"Taurus" is a rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 instrumental

Instrumental

An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....

 by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 rock band Spirit

Spirit (band)

Spirit was an American jazz/hard rock/progressive rock/psychedelic band founded in 1967, based in Los Angeles, California.- The original lineup :...

, originally released on their self-titled debut album

Spirit (Spirit album)

Spirit's self-titled debut album is one whose multifarious experimentalism owes a lot to the contemporary successes of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. It marked the humble beginnings and grand aspirations of its eponymous authors...

in 1968. The track, composed by guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

/singer Randy California

Randy California

Randy California was a guitarist, singer and songwriter and one of the original members of the rock group Spirit, formed in 1967.-Biography:...

, was recorded in November 1967. It has been suggested that Jimmy Page

Jimmy Page

James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...

 borrowed the descending guitar figure from "Taurus" for Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

's signature tune "Stairway to Heaven

Stairway to Heaven

"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album . The song, running eight minutes and two seconds, is composed of several sections, which...

". Zeppelin opened for Spirit in an early American tour, leaving little doubt that Led Zeppelin had heard the Spirit song before Stairway to Heaven was written. In the liner notes to the 1996 reissue of Spirit's debut album, songwriter Randy California

Randy California

Randy California was a guitarist, singer and songwriter and one of the original members of the rock group Spirit, formed in 1967.-Biography:...

 writes:

People always ask me why "Stairway to Heaven" sounds exactly like "Taurus", which was released two years earlier. I know Led Zeppelin also played "Fresh Garbage" in their live set. They opened up for us on their first American tour

Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1968/1969

Led Zeppelin's 1968/1969 tour of North America was the first concert tour of North America by the English rock band. The tour commenced on December 26, 1968 and concluded on February 15, 1969.-Overview:...

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