Led Zeppelin to appear in court over 'Stairway to Heaven' theft claim

Led Zeppelin to face trial over ripping off 'Stairway to Heaven', one of the most recognizable songs in rock history, from Spirit, a Los Angeles based psychedelic band.

Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant will appear in court on June 14 to defend the case, which accuses the 60s-80s rock band of plagiarism, reports Channel 24.

After two years of legal proceedings, a judge stopped short of agreeing that the song was copied but said there was enough of a case for a jury trial in Los Angeles.

Spirit's guitarist Randy Wolfe, who was known by the nickname Randy California, never took the legal route and passed away in 1997, but a lawsuit has been filed by his trustee Michael Skidmore.

Before his death, Wolfe was quoted by a magazine alleging similarities between their instrumental track Taurus and Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven'.

Calling it a 'rip-off', he said, "the guys made millions of bucks on it and never said 'Thank you,' never said, 'Can we pay you some money for it?' It's kind of a sore point with me."

However, the surviving members of Led Zeppelin have submitted testimony to the court to prove their innocence, claiming that they had never listened to the band's music.

The lawsuit says Led Zeppelin have "a deep-rooted history of lifting composition from blues artists and other songwriters who they have repeatedly failed to credit".

It also enlists disputes over 16 other Led Zeppelin songs including classics like 'Whole Lotta Love' and 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You.