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v.
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Plaintiff,
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DECLARATION OF KEVIN
HANSON IN OPPOSITION TO
DEFENDANTS MOTION FOR
SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN
THE ALTERNATIVE, PARTIAL
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Date: March 28, 2016
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Room:
Defendants.
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Case No. 15-cv-03462 RGK (AGRx)
1.
Stairway to Heaven, to perform both pieces as a master musician and execute the
pieces as per their original recordings. I have personal knowledge of the facts
recited it this declaration and if called as a witness could testify competently to such
facts.
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2.
guitars, bass, drums, keyboards and vocals. I was engaged to play the following
instruments on the Taurus and Stairway to Heaven rerecordings:
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Acoustic guitars
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I was also asked to analyze both Taurus and Stairway to Heaven from both
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QUALIFICATIONS
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3.
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performed and recorded extensively with both major label and independent bands,
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toured throughout the US and internationally, and have both studied and taught the
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guitar on a focused, indepth level. I have played on hundreds of both major label
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and independent recordings for 20 years, in genres including rock, jazz, blues,
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gospel, hip hop, R+B and classical. I teach university courses on songwriting and
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on the form and structure of songs. This requires a profound understanding of song
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STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
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4.
I have heard Stairway to Heaven my entire life. The song was still
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Case No. 15-cv-03462 RGK (AGRx)
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DECLARATION OF KEVIN HANSON IN OPPOSITION TO
DEFENDANTS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
hugely popular in 1972, the year of my birth. Led Zeppelins music, in particular
Led Zeppelin IV, was a significant part of my musical upbringing. It was played on
the radio, on our home stereo system and at many social functions. I began learning
Led Zeppelins guitar riffs when I began playing guitar at age 10 and still use the
guitar parts from Stairway to Heaven as teaching tools and songwriting topics in my
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recorded to sound identical to the original. All of the guitar parts were emulated
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energy. The main theme and all of the riffs, chords, guitar solo, and other solo lines
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are all played notefornote in the rerecorded version, performed to a high level of
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musical accuracy.
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TAURUS
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6.
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similarities of the song Taurus and Stairway to Heaven. When I first heard Taurus,
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I was shocked at the similarities. I am deeply acquainted with the music of Led
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Zeppelin and, regrettably, with the multiple accusations levied at the band for their
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habit of borrowing the music of others without properly crediting the original
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artists. These stories are common knowledge in the music scene, with the example
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of Stairway to Heaven and its remarkable similarity to Taurus being the most
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notable.
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7.
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virtually identical to those found in Stairway to Heaven: the key, the tempo, the
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feel, the chord progression, the pitches and duration of the melody and the
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Case No. 15-cv-03462 RGK (AGRx)
2
DECLARATION OF KEVIN HANSON IN OPPOSITION TO
DEFENDANTS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
instrumentation are strikingly similar and much of the two pieces are identical.
Knowing the history of the bands mutual encounters, it is my opinion that the
coincidental.
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Taurus opening figure begins on the 4th string at the 7th fret with the
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third finger and on the 3rd string at the 5th fret with the first finger, as does
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Stairway to Heaven.
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12.
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changes.
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Both selections are performed at virtually the same tempo with the
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8th notes descending over five chords that finally resolve to the tonic.
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When the audio tracks of the two figures are isolated and matched at
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the same tempo, they are almost indistinguishable. I incorporate by reference the
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audio exhibits.
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16.
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main guitar themes of both songs are strikingly similar in tempo, key, melody,
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17.
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Case No. 15-cv-03462 RGK (AGRx)
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DECLARATION OF KEVIN HANSON IN OPPOSITION TO
DEFENDANTS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
performed at a nearly identical position on the guitar fretboard. Both figures begin
on the same strings in the same position with the same fingerings.
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For a reasonably skilled guitarist there are many ways to play one
chord. For an A minor triad, there are at least 20 different inversions that are
common and easily accessible. When the instruments range beyond one octave is
video exhibits Taurus left hand and Stairway to Heaven left hand, one can
see that the triads in both examples begin in the same position in the same octave. I
incorporate by reference the four video exhibits of Taurus and Stairway to Heaven.
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The guitar parts that I replicated in the rerecordings of both songs did
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receive songwriting credit, as they rightfully should, as they are both melodic
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themes of primary importance. The verses of both songs are built around the guitar
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parts.
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The chord progression for the main theme of STH is not uncommon. It
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has been used in many jazz standards, show tunes, and orchestral works. The
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following elements from Stairway to Heaven and Taurus are almost completely in
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common:
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This sets Stairway to Heaven apart from a song like Chim Chim Cheree, which
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does feature a chromatically descending bass line, but functions simply to move the
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Stairway to Heavens similarities to Taurus are in the actual guitar part itself, not
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just a harmonic device. Stairway to Heaven also differs from what many mistakenly
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consider to be the same chromatic descending line. A song such as Ice Cream
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Dream by The Cartoones does not follow this chromatic bass line. The first
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interval is a whole step, which by definition is not chromatic. To compare the main
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Case No. 15-cv-03462 RGK (AGRx)
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DECLARATION OF KEVIN HANSON IN OPPOSITION TO
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guitar theme of Stairway to Heaven to a song like Davey Grahams version of Cry
Me a River is also not a proper comparison. Though the chromatic bass movement
original vocal melody. The brief section in question is also performed in a different
time signature, 12/8, which gives it a completely different feel from Taurus or
Stairway to Heaven.
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Valentine (Rodgers and Hart), It Dont Mean a Thing If It Aint Got That Swing
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songs differ greatly from Taurus and Stairway to Heaven because the melodies of
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Taurus and Stairway to Heaven are intimately linked to the composition and
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performance of the main guitar theme. It is my opinion that Taurus was the single
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Video Exhibit 1:
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Video Exhibit 2:
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Video Exhibit 3:
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Video Exhibit 4:
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musical certainty. I am being compensated at $175 per hour for this report and $350
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I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of
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DECLARATION OF KEVIN HANSON IN OPPOSITION TO
DEFENDANTS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Kevin Hanson
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Case No. 15-cv-03462 RGK (AGRx)
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DECLARATION OF KEVIN HANSON IN OPPOSITION TO
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AUDIO EXHIBITS
Audio Exhibit 1:
Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin
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Audio Exhibit 2:
Dazed and Confused by Jack Holmes (1967)
Audio Exhibit 3:
Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin
Audio Exhibit 4:
Muddy Waters You Need Love (1962) (10 seconds 28 seconds)
Audio Exhibit 5:
The Small Faces You Need Loving (1966) (25 seconds 48 seconds)
Audio Exhibit 6:
Live performance of Led Zeppelin playing Fresh Garbage 1101969
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