Did Led Zeppelin Steal ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Intro From Jewish Guitarist?

Image by gettyimages

By Josefin Dolsten April 12, 2016

It will be up to a jury to decide if parts of Led Zeppelin hit “Stairway to Heaven” were stolen from a lesser known song by rock band Spirit, a judge ruled Friday.

The lawsuit alleges that Led Zeppelin plagiarized from Spirit’s “Taurus,” and was initiated by a trustee for Randy Wolfe, Spirit’s Jewish guitarist. Wolfe passed away in 1997.

Prior to his death, Wolfe said in an interview that Led Zeppelin could “have the beginning of ‘Taurus’ for their song without a lawsuit,” the reported.

Lawyers for Michael Skidmore, Wolfe’s trustee, claim that the guitarist’s comments should not be taken at face value.

“The tenor of the interview,” they argue, shows that Wolfe “felt cheated by Led Zeppelin and was merely trying to save face and make light of a bad situation.”

“Taurus” was released in 1968, while “Stairway to Heaven” was first played in 1971.

According to court documents, Spirit band members say the two groups toured and played together, prior to the Led Zeppelin hit’s release.

Led Zeppelin denies the claims, saying “they never toured with, shared a stage with or listened to any of Spirit’s music during these brief encounters.”

This is not the first time Led Zeppelin has been accused of unfairly borrowing music from other musicians.

The band previously paid settlements to folk singer Anne Bredon and the blues musician Willie Dixon after being accused of plagiarism.

A musician has analyzed the similarities and differences between the two songs here:

Listen to the originals and judge for yourself.

“Stairway to Heaven”:

“Taurus”:

Josefin Dolsten is a New York-based writer who has reported for the Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and other Jewish publications. She currently works as an account director at Fenton Communications, supporting organizations that work to advance racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. Dolsten earned her B.A. in government from Cornell University and her M.A. in comparative religion and Jewish studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO