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Led Zeppelin are facing claims that their timeless classic song “Stairway To Heaven” plagiarized a 1968 track from the band Spirit.
Lawyer Francis Alexander Molofiy is seeking to block the re-release of Led Zeppelin IV, stating that his client, former 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. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Spirit and Led Zeppelin shared the stage during a US tour in 1969.
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is said to have started writing “Stairway to Heaven” in 1970 in a remote cottage in Wales.
Released the following year, it’s widely regarded as one of the greatest rock tunes of all time.
Bloomberg Businessweek said the eight-minute song had earned $562 million as of 2008.
Earlier this month Led Zeppelin unveiled two previously unheard recordings ahead of the re-issue in June of its first three albums.
Page, 70, meanwhile scotched rumours of a reunion concert.
Agencies/Canadajournal
