Led Zeppelin's likelihood of not having plagiarized Stairway to Heaven ranked by Yorkshire academic as a quintillion to one

The row over the provenance of Led Zeppelin's classic Stairway to Heaven anthem took an interesting turn today when one Yorkshire academic calculated the odds that it is a coincidence the song's opening 17 notes are the same as Spirit's Taurus are 2.2 Quintillion to one.
Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham of Led ZeppelinRobert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham of Led Zeppelin
Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham of Led Zeppelin

Dr Rupert Till, Senior Lecturer in Music Technology specialising in popular music composition, performance, stardom and celebrity culture at the University of Huddersfield has claimed the British hard rock legend’s most-revered songs is so similar to the little-known Spirit’s track that “there’s no chance this could be a coincidence”.

Dr Till said: “The odds of the first 17 notes being the same are 2,218,611,106,740,437,000:1 or 2.2 Quintillion to one... add that the tempo is almost the same, the key is the same, they both start with solo picked acoustic guitar, there is no chance this could be coincidence.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The news comes after it a US judge ruled that the two songs had so much in common that both Jimmy Page and Robert Plant could be liable for copyright infringement with a trial scheduled for May 10.

Led Zeppelin perform at Preston's Guild Hall on 30 January 1973Led Zeppelin perform at Preston's Guild Hall on 30 January 1973
Led Zeppelin perform at Preston's Guild Hall on 30 January 1973

One of Led Zeppelin’s first US tours included Spirit as the support act.

Dr Till said: “Led Zeppelin are again in court being accused of using material written by other people in their music without proper credit.

“This follows successful past actions making Led Zeppelin credit the original authors on songs like Whole Lotta Love, Bring it on Home, When the Levee Breaks and others.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Incorporating elements of the blues and jazz records was extremely common during the 1950s, 60s and 70s with many so-called classic rock artists having been accused of ‘ripping off’ black artists throughout history.

Led Zeppelin remain one of the world’s biggest-selling artists and are considered one of the most influential hard rock groups of all time.

Related topics: