I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
l01l
t2t3t415
I6r7l8l920
2l22
23
24
25
26)1
28
Peter J. Anderson, Esq., Cal. Bar No. 88891E-Ma i I : pia@,pianders'on. comLAW OFFIÕES OF PETER J. ANDERSON
ANTHONYJO WARNETVCHAPPELLPLANT, JOHN PAUL
MUSIC, INC., SUPERATLANTIC RECORD
HYPEING CORP
ENTERTAINMENT COMPANYMUSIC GROUP CORP.
MICHAEL SKIDMORE, efc.,
Plaintitïìvs.
LED ZEPPELIN, et al,,
Defendants.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTCENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
WESTERN DIVISIONCase No. 2:15-cv-03462 RGK (AGRX)
Helene Freeman. Esq.. admitted oro hac viceE-Mail : hfreernánlÐbhittipsnizei.comPHILIPS NIZER LI,P666 Fifth AvenueNew York, NY 10103-0084Tel: (212\ 977-9700Fax: 12ll\ 262-5152Attorhev í for De fendantsJAMES PATRICK PAGE, ROBERT ANTHONYPLANT and JOHN PAUL JONES
)))))))))
DECLARATION OF JAMESPATRICK PAGE IN SUPPORT OFMOTION FOR SUMMARYJUDGMENT OR, IN THEALTERNATIVE, PARTIALSUMMARY JUDGMENTDate: March 28,2016Time: 9:00 a.m.
Courtroom of the HonorableR. Garv Klausner
United Statés District Judge
Case 2:15-cv-03462-RGK-AGR Document 97-2 Filed 02/25/16 Page 1 of 6 Page ID #:1071
l
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
llt2l3t4l516
t7l8l920
2t')i
23
24
25
26
27
28
DECLARATION OF JAMES PATRICK PAGEI, James Patrick Page, declare and state:
l. I am over the age of 18 and have personal knowledge of the followingfacts and could competently testi$ to those facts if called upon to do so.
2. I, along with Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and the late John Bonham,
were the members of the band LedZeppelin, formed in 1968.
3. The musical composition Stairway to Heaver? was created by Robert
Plant and me, independently and without knowledge of Taurus.
4, I composed the music to Stairway to Heaven with the intention to create
a long work, with multiple different parts, that would unfold with increasing
cornplexity and speed culminating in a guitar solo that was preceded by a distinct
fanfare, followed by the last verse concluding a climax to the song. Robert Plant
created the lyrics tlor Stairway to Heaven after my initial composition of the music,
when the song was worked on by the band members of Led Zeppelin in 1970 in
rehearsals for its recording. Stairtay îo Heavel? was recorded in December 1970 to
January 1971 in London, England, and first performed by Led Zeppelin in March
l97l at Ulster Hall in Belfast, Northern lreland. The recording of ,Sra irway to Heaven
created in early l97l in London, England, was included in the Led Zeppelin album
usually referred to as LedZeppelin IV, in November 1971.
5. The beginning of Stairway to Heaven includes a descending chromatic
line chord progression and arpeggios, over which I played an ascending line. Iconsider descending chromatic lines and arpeggiated ohords basic skills learned by
any student of the guitar. Certainly, as a guitarist, I was aware of descending
chromatic lines and arpeggios long before 1968. For example, in 1960, I arranged for
a friend, Chris Farlowe, and his band the Thunderbirds to record a demo of the
composition Spring is Near along with other material.. Chris Farlowe did get a
recording contract. Spring is Near was not released. However, I still have the
pressing of the demo and provided it to my counsel for production in this case. The
Case 2:15-cv-03462-RGK-AGR Document 97-2 Filed 02/25/16 Page 2 of 6 Page ID #:1072
I
?,
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
r0
ut213
t4l516
t7l8l920
2L
22
23
24
25
26
)1
28
beginning of Spring is Near, recorded in 1960, is a guitar playing a descending
chromatic line chord progression.
6. Before 1968, I also was familiar with other songs that included a
descending line, such as songs by the Beatles and Cry Me a River by Davey Graharn.
Also, in 1964 a studio musician, Joe Moretti, introduced me to the song Chim Chím
Chiree and I liked the idea of music going at counterpoint and I used that and similar
ideas in my music. For example, as stated above, Stairway to Heavere has a
descending chromatic line over which there is also an ascending line, so that the music
is going in two different directions.
7, I performed as a session guitarist on recordings by a musical group called
Cartoone for their album of the same name. That album includes a song titled /ce
Cream Dreams, which also begins with a guitar playing a descending line. I
participated in that recording as a session guitarist in the fall of 1968, before Led
Zeppelin went to the U.S. in December 1968.
8. Prior to hearing a recording of Tauras in 2014 in connection with this
matter, I had never heard Taurus or even heard of it. I am very good at remembering
music and am absolutely certain that I never heard Taurus until 2014.
9, I do not recall ever seeing Spirit perfonn live. Again, though, I am
absolutely certain I never heard them, or anyone else, perform Taurus,
10. Led Zeppelin and the band Spirit never performed together and were
never on the same stage at the same time.
