Recently, on ‘The Mistress Carrie Podcast,’ Godsmack’s Sully Erna shared his thoughts on a song he believed was ‘perfectly written.’ He explained:
“God, I wish I wrote that song. Well, I think everybody knows maybe one of the most perfect songs ever written in the world for rock music is ‘Stairway To Heaven.’ It just is. It is what it is.”
Page ‘Ripped It Off’ Well, He Says
Back in 2016, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant faced a copyright infringement lawsuit about the opening riff of their 1971 hit. Referring to that, Erna commented:
“And even if you did rip off that beginning riff, Jimmy [Page], I don’t give a f**k. You did a good job with that shit. And it wasn’t — listen, I even heard the original piece that they talked about that was a copyright infringement, and it literally is a speck of that entire epic ballad that Zeppelin put together.”
About the track’s creation, he added:
“So, he heard a melody within a few notes of someone else’s song, and he was inspired by it and created this whole amazing legendary rock song. And as a writer, I have to respect that because maybe he could have changed the key or changed a couple of notes, but it really is a very, very, very small part of the intro to that song.”
The Stolen Song Accusations
The 2016 lawsuit started when Led Zeppelin was accused of taking the riff from Spirit’s ‘Taurus.’ This song was recorded three years before the release of ‘Led Zeppelin IV,’ which included ‘Stairway To Heaven.’
Michael Skidmore, looking after the estate of ‘Taurus’ songwriter Randy ‘California’ Wolfe, filed against the band forty years after their track was released.
Page And Plant’s Response To The Claims
The main point of the case was that Led Zeppelin and Spirit had performed together in 1970, which led to the belief that Page ‘had access’ to the song. In contrast, the guitarist testified that he never heard the tune before:
“It was totally alien to me. When it started, I was confused by the comparison… ‘What’s this got to do with Stairway?'”
Similarly, Plant shared:
“I didn’t remember it then, and I don’t remember it now.”
Page also mentioned that he did not copy any part of ‘Taurus’ even though he had five Spirit albums in his large vinyl collection.
What Was The Result?
In 2016, after discussing for about five hours, a jury in Los Angeles decided in favor of Led Zeppelin. The case was reopened in 2018, but the original decision was confirmed in 2020. The U.S. Supreme Court chose not to take the case in October 2020, ending the legal proceedings.
After the trial, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Francis Malofiy, felt the decision was due to a technicality, as the jury didn’t hear the original ‘Taurus’ recording but only a version based on its sheet music.
