LOS ANGELES-Music spoke louder than words of witnesses for a jury Thursday that decided Led Zeppelin did not lift a riff from an obscure 1960s instrumental for the introduction to its classic rock anthem "Stairway to Heaven."
The panel had heard the faded memories of rock royalty and band members who never achieved the same fame. They were inundated with expert testimony on chord progressions and record revenues.
But before reaching a verdict that could have re-written rock history, they only wanted to hear stripped-down passages of the two songs in question.
Within 15 minutes of seeing video clips of an acoustic guitarist playing the opening to "Stairway" and a similar passage from "Taurus," written by the late Randy Wolfe, the Los Angeles federal jurors handed Led Zeppelin a major legal victory in a debate that has divided music fans for decades.
Jimmy Page, 72, and singer Robert Plant, 67, both wearing suits and with their long hair pulled back in ponytails, hugged their lawyers. They said in statement they were grateful for "putting to rest questions about the origins of 'Stairway to Heaven' and confirming what we have known for 45 years."
The trust for Wolfe, better known as Randy California, had sued the British band for copyright infringement over the short work he recorded with his band Spirit in 1968. Wolfe drowned in 1997 saving his son in Hawaii, and the trust brought the case after a 2014 Supreme Court ruling over the movie "Raging Bull" opened the door to collecting damages in older copyright suits.
The "Taurus" recording contains a section that sounds like the instantly identifiable start of "Stairway," but lawyers for the trust had the trick of overcoming a big hurdle in copyright law.
Because recordings prior to 1978 aren't protected by copyright, they had to rely on expert renditions of the sheet music filed with the U.S. Copyright Office. The sheet music is typically transcribed from audio and isn't always faithful, said Steven L. Weinberg, a copyright lawyer and musician who watched the trial.