Seriously?
Stairway to Heaven being "inspired" by the Taurus song is the basis of this entire case!
Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page Testifies in ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Copyright Trial
- Thread starter cigaretteman
- Start date
Seriously?
Stairway to Heaven being "inspired" by the Taurus song is the basis of this entire case!
If I tried to release a song with the chord progression of Tiny Dancer, but changed the lyrics, am I plagiarizing or just acting on inspiration?
The Supreme Court ruled that 2 Live Crew's version of Pretty Woman, with the EXACT same riff and some of the EXACT same lyrics, were not a copyright violation.
This doesn't even come close to what Luther Campbell did.
Imagine a world where musicians hear a catchy little riff and think, "Wow, I could make that so much better... but I can't because I'll get sued for copyright infringement."
WTF happened to freedom of expression? I can put Jesus in a jar of piss and it's protected "art" but I can't make something great out of a few bars from a crappy Taurus song?
WTF happened to freedom of expression? I can put Jesus in a jar of piss and it's protected "art" but I can't make something great out of a few bars from a crappy Taurus song?
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Imagine a world where internet trolls couldn't appropriate someone else's image and make a really funny meme out if it!
I don't want to live in such a world! Who's with me???
I don't want to live in such a world! Who's with me???
No kidding!! It's too bad there's not an acceptable way for musicians to cover other musicians work.
Well, it may be difficult for you to understand, but sometimes a songwriter creates a song and he/she doesn't want other people "making it so much better" because it's their song. The songs are theirs and they are like children to them, in some ways. They're very special and personal. Now, there are examples of unfinished songs that are shared and given, or ASKED FOR by a fellow musician. Jackson Browne gave Glenn Frey the unfinished "Take It Easy" and he finished it.
Asking permission, or being cordial, polite and saying "Would it be okay with you if I added something to this and published it?" That's not what is occurring in these situations. Page is notorious for lifting entire songs, progressions and lyrics. This is not an isolated case. He's done it often.
And the fact that there are so many lawsuits about this crap proves that the system is problematic.
John Fogerty was sued for ripping off John Fogerty. Can't you see how f*cked up this system is?
http://mentalfloss.com/article/27501/time-john-fogerty-was-sued-ripping-john-fogerty
Well, you totally ignored my post, but... whatever. I made no reference to lawsuits.
Did you read that link??? I actually MET John Fogerty in 1994! I was very fortunate to have had that opportunity. I won't get into too many specifics, but... that lawsuit was from his former manager/Fantasy Records suing HIM for sounding too much like himself years later in a solo record. That was rubbish. That is an entirely different circumstance. Fogerty didn't sue himself AT ALL! He was being sued by the guy that fvcked him out of his own publishing from his CCR days, because his new music sounded too much like his music in CCR! That is absurd. The source of the music is the SAME! That is totally different from these other cases! Just because there is someone who will sue for frivolous reasons, to make a buck, doesn't mean that there aren't LEGITIMATE reasons for these lawsuits!
I corrected the wording of my statement while you where composing that rant.
Every freaking AC/DC song sounds the same, too. Being sued because you sound the same as you did in your old band is ABSURD!
Yeah, my lawyer will call your lawyer and we'll work it out over lunch at $500 per hour. Sounds, great.
NO, it doesn't! It sounds like AC/DC! The musicians, and instrumentation, are the same, but the songs have different chord progressions and lyrics and time signatures. The songs have symmetry, but that is understandable given that the source of the music are the same people. But, Highway To Hell is not the same as Thunderstruck.
You're trying way too hard to push an opinion.
I've heard of him. Randy California was the lead guitarist, main songwriter, (along with Jay Ferguson, who later formed Jo Jo Gunne) and front man of Spirit, a late-60's, highly regarded band from L.A.
In the mid-60's, when his family moved to New York, he met then-unknown guitarist, Jimi Hendrix, in a music store and actually played in one of his early bands. When Hendrix moved to England and formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience, California was asked to go along, but at fifteen, he was too young. It was Hendrix who gave him his stage name, "California".
In 1968, Spirit released the single, "I Got a Line on You"' a terrific rocker that peaked at #25 on the Hot 100. It was written by California. The following year, Spirit was asked to open for Hendrix at Woodstock, but decided against it because they were on tour promoting their latest album. Spirit and California were no lightweights. Music critics, for the most part, loved them. Randy California, AKA Randy Wolfe, wrote "Taurus".
In the late 90's, California drowned in Hawaii while attempting to save his son, who was caught in a rip-tide. The boy survived.
