrell Williams did... Thicke just turned up later that night, off his head on coke, and ad-libbed some creepy stuff into the mic.

I think if LZ can point to several other works in rock/folk/etc with the same chord pattern then maybe they'll be OK, but it's not looking good.

[*Bob*]

I blame Thicke entirely.. because he has horrible eyes.

I don't think Zep have got much chance of getting away without paying-up. Jimmy Page has already made it worse by saying he never heard the Taurus track until a few years ago, but they were on tour supporting Taurus around the time they released their original four-chord-patterned thing.

Same instrument, same pattern, the timeframe fits, they were in the right place, professor Plum with the candlestick in the library..

[Jah Lush]

Spot on. *Bob*. This isn't new by the way. The lawsuit or whatever you call it has been happening for at least a couple of years. Zep ripped off a lot of blues artists too and never gave them credit at the time unlike the Stones who always championed blues artists and gave credit where it was due.

[Jah Lush]

Here's another instance of the Zep "inspiration" thing.

Muddy Waters records Willie Dixon's You Need Love.

Which the Small Faces borrow heavily from.

And then later Led Zeppelin come up with this and give themselves full credit.

 

[DovertheRoad]

That's great...thanks for posting Jah

[malumbu]

Black Sabbath

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BseNPqhyjds

Judas Priest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPhPbTbjYM0

[*Bob*]

Jah Lush Wrote:

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> Here's another instance of the Zep "inspiration"

> thing.

> Which the Small Faces borrow heavily from.

> And then later Led Zeppelin come up with this and

> give themselves full credit.

Dixon got his piece of the pie on WLL in the end though - as well as full credit and remuneration on other Zep tracks.. they weren't exactly trying to hide from him.

The fact that the nobody bothered to haul the Faces through the courts tells the story: as long as you don't make too much money you're probably ok.

Secret Chord progressions and undiscovered melodies are thin on the ground these days. If all writers fairly credited everyone they 'borrowed from' - before even a deal was signed or a record released - they'd spend more time trying to agree the publishing then they would writing the music. IMO.

[*Bob*]

*Bob* Wrote:

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> Dixon* got his piece of the pie on WLL in the end

> though

* daughter of Willie Dixon, I mean. Same old story...

Anyway, once upon a time there was probably an old blues guy sitting in a bar playing his $10 guitar who can recall when Willie Dixon caught his set and then went on to borrow a few licks.

[uncleglen]

That Spirit thing resembles Pachabel's cannon in it's structure https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOA-2hl1Vbc.

It is a basic musical structure like an arpeggio so I think LZ will get let off (I hope so or the flood gates will open)

The funniest example of this is when Malcolm the genius in Season 6 episode 7 of Malcolm in the Middle tries his very hardest to compose a guitar song and it ends up like the Miaow Mix advertisement.

[*Bob*]

uncleglen Wrote:

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> It is a basic musical structure like an arpeggio

> so I think LZ will get let off (I hope so or the

> flood gates will open)

In this case, this is not a defence - and it won't wash.

The floodgates have been open on this for half a century, it's not new. Amongst the few high profile cases that make the news because the tracks are just so famous, there are countless others that are negotiated behind the scenes. The more money involved, the more horse-trading.

Uptown Funk is a classic example: starts out with a couple of writers and a couple of publishers. Becomes smash hit. Vultures circle. At one point this track had three dozen publishers making a claim! I think they've settled on ten writers now or something like that. Good going for a basic chord progression.

[Otta]

I once came up with a lovely little.chord progression on guitar. Turns out it wad A Sheryl Crow song.

I burnt the guitar so as to cleanse myself.

Although on the bright side it did give me an "in" with a pretty girl who liked Sheryl Crow and wanted to sing said song.