Led Zeppelin Wins

A Jury ruled that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant did not use the instrumental "Taurus" as the basis for Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven". In the past where Zeppelin knowingly used copyrighted material it was usually when they thought the music was a traditional song in the public domain. "Lemon Song" was based on Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor" and when he brought it to the their attention, he was added on the writing credit for "Lemon Song" to collect go-forward royalties. The same thing occurred with "Babe' I'm Gonna Leave You" which Plant and Page heard on a Joan Baez album credited as "Traditional". Anne Bredon, the composer, contacted the Band and her name was added to the credit to collect royalties. She is reported to additionally have received a significant back-payment towards royalties. Since Zeppelin has a pattern of dealing with stealing by quickly sharing royalties, I believed them when they said they were never aware of "Taurus" when they wrote "Stairway To Heaven".  Since the first time I heard "Stairway" I have thought it js a clever reworking of "Babe. I'm Gonna Leave You".

Verdict or no verdict, Spirit's still my band of preference.

Spirit made a lot of good music but Zeppelin was more successful because it had better depth in its personnel. Plant and Page won't admit it, but a key part of Zeppelin's success is due to John Paul Jones for his arranging as well as multi-instrument playing.

Interesting point about Jones. And don't get wrong: I'm not arguing that Spirit were better. They just happen to be one of my pet favorites.

This seems like an appropriate moment to share this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFxOaDeJmXk

Sure. The band that ripped the opening riff of "Barracuda" from "The William Tell Overture"/Lone Ranger theme.

Surely William Tell Overture is public domain by now Rip away!