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Which brings us back to Led Zeppelin, who spent years ripping off old bluesmen lyrically and musically.
The problem is doing it without credit. Here is a good article. The first youtube vid has a comparison of all the stolen tracks. It is pretty eye opening.
http://www.showbiz411.com/2013/10/1...istory-nominated-for-songwriters-hall-of-fame
So, the same ending means the beginning and middle are the same?
The lawsuit concerns the beginning of the song. Certainly not the same in the middle or the end....
Back to dazed and confused . . .
When the Yardbirds broke up in 1968, Page brought the song to his new band, releasing it on Led Zeppelin's self- titled first album. But although Holmes's contribution to the tune is often commented upon – and even dominates Dazed and Confused's Wikipedia page – Page is credited as the track's sole songwriter. In 1990, Musician magazine quizzed Page on the subject, asking if Holmes was the original composer. "I don't know about all that," Page replied. "I'd rather not get into it because I don't know all the circumstances. What's he got – the riff or whatever? ... I haven't heard Jake Holmes so I don't know what it's all about anyway. Usually my riffs are pretty damn original."https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jun/30/led-zeppelin-sued-dazed-and-confused
The article goes on to say that Jake Holmes opened for the Yardbirds (with Jimmy Page) in August of 1967 in Greenwich Village. The next day the Yardbirds' drummer bought Holmes album with the intend that the band would covered Dazed and Confused. Page worked up the guitar parts. I'm sorry to bring politics into this but Page is a bigger liar than you-know-who.
When the Yardbirds broke up in 1968, Page brought the song to his new band, releasing it on Led Zeppelin's self- titled first album. But although Holmes's contribution to the tune is often commented upon – and even dominates Dazed and Confused's Wikipedia page – Page is credited as the track's sole songwriter. In 1990, Musician magazine quizzed Page on the subject, asking if Holmes was the original composer. "I don't know about all that," Page replied. "I'd rather not get into it because I don't know all the circumstances. What's he got – the riff or whatever? ... I haven't heard Jake Holmes so I don't know what it's all about anyway. Usually my riffs are pretty damn original."https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jun/30/led-zeppelin-sued-dazed-and-confused
The article goes on to say that Jake Holmes opened for the Yardbirds (with Jimmy Page) in August of 1967 in Greenwich Village. The next day the Yardbirds' drummer bought Holmes album with the intend that the band would covered Dazed and Confused. Page worked up the guitar parts. I'm sorry to bring politics into this but Page is a bigger liar than you-know-who.
On Staiway to Heaven - I wouldn't award damages because Randy California intro is not original to him. I posted earlier a Turlough O'Carolan composition from early 1700s - Carolan's Dream. It's almost identical to Stairway to Heaven. In addition that minor chord figure with the chromatic four note descending pattern - root, maj. 7th, 7th, 6th - is old as the hills and not remotely original to Randy California.
That may very well be, but I'm not sure that matters in a legal context. I'm not a lawyer, so take this for what it's worth. But even if the chord progression is 300 years old, RC's estate might still be entitled to royalties if he was the first to copyright the chord progression.
Be sure to send Belushi's estate a check for a percentage of all the revenue you receive from that post.Imagine a world where internet trolls couldn't appropriate someone else's image and make a really funny meme out if it!
I don't want to live in such a world! Who's with me???
I think its pretty clear they lifted the riff. Not the first time that band has been accused it. I dont know enough about the laws to know if they broke any.
All I hear is a basic chord progression being played on an acoustic guitar. If Stairway to Heaven is a ripoff of that than there should be a ton of songs with acoustic guitars getting in line to be sued as well.
Exactly......... you have to purchase the copyright and license to record the song, and give the originator of the song written credit on any literature or recording that is made.
Chord progression is one thing......this is much more than chord progression. it's rhythmically identical as well.
A "basic chord progression being played?" Well, you could say that EVERY song is a basic chord progression being played. "Basic" is relative. All songs are made up of notes and chords... all of them. All books, poems and lyrics are written using the same words we all use. At some point, there is an intent to plagiarize. That is what this is about.
If I'm not mistaken, the plaintiffs' point is that the opening of StH is a very distinctive part of the song. And it is. Probably just about anyone who has ever heard the song can name that tune in two notes. Obviously the other 7 minutes of the song is very different from Taurus. The plaintiffs aren't suggesting RC wrote StH, they just want him to get credit for the portion that clearly was lifted.
First time hearing them both. Similar yes but all music has elements of earlier works. Who is to determine if JP heard it and the STH song came to him subconsciously?
