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Led Zeppelin face plagiarism claims

Led Zeppelin look set to face legal action over claims that their 1971 song "Stairway To Heaven" is copied a 1968 track by Spirit.

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Led Zeppelin look set to face legal action over claims that their 1971 song “Stairway To Heaven” is copied a 1968 track by Spirit.

Lawyer Francis Alexander Molofiy is attempting to block the forthcoming re-release of Led Zeppelin IV, stating that his client – late Spirit guitarist, Randy Alexander – should be given a writing credit on the track, as it resembles Spirit’s 1968 song “Taurus”, reports Rolling Stone. He has said he will be seeking a copyright infringement lawsuit.

“The idea behind this is to make sure that Randy California is given a writing credit on ‘Stairway To Heaven’,” said Malofiy to Bloomberg Businessweek. “Its been a long time coming.”

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Mark Andes of Spirit says Led Zeppelin would have heard “Taurus” when the two bands were on tour together in the late 1960s. “…it would typically come after a big forceful number and always got a good response. They would have seen it in that context,” he said. Speaking about the time lapse between the alleged plagiarism and legal action, he added: “The clarity seems to be a present-day clarity, not at the time of infringement. I can’t explain it. It is fairly blatant, and note for note. It would just be nice if the Led Zeppelin guys gave Randy a little nod. That would be lovely.” California’s family stated that they waited so long to take legal action as they could not previously afford it.

Rolling Stone says that a representative for the band has refused to comment on the case. The band will reissue their first three albums next month.

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