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Who Wrote That Zep Song? Volume 1
| Artist | Song | Buy |
| Joan Baez (buzz) | Babe I'm Gonna Leave You |
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| Muddy Waters (buzz) | You Shook Me |
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| Jake Holmes (buzz) | Dazed and Confused |
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| Anne Briggs (buzz) | Blackwaterside |
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| Bert Jansch (buzz) | Blackwaterside |
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| Otis Rush (buzz) | I Can't Quit You Baby |
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| Howlin' Wolf (buzz) | How Many More Years |
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| Yardbirds (buzz) | Smokestack Lightning |
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| Howlin' Wolf (buzz) | No Place to Go |
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| Jeff Webb and Group (buzz) | Rosie |
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| Turner Junior Johnson (buzz) | Steal Away |
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| Albert King (buzz) | The Hunter |
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| Muddy Waters (buzz) | You Need Love |
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| The Small Faces (buzz) | You Need Loving |
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| Howlin' Wolf (buzz) | Shake for Me |
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| Howlin' Wolf (buzz) | Back Door Man |
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| Howlin' Wolf (buzz) | Killing Floor |
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| Robert Johnson (buzz) | Traveling Riverside Blues |
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| Sleepy John Estes (buzz) | The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair |
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| Sonny Boy Williamson (buzz) | Bring It On Home |
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| Leadbelly (buzz) | Gallis Pole |
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| Fred Gerlach (buzz) | Gallows Pole |
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| Mississippi Fred McDowell (buzz) | Shake 'Em On Down |
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| Bukka White (buzz) | Shake 'Em On Down |
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| Oscar Woods (buzz) | Lone Wolf Blues |
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Comment:
This is volume 1 of 2 looking at claims that Led Zeppelin plagiarized the work other artists. White artists have long been accused of stealing the work of black artists and reaping huge rewards, an accusation leveled against Zep many times. In some cases they've been sued and songwriting credits have been changed on recent reissues through out-of-court settlements. I am Zep fan and I think they're work is original--for the most part, that is. They drew from their folk and blues influences to create something that was their own. In some cases, however, they lifted material directly from sources without giving proper credit. Most of these have been rectified through legal action but some are still outstanding, particularly "Dazed and Confused" and "Boogie With Stu". But some of the claims of plagiarism have gone too far.Babe I'm Gonna Leave You - Initially, Page thought this was a traditional song, unaware that Anne Briggs had written it. Page heard Joan Baez perform this song and thought it would work well for Led Zeppelin. Reissues have credited Anne Bredon (Anne Briggs).
You Shook Me - Zep has always properly credited Willie Dixon for this one.
Dazed and Confused - definitely should have credited Jake Holmes. In an interview with Will Shade, Holmes says that he contacted Zep in the 1980s asking about giving him songwriting credit for "Dazed and Confused." He received no reply and dropped the issue. Why Holmes didn't pursue it is beyond me because "Dazed and Confused" is clearly his song.
Black Mountain Side - Interesting to contrast Anne Bredon's version of "Blackwaterside" with Bert Jansch's version. "Black Mountain Side" follows Jansch's version closely. Songwriting credit on Dazzling Stranger by Bert Jansch is "Traditional, arr. Jansch".
I Can't Quit You Baby - has always been properly credited to Willie Dixon. Page drew from Otis Rush's late-sixties version of this song.
How Many More Times - Some have pointed to Howlin' Wolf's "How Many More Years" but this isn't warranted. Howlin' Wolf's "No Place to Go" is a more appropriate reference, as Zep quotes some of the lyrics from that song. The instrumentation (particularly the bass line) owes more to the (pre-Jimmy Page) Yardbirds version of Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightnin'" than anything else. Also, this song includes a brief quote of Albert King.
The Lemon Song - Initially this song was not credited to Howlin' Wolf but that has since changed through legal action. The lemon phallic reference comes from Robert Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues".
Moby Dick - On the BBC Sessions, Zep perform the Sleepy John Estes song with original accompaniment. They then performed this as an instrumental as a showcase for John Bonham's drumming. No problem here.
Bring It On Home - should have given partial credit to Sonny Boy Williamson for the opening and closing sections of this song.
