On Friday, Led Zeppelin suffered a big setback in the lawsuit brought against the group over its iconic mega-hit “Stairway to Heaven,” after a judge cleared the way to bring the matter to trial next month.
As the world awaits the final word on whether “Stairway” infringes on the Spirit song “Taurus,” TheWrap looks back on the numerous other times that Jimmy Pages has been accused of playing with sticky fingers.
1: “Dazed and Confused” Plenty of people have noted similarities between this song from Led Zeppelin’s first album and the Jake Holmes song of the same title — including Holmes, who sued Jimmy Page for copyright infringement.
2: “Whole Lotta Love”
One of Led Zeppelin’s most recognizable songs was especially recognizable to Muddy Waters fans. Willie Dixon, the lyricist for the Waters tune “You Need Love,” sued Zeppelin in 1985; the parties settled out of court.
3: “The Lemon Song”
Many believe that Jimmy Page and crew squeezed the juice from Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor” when they came up with this tune from “Led Zeppelin II.”
4: “Since I’ve Been Loving You”
The song from Led Zeppelin’s third album, “Since I’ve Been Loving You” has been compared to Moby Grape’s “Never.”
5. “In My Time of Dying”
Not so much a case of song theft as exploiting the public domain, this “Physical Graffiti” track is a traditional gospel tune that has been covered by multiple artists, including Bob Dylan. Which didn’t stop the group from giving themselves songwriting credit on their own version.