I l. To the best of my knowledge based on the information presently
available to rne, the only occasions when Led Zeppelin performed at the same venue
on the same date on which Spirit was scheduled to perform were: the Auditorium
Arena in Denver, Colorado, on December 26, 1968, the Atlanta International Pop
Festival at the Atlanta Speedway in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 5, 1969 and the Seattle
Pop Festival in Woodinville, Washington, on July 27,1969. The latter two events
2
Case 2:15-cv-03462-RGK-AGR Document 97-2 Filed 02/25/16 Page 3 of 6 Page ID #:1073
I
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
l0llT2
l3t4l5l6t7l8l920
2T
'))
23
24
25
26
27
28
were outdoor festivals over two or three days with approximately 20 to 40 bands or
individual peforrners and ten or rnore of them performing each day.
12. Led Zeppelin's first U.S. performance was the concert in Denver,
Colorado, the day after Christmas in 1968. I understand that Spirit also performed
that night, but I did not see or hear Spirit's performance.
13. I have no personal knowledge of whether Spirit performed at the festivals
in Atlanta, Georgia, or Vy'oodinville, rWashington, and, if it did, when in the course ofthe day it performed, as I have no recollection of seeing them perform.
14. Generally, in my experience, when bands played on the same bill, each
band or performer used their own guitars, amplifiers, keyboards, drums and other
equiprnent. In between performances, their respective road crews would set up or
dismantle and remove their equipment, and that generally took anywhere from l5 to20 minutes depending on the extent of the equipment.
15. In rny experience, the set-up interval between bands meant that we did
not encounter any other bands entering or leaving the stage.
16. I understand Mark Andes testified that he was introduced to the members
of Led Zeppelin at the concert in Denver in 1968 by Toby Roberts, who he stated had
leased an airplane we were then using. In December 1968, we did not know Toby
Roberts, did not lease a plane from hirn and to the best of my knowledge he was not
involved in our tour. Led Zeppelin did not lease an airplane for use in touring until
1973,long after the concert in Denver in December 1968.
17, Before Led Zeppelin's first performance in the United States in
December 1968, Led Zeppelin performed live concerts in England and Scandinavia
that included Led Zeppelin's performance of the song As Long As I Have You as a
medley that included a short bass riff sirnilar to the bass riff in the song Fresh
Garbage. I had heard Fresh Garbage on the radio in England before Led Zeppelin
first toured in the United States.
3
Case 2:15-cv-03462-RGK-AGR Document 97-2 Filed 02/25/16 Page 4 of 6 Page ID #:1074
l
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
l01l
t2l3t415
l6t7l8l920
2t))23
24
25
26
27
28
18. I purchased a Sonic Vy'ave, a Theremin-type devise, in Los Angeles
before LedZeppelin was formed, while I was a member of the Yardbirds. I purchased
the Sonic Wave after Jeff Beck told me that Brian Wilson used a Theremin in the 1966
song Good Vibrations and on tour.
19. I have several thousand albums of many different kinds. They include
albums I purchased, albums people gave me and albums that were simply left at my
home. Also, like a book collector who never gets around to reading books they
collect, I have never listened to many of the albums.
20. In connection with this litigation, I discovered a copy of Spirit's first
album in my record collection. I had not previously seen it in my collection and do not
know how or when it got there. It may well have been left by a guest. I doubt it was
there for long, since I never noticed it before. But, again, I know I did not hear Taurus
until 2014.
21. In the over four decades since the l97I release of Led Zeppelin IV and
Stairway to Heaven, documents have been lost or stolen. For example, portions of the
music recorded during the creation of ,Srairway to Heaven that were made at Headley
Grange in 1970 are gone. They were stolen from my home at some time in the 1980's,
and in later years copies of the stolen recordings have turned up for sale on bootleg
recordings. I have had to purchase bootleg recordings in order to try to recover what
was stolen and those recordings I recovered have been produced in this action.
However, other recordings remain missing, and with the passage of time documents,
such as concert contracts, set lists, and travel documentation, have been lost or
discarded.
22. Also, and unfortunately, rnany people have passed away since 197l,including John Bonham, who died in 1980, Peter Grant (Led Zeppelin's personal
manager and who attended many of its concerts) in 1995 and Andy Johns (the
engineer for the recording of Stairway to Heaven) in 2013.
4
Case 2:15-cv-03462-RGK-AGR Document 97-2 Filed 02/25/16 Page 5 of 6 Page ID #:1075
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
E
9
l0ilt2l3l4l5r6
L7
18
l920
2t22
23
24
25
26
27
28
f dcol¡re undor pcnalty of perjury undor tho laws of the Unit€d Statcs ofAmcisa tbat thc fortgoing is il¡e aud corroct. Exofl¡ted on Febnrary 24,20t6.
JAMES P
5
Case 2:15-cv-03462-RGK-AGR Document 97-2 Filed 02/25/16 Page 6 of 6 Page ID #:1076