Zeppelin Prevails....


Well, this on going case is finally put to rest.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-09/ledzeppelin-copyright-9th-circuit
That chord progression sure is similar. I'd like to think Page and Plant didn't lift anything from Randy California/Spirit.

No need to mention the 1st album.

tablejockey

I assume GK was being facetious However, for those who don’t know and might want to: Dave Edmunds is a Welsh guitar player, singer, and producer, his first loves being Chuck Berry and The Everly Brothers. He was a member of the great early-1980’s supergroup Rockpile (along with Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner, and Terry Williams, the latter having previously been the drummer in Man, and post-Rockpile in Dire Straits), and was very active in the 80’s as a producer (The Stray Cats, Carlene Carter, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, The Everly Brothers, Dion DiMucci). He made a lot of great solo albums in the 70’s and 80’s: start with Get It, an album that changed my life!

Dave and Robert Plant are close friends and neighbors, sharing a love of Rockabilly and Hillbilly music. Like Robert, Dave isn't much of a songwriter. ;-)

devoid of context, i agree with the verdict--the use of the four chord progression isn't so close  as to constitute a flagrant, my sweet lord-type ripoff (altho if you read the appellate decision it's based on technical rules of evidence rather than a comparison of the tunes themselves). however, zep are the most notorious music thieves in the annals of history, often lifting whole tunes from their blues or folkie authors without attribution, so my sympathies remain with the plaintiff.
+1 tablejockey  As a rock and blues fan myself I hear so many riffs borrowed,traded/lifted from other artists.Once in awhile someone who owns the publishing rights to a particular song gets a bug up their rear and files a suit.The 'original' song very likely was borrowed/traded/lifted from an artist that came before.
Being a guitar wanker, I’ve realized early on things are "borrowed" in some way to create a tune.

We know R&R simply wouldn’t exist without the blues, what can be done except give props to all the Blues cats, who lifted something from their favorite players.
I guess checks and props need to be paid to the source.....the field hollers and diddley bow players! Somewhere along there, is where R&R starts?

Edit- I should include the early Western Swing(30/40’s)
Watch the scene in Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll wherein Keith, Chuck, and the band are rehearsing "Oh, Carol". During each "break" in the song, the guitar plays a part which starts with the strings bent "up" (sharp). Try as he might, Keith just can't play it correctly, starting with the strings unbent. Chuck shows him over, and over, and over again, and Keith just can't get it right. Keith is no Chuck Berry. Dave Edmunds IS.