Led Zeppelin principal Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are currently in court, fighting a lawsuit that claims the songwriters stole the opening of Zeppelin’s signature tune, 1971’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’.

In his suit, Michael Skidmore, a trustee for Randy Wolfe, late guitarist for US band Spirit, claims the opening of ‘Stairway’ was in fact ripped from Spirit’s obscure 1968 instrumental ‘Taurus’.

Both Plant and Page claim to have never heard Wolfe’s composition, even though Led Zeppelin had opened for Spirit when the UK rock legends made their US debut on 26th December 1968 in Denver.

Whilst it obviously remains to be seen just how the case will go, court proceedings have so far unearthed many interesting tidbits for Zeppelin fans to add to the canon of the band’s legendary lore.

For example, Page rubbished the long held myth that ‘Stairway’ was composed during a 1970 retreat to Bron-Yr-Aur, a remote cottage in the mountains of Wales where Plant holidayed as a child.

But perhaps even more scintillating is the revelation of just how much money Plant and Page have allegedly reaped from their iconic and enduring rock radio staple.

As ABC News reports, music royalties expert Michael Einhorn told the Los Angeles federal court on Friday that Page and Plant have made US$58.5 million (AUD$79 million) from ‘Stairway to Heaven’.

Just to put that in context, the Page-Plant songwriting partnership have made $79 million over forty years from a single song, albeit one of the most famous of all time.

Considering the nice chunk of change that ‘Stairway’ has brought the two musicians, it’s little wonder Skidmore is looking for a writing credit for the late Wolfe, who drowned in Hawaii in 1997.

However, both Plant, Page, and even Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, all claim to have never heard of Spirit or ‘Taurus’, with Page insisting the opening ‘Stairway’ riff is a common musical refrain.

In fact, Page said the descending chromatic structure of the ‘Stairway’ riff can be heard in many other songs, including ‘Chim Chim Cher-ee’ from the soundtrack to the Disney film Mary Poppins.

Music expert Lawrence Ferrara testified on Friday that the only similarity between ‘Taurus’ and ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is a “descending chromatic minor line progression”, which has been used in many pop songs.

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