Led Zeppelin Sale

I’ve been collecting Led Zeppelin memorabilia since 1983, but it’s time to thin out the collection, so I’m selling some of it. See the Led Zeppelin Sale page to the left for just a sample of what I’m selling.

Things for sale include original Song Remains The Same movie-related items (ads, poster, 35mm film trailer); original 1970s posters, t-shirts and belt buckles; original trade magazines, album ads, record charts, articles, and clippings; original CDs and LPs; original concert ads, ticket stubs, pins, and hats; and framed gold-record artwork. This is just a representative listing; there are many more items. Please email me if you are interested in anything or if you want to know what else I have available, and I’ll send you more photos and details.   -GotLed

Stairway Lawsuit Update

On Monday, March 9, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals in San Francisco ruled that Led Zeppelin did not steal the opening guitar riff of “Stairway to Heaven.” Zeppelin had been accused of stealing the riff from the 1968 Spirit song “Taurus.”

According to guitarworld.com, the 11-judge panel in San Francisco ruled in a 9-2 decision that Zeppelin did not steal the song’s iconic opening acoustic guitar intro. The ruling affirmed a decision by a Los Angeles jury in 2016. The appeals court also elected to ditch what is known as the inverse ratio rule, which states that the more access songwriters have to previously written works, the lower the bar for proving substantial similarity.

In the case of Zeppelin and “Taurus,” the original lawsuit claimed Robert Plant and Jimmy Page were familiar with “Taurus” because Spirit and Led Zeppelin had played shows together in 1968 and 1969.

– GotLed (March 10, 2020)

Led Zeppelin Hot Wheels cars

According to ultimateclassicrock.com, Mattel has announced a Led Zeppelin Hot Wheels cars collection. Five collectible die-cast vehicles inspired by the group are set for release this month. Each vehicle will be themed after a specific time period in the group’s career.

I’m not sure why the band feels the need for this (I doubt any of the members are dangerously low on funds), but it smacks of a Kiss-esque move. Kiss, as you may know, will license their name to almost anything. At one time you could get anything from Kiss condoms to Kiss coffins; that’s right — you could go Kiss from cradle to grave.

Stairway Lawsuit Update

On Monday, Sept. 23, Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” lawsuit resumed at the San Francisco 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Circuit Court is hearing the case “en banc,” which means a full panel (11 federal appellate judges) will hear the case, instead of the customary subset of judges selected from the panel. An en banc review is often used for unusually complex cases or cases considered to be of greater importance.

“Appeals courts rarely take a case en banc, and they almost never do so in a copyright case,” said Joseph P. Fishman, an associate professor at the Vanderbilt Law School in Nashville. “So there’s some possibility that the court may take a big swing here.”

According to a Sept 30 article in Forbes, the Stairway lawsuit could potentially be worth $55 million In damages. The judges could take months to issue a decision, and even then the case could drag on and go as far as the Supreme Court.

– GotLed (Oct 6, 2019)

I’m back…

It’s been about a year since I posted, but that’s because I’d posted a Led Zeppelin history item for every day of the year, and history doesn’t change. But I return today with an update on the “Stairway to Heaven” lawsuit.

Zep fans may recall that a few years ago the band were accused of plagiarizing Spirit’s instrumental track “Taurus” for the intro to “Stairway.” “Taurus” was released in January 1968, more than three years prior to Zeppelin releasing “Stairway.” And because Zeppelin opened for Spirit a few times in early 1969 (shortly after they arrived in the U.S.), the possibility of them having heard “Taurus” in concert certainly exists.

A jury found in the original 2016 trial that Led Zeppelin did not plagiarize “Taurus,” ruling that it was not “intrinsically similar” to the opening of “Stairway to Heaven.” However, in September 2018, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the jury at the original trial was given improper instruction from the judge. Now a second trial is set for this September in San Francisco.

But Zep may have help this time. On August 2, Digital Music News reported that 123 artists and organizations have submitted a brief to the court in support of Led Zeppelin, claiming that ruling in favor of Spirit would severely hamper their own creativity, the creativity of future artists, and creativity in “the music industry in general.” We’ll see what happens in September, but in the meantime you can read the brief here.

-GotLed (Aug 10, 2019)

Led Zeppelin History – Aug 28

This week in 1973, Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant began enforcing a 90/10 concert gate proceeds split in favor of the band (traditionally, gate revenues had been split 50-50 between band and promoter). The concert industry howled, but Grant informed them that 10% of Led Zeppelin’s business was better than 50% of nothing. The concert promoters caved in, and the other big bands of the day were quick to follow suit.

Grant, a 6’-3” 320-pound ex-professional wrestler, was the kind of manager every artist wants – immensely loyal, undaunted in his efforts on behalf of his clients, and fully prepared to eradicate problems by whatever means necessary. He was known as being one of the shrewdest and most ruthless managers in rock history.

Unpopular as his strategies may have been with booking agents and promoters, Grant was the prin­cipal architect of the shift in power from businessmen to artists during the 70s. His tactics are widely credited today with improving pay and conditions for musicians in dealings with concert promoters.

 

 

Led Zeppelin History – Aug 17

Today in 1999, Led Zeppelin topped a British chart of most bootlegged musicians, as compiled by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) after they identified 384 bootleg titles of Led Zeppelin performances. The bootleg chart was compiled from the BPI’s archive of some 10,000 recordings seized over the previous 25 years. The Beatles came in second with 320 entries; other acts listed included The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd.

Led Zeppelin History – Aug 2

Today in 1968, John Paul Jones officially replaced former Yardbirds bassist Chris Dreja in Jimmy Page’s new band, to become known as Led Zeppelin a few months later. Page knew he needed a virtuoso bassist who, when needed, could quickly move to other roles (arranger, keyboards, etc.), onstage and in the studio. Page already knew Jones as a session colleague, so a rehearsal would not be so much a test of his abilities as a matter of determining if he would fit in. If I recall correctly, he fit in just fine…

After replacement, Dreja turned to another passion, photography, and quickly started a professional career. In fact, he took the photo that appeared on the back jacket of Zeppelin’s debut album.