Gallows Pole - Leadbelly is listed as the songwriter on some of his releases and on others it's listed as "Traditional". On III, this song is credited as "Traditional, arr. Page/Plant". Page has acknowledged Leadbelly and particularly Fred Gerlach as the source.
Hats Off to (Roy) Harper - credited as "Traditional, arr. Charles Obscure". Should have given credit to Bukka White.
Whole Lotta Love - Initally this song was credited to all four Zep members, but they should have given credit to Willie Dixon for the lyrics. When threatened with legal action Zep did add Dixon's name to the credits. Also interesting to note that Zep's performance seems to have been inspired by the Small Faces who, incidentally, also did not give credit to Willie Dixon. Brief quotes of "Shake for Me" and "Back Door Man" performed by Howlin' Wolf but written by Willie Dixon
Feedback:
What?! Zep? Plagiarize???? Say it isn't so!!!!!!! (Sarcasm)
Looks great.
Looks great.
Excellent.
Scholarly. It's better to ask for forgivness than permission.
Looks great - really nice cover art as well...!
excellent work
Awesome. I love the empirical approach.
Impressive, as always, Todd.
Fabulous.
Bordering on the erudite! Fantastic!
A brilliant mix, Todd. Tremendous liner notes as ever, and a lesson in mixmaking for everyone.
A great idea.Very well executed.
I really appreciate the effort you put into your mixes & liner notes too. Many thanks for the education. Always good to add to my music trivia knowledge, which seems to be bout the only info I retain these days!
Fascinating notes.
Very well done.
Oh yeah! Excellent. Your notes are superb, and I think it has been commonly known that Led Zep used mauch material from black blues artists. You extend my knowledge of that much farther with this mix. Maybe the writers were not credited, but don't you think that Zep knew that we knew. Not like they were trying to hide anything at the time of the release?
I think Page operated under the principle that if they changed a song in any way at all, they could claim it as their own. I read a quote of his once where he said that his riffs were always original and that it was Plant lifting lyrics that got them into legal trouble. I suppose he could make that case with, say "Whole Lotta Love" and "The Lemon Song" but not with "Dazed and Confused" and "Boogie With Stu". Another ironic thing is that I've heard that Zep have pursued others for copyright infringement for sampling (though I don't know any details).
Very well-researched and put together, as always.
Wonderful collection and great notes.
Yup great stuff & notes on a pack of gifted crimninals!
Good stuff Dead Man! (I think I just read they came to an "agreement" with Jake Holmes.)
Cool. Are you capable of posting an uninteresting and unthoughtful mix? I don't think so. Songs that use Led Zeppelin samples might be a possible theme for a mix.
Great notes. Big Zeppelin fan here. I don't care what Page/Plant "borrowed" because every musician has done it. The funny part is that the bluesmen who "originally penned" the tracks borrowed from other bluesmen of the same era or previous to them. If you haven't read "Looking Up At Down: The Emergence of Blues Culture" by William Barlow (Temple University Press) then I'd highly suggest it. Very enlightening.
I can understand the use of "lines" such as shake it on down. Yet, when whole segments of songs are involved and not credited, that is, of course, a different matter. The question I have is what rational could they have had. This is not just a case of `I want it; I will take it'. By the way, what about custard pie. Has anyone placed this image within the blues tradition?
Fascinating stuff - but what about the Lemon Song? I've always wondered about that!
credit should be given where credit is due.
the original folk & blues legends like lead belly, robert johnson, tommy johnson, & associated friends are the real source of it all. many thanks to musicologists like john & alan lomax and others for discovering, archiving, & promoting these legendary performers.
anyone familiar with 1920's & 1930's blues singers will hear the foundation from which zep built their guitar & vocal styles.
these folk & blues legends should be truly recognized. amen.
the original folk & blues legends like lead belly, robert johnson, tommy johnson, & associated friends are the real source of it all. many thanks to musicologists like john & alan lomax and others for discovering, archiving, & promoting these legendary performers.
anyone familiar with 1920's & 1930's blues singers will hear the foundation from which zep built their guitar & vocal styles.
these folk & blues legends should be truly recognized. amen.
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