The End of the Stairway to Heaven Lawsuit – Led Zeppelin vs. Spirit

The long-running lawsuit claiming that Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven was based on a chord progression from Spirit’s song Taurus has finally reached its conclusion.

The lawsuit, filed in 2014 by the estate of Spirit guitarist Randy Craig Wolfe (aka Randy California), came long after Wolfe’s death in 1997. Although Wolfe himself never took legal action, he didn’t shy away from expressing his frustration over the similarities between the two tracks:

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!

Listener Magazine (cited in the music blog “Turn Me On, Dead Man.”)

The Background

Stairway to Heaven was released in 1971 on Led Zeppelin’s album Led Zeppelin IV, under Atlantic Records (a subsidiary of Warner Music Group). Spirit’s Taurus, an instrumental rock piece recorded by Wolfe, came out in 1968. The lawsuit claimed that Led Zeppelin had created an unauthorized derivative work by using the chord progression from Taurus in Stairway to Heaven.

In 2016, a judge initially ruled in favor of Led Zeppelin. However, in 2018, a three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit vacated the district court’s decision, citing procedural errors and inadequate jury instructions, and ordered a new trial. But on March 9, 2020, the Ninth Circuit restored the original verdict, siding once again with Led Zeppelin. Michael Skidmore, the trustee of Wolfe’s estate, then petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.

On October 5, 2020, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, effectively putting an end to the legal battle. With no higher court to appeal to, the decision in favor of Led Zeppelin stands, marking the likely end of the dispute.

For more information about the lawsuit, please refer to Michael Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin 952 F.3d 1051 (9th Cir. 2020).

Ongoing Debate

Even though the legal battle is over, the debate about whether Stairway to Heaven was inspired by Taurus is likely to continue among music fans. For those interested in an in-depth analysis of the similarities and the frequency with which this chord progression is used, Rick Beato’s video on the subject provides a fascinating breakdown.