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Led Zeppelin’s guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant have appeared in court to deny borrowing from another song for their 1971 hit Stairway To Heaven.

Jimmy Page, 72, and Robert Plant, 67, are expected to give evidence at the civil case in Los Angeles.

Led zeppelin is accused of lifting the song’s opening notes from Taurus, a 1967 track by the band Spirit.

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant are being sued by a trust acting for a founding member of Spirit who died in 1997.Stairway to Heaven copyright trial

The case began with the jury being played various performances of both songs, including part of Led Zeppelin’s recording of Stairway to Heaven.

In his opening statement, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Francis Malofiy, said the case could be summed up in six words, “give credit where credit is due”.

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were both “incredible performers, incredible musicians but they covered other people’s music and tried to make it their own,” he alleged.

Led Zeppelin’s lawyer Robert Anderson insisted that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant “created Stairway to Heaven independently without resort to Taurus or without copying anything in Taurus”.

There was no proof that they had even heard Taurus until decades after creating Stairway to Heaven, said Robert Anderson.

Robert Anderson also claimed that the part of the song at issue – a sequence of notes in the opening bars – was a “descending chromatic line…something that appears in all kinds of songs”.

Such a “commonplace” musical device which “goes back centuries,” was, Robert Anderson claimed, not protected by copyright which in any case, he argued, was not actually owned by the plaintiff.

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Robert Plant and Jimmy Page must face trial in a copyright row over Led Zeppelin’s song Stairway to Heaven, a Los Angeles court has ruled.

The LA district judge said there were enough similarities between the song and an instrumental by the band Spirit to let a jury decide.

The trial has been scheduled for May 10.

Stairway to Heaven, released in 1971, is widely seen as one of the greatest rock compositions of all time.Stairway to Heaven copyright trial

The copyright infringement action has been brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe, who played on the same bill as Led Zeppelin in the 1960s, and claims he should be given a writing credit on the track.

Guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant are reputed to have written Stairway to Heaven in a remote cottage in Wales.

Michael Skidmore has suggested the song came about after the band heard Spirit perform the instrumental Taurus while the bands toured together in 1968 and 1969.

Judge Gary Klausner said a jury could find “substantial” similarity between the first two minutes of Stairway and Taurus.

“While it is true that a descending chromatic four-chord progression is a common convention that abounds in the music industry, the similarities here transcend this core structure,” Judge Gary Klausner ruled.

“What remains is a subjective assessment of the <<concept and feel>> of two works… a task no more suitable for a judge than for a jury.”

The judge also said the trustee can get only 50% of any damages awarded, citing a 1967 contract Randy Wolfe signed.

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Led Zeppelin has unleashed two previously unheard recordings ahead of the reissue of the band’s first three albums in June.

The two tracks – blues classic Keys to the Highway, recorded in 1970, and an early version of the famous song Whole Lotta Love – are among dozens of tracks which the band will officially release alongside the reissues.

The companion discs will feature alternative versions of songs, works in progress and live performances, all recorded at the time of the original albums.

The tracks, like hundreds of others, had been carefully catalogued but then locked away in Led Zeppelin’s archive for decades.

Guitarist Jimmy Page, 70, has spent two-and-a-half years combing through the vaults, listening to hundreds of quarter-inch tapes before choosing the best material.

“I don’t want to die and have somebody else do it,” he says.

Led Zeppelin has unleashed two previously unheard recordings ahead of the reissue of the band's first three albums in June

Led Zeppelin has unleashed two previously unheard recordings ahead of the reissue of the band’s first three albums in June

“I’m authoritative about what was done in the first place.”

Jimmy Page says the new material “deserves to be heard” because “it’s performance art”.

It will give fans the first chance to eavesdrop on some of the band’s key recording sessions.

Keys to the Highway/Trouble in Mind, to appear on Led Zeppelin III, was recorded in 1970 at the Olympic Studios in Barnes in south-west London, about half an hour after Hats Off to (Roy) Harper. But it was never released.

“It was a particularly prolific time, where we were learning about each other’s capabilities,” says singer Robert Plant.

“Jimmy and I were just fooling around with the stuff that we would play at home. We were just trying things out. Nothing was premeditated.”

Led Zeppelin II features an early version of Whole Lotta Love, which many consider to be one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll songs of all time.

There are significant differences between the two tracks. The original is missing the first chorus and middle section. New vocals appear on the finished version, as well as a slide guitar.

“You realize just how important all of those additional layers and the filigree work is,” says Jimmy Page.

“There’s all manner of bells and whistles to make it the song Whole Lotta Love as we all know it.”

Jimmy Page says it’s “reassuring” revisiting the songs after all this time.

“It’s undeniable that we’re good,” he adds.

“The band was the real deal.”

But the inevitable passage of time has given Robert Plant, who is now 65, a different perspective.

“My enthusiasm sometimes got in the way of finesse. I listen to it and go, wow, why didn’t I shut up a bit?” he laughs.

“I kind of overcooked it.”

Jimmy Page promises “lots of surprises” on the three reissues, which are part of a plan to reissue all nine of the band’s studio albums in chronological order.

But he has scotched rumors that there will be versions of songs featuring bass and keyboard player John Paul Jones on vocals.

For a band that broke up in 1980, following the death of the drummer John Bonham, interest in Led Zeppelin remains intense.

The surviving members reunited seven years ago for a concert at London’s O2. But fans will be disappointed if they are hoping there will be another one.