Jimmy Page compares Stairway to Heaven with Mary Poppins tune

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page said on Thursday that the riff he is accused of stealing for the band's 1971 hit Stairway to Heaven is, in fact, a commonly used chord progression similar to a melody from the 1964 movie musical Mary Poppins.

Page, with his ex-bandmate Robert Plant looking on, took the witness stand for a second day in a copyrightinfringement trial in a Los Angeles federal court.

The civil action, brought by a trustee for Randy Wolfe, the late guitarist for the American band Spirit, contends the
British band stole the descending chromatic four-chord progression at the beginning of their signature song from
Spirit's 1967 instrumental Taurus.

Page, under questioning by an attorney for the plaintiff, repeatedly said he was not sure whether any similarity exists
between Stairway and Taurus.

He was quicker to draw a comparison to Chim Chim Cher-ee in Mary Poppins, when asked about a written declaration he gave for the lawsuit where he talked about Stairway to Heavenand the more up-tempo song from the Disney film.

"I may have said the chord sequences are very similar, because that chord sequence has been around forever," Page said.

In 2008, the business magazine Cond Nast Portfolio estimated that Stairway to Heaven had generated more than $560
million US in royalties.

More recently, a company to benefit members of Led Zeppelin and their heirs distributed more than 6.6 million last year, the equivalent of more than $9 million US in current dollars, from royalty payments on the band's songs over the previous 12 months, Page testified.

Michael Skidmore, the trustee for Wolfe's estate, has said Page may have been inspired to write Stairway to Heaven afterhearing California-based Spirit perform Taurus while the bands toured together in 1968 and 1969.

The lawsuit seeks a writing credit for Wolfe on the song and damages in an amount to be proven at trial.

Page, 72, on Wednesday testified that he did not recall hearing Taurus until recently, after he had been made aware of
comparisons being made between the two songs.

Plant is also expected to testify in the case.

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Page recounts teen career

In his testimony Thursday, Page told of learning to play guitar 60 years ago.

The plaintiff's attorney, Francis Malofiy, who had called Page to the stand as a hostile witness, asked if he had a gift with the guitar.Page, one of rock's guitar greats, paused for a long moment and finally said, "Well, yeah." The gallery erupted with laughter at the understatement.

Did Led Zeppelin steal Stairway to Heaven's opening notes?

8 years ago

Duration 13:54

Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are accused of stealing Stairway to Heaven's iconic opening notes from another band.

Malofiy cited an interview in which Page was quoted saying Spirit's music struck him on an emotional level.Page said he didn't remember saying that.

Malofiy then asked if it was possible he also forgot hearing the song Taurus.The question was never answered because of an objection by Page's lawyer.

The lawyer, who referred to Page at one point as the "alleged composer of Stairway to Heaven,struggled to get past objections so Page could compare the acoustic guitar riffs in the two songs.

Page acknowledged they were both in A-minor, but he said he had never seen the sheet music and couldn't comment on the tempo or structure of Taurus.