They just had a guy on Howard Stern named Dennis Somach. He’s been around forever in radio but he’s a name behind the scenes - he pretty much invented every classic rock show.
Anyway, he’s peddling a new show “cold cases in rock” where he presents evidence against a band about something in their past.
He pretty much destroyed Led Zeppelin in my eyes. Every song save one from their debut album was actually a cover song that they represented as their own.
Only recently have people been coming forward to claim their “rights”. Many of the songs were performed by bands that opened for/toured with LZ in the early days.
They even ripped off the main theme of Stairway to Heaven from one of their opening acts. (Some guy named Randy California).
Now I’m not denying that they are talented musicians - that’s obvious - but there are a million great musicians out there - and most don’t get the break they need - especially cover bands. Maybe LZ didn’t deserve the early accolades because they toally misrepresented themselves.
Anyone else catch this program? I believe if you google Denny Somach (or Dennis Somach) you can get more details.
I’ll never think of LZ the same way again.
PS As a follow up, they now are starting to give credit on the newer CDs to the proper authors - but the damage has been done.
Led Zeppelin being shameless copiers is old, old news. Some of their most famous songs (“Whole Lotta Love” and “The Lemon Song” immediately come to mind) were such word-for-word ripoffs of blues songs that Zep has been successfully sued. They had to pay fat royalties to Willie Dixon for “Whole Lotta Love,” for example.
I was going to say the same thing as OneCentStamp, but there’s a bit of a distinction here.
We all knew Led Zeppelin was stealing / borrowing / heavily influenced by other artist’s music in terms of their early blues stuff, but if there’s evidence they were also ripping off their more traditional rock (Stairway to Heaven for example), it would be news to me.
Yup. The song was Taurus, an instrumental on the first album of Spirit, Randy’s band. LZ liked the music Spirit put out and in the album notes for their first CD, Randy wrote that LZ used one of their minor hits, Fresh Garbage in their live set during their first years. He also says that at the time it was Led Zeppelin opening for them and not the other way round!
And since I’ve brought them up, I’ll also recommend Spirit to rock’n’rollers, especially the first and the fourth album.
Besides the Spirit connection, “Your Time Is Gonna Come” borrows from Traffic’s “Mr. Fantasy”; “Dazed and Confused” was ripped off from Jake Holmes; and “Black Mountain Side” was taken directly from Bert Jansch’s arrangement of the traditional “Black Waterside.” Also, their blues borrowings were not all “early” blues; they also ripped off contemporaries like Albert King and Willie Dixon.
We can at least dismiss the accusation that Zeppelin nicked anything from Blind Faith. That first Zeppelin album was released before Blind Faith even formed.
“Good artists copy; great artists steal.” - Pablo Picasso
Sure they stole, but that in no way diminishes their accomplishment. As much as I enjoy the original blues tunes, I’ll take LZ’s versions 9 times out of 10. Besides, what does it mean to be original anyway? Is any great art not deeply influenced by what came before it?
I DO think it was quite weaselly of them not to credit their obvious covers to the original writers, and it’s a shame that they had to be sued to give the pioneers their due.
Well, this has been the accusation leveled against them for some time and, a lot of the stuff is true.
Here’s a collection of songs I got a while ago, and the ripoffs (original artist listed first, Zeppelin title, if different, listed after duration):
Bert Jansch - Blackwater Side (3:46)Black Mountain Side
Bert Jansch - Go Your Way My Love - intro (0:26)Going To California
Bert Jansch - The Waggoner’s Lad - intro (0:51)Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Blind Willie Johnson - Nobody’s Fault But Mine (3:11)
Bobby Parker - Watch Your Step (2:49)Moby Dick
Bukka White - Shake 'Em on Down (3:01)Hats Off To (Roy) Harper
Davey Graham - She Moved Through The Fair (3:07)White Summer
Howlin’ Wolf - Killing Floor (2:51)The Lemon Song
Jake Holmes - Dazed and Confused (3:48)
Joan Baez - Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You (2:41)
Josh White - Jesus Gonna Make up My Dying Bed (3:05)In My Time Of Dying
Leadbelly (or Fred Gerlach) - Gallis Pole (3:01)Gallows Pole
Little Richard - Keep A-Knockin’ (2:15)Rock And Roll
Memphis Minnie - When The Levee Breaks (3:11)
Ritchie Valens - Ooh! My Head (1:48)Boogie With Stu
Robert Johnson - Travelling Riverside Blues (2:41)
Sonny Boy Williamson - Bring It On Home (2:36)
Spirit - Taurus (2:37)Stairway To Heaven
The Small Faces - You Need Lovin (3:57)Whole Lotta Love
The Yardbirds - Knowing That I’m Losing You (2:55)Tangerine
Having listened to them all, I would say most are blatant ripoffs. I’d label the Little Richard one more of an “homage” (the drum beat intro to Rock n Roll is almost the same as the drum intro to Keep a-Knockin’. I really think that was supposed to be an obvious wink-wink to the classic rock-n-rollers.) The Taurus/Stairway connection I don’t think much of. It’s a chromatically decending chord progression, hardly something revolutionary or original. If they didn’t tour with Spirit I would have just chalked it up to coincidence. Also, the “Going to California” one is pretty weak, too.
However, most of the other ones are pretty clearly heavily lifted. Listen to the Fred Gerlach or Leadbelly version of Gallis Pole, and tell me Led Zeppelin is merely paying homage and not completely lifting the song. Or Dazed and Confused. Or Whole Lotta Love.
I haven’t owned that record in many, many years, so my memory of it is hazy, but didn’t Zeppelin credit “Gallows Pole” as a “trad. arr.” to begin with?
It may very well be. I don’t have any of the original copies of any of these albums, so it’d be interesting to see how many of the above list do give some credit to the original artist.
Here’s a good site with details of all of of their theivery. I wish I could find a link to “Tarus”- it is such an exact copy that I laughed out loud the first time I heard it. Spirit was playing the song on tour with Zep, lest anyone think its a coincidence. Stairway also steals from “And She’s Lonely” by the Chocolate Watchband.
I’m of the opinion that this really doesn’t change their status as best heavy band of all time- it just means the weren’t as original as once thought. Not everyone (hell not anyone) can turn an old blues song like “When the Levee Breaks” in to a rock masterpiece.
I mean, Quentin Tarantino cops from others in a similar way, but is still a great director. They just aren’t entirely original- although many of their great songs, including Kashmir, seem to be wholly original creations- at least until the inspiration for it surfaces
And let’s forget, Elvis never wrote a song in his life, but is still pretty great.
Then I guess Led Zeppelin are great artists by virtue of stealing so much of their work? That doesn’t explain why they couldn’t credit the writers of their songs when their peers usually did, but oh well.
This is all very old news, but if we’re making a list of ‘stolen’ Zep songs, they also lifted “How Many More Times” from the Howlin’ Wolf song of the same name. And apparently they also used part of Albert King’s “The Hunter” without crediting him either.
Yep. So maybe I don’t respect them as being forthcoming with credits. That’s a real shame and I’m truly sorry to see it but it’s in no way a deal breaker for whether or not their music appeals to me. It does. It always has. It always will. Someone who had the advantage of doing that particular arrangement first didn’t make it work, share the same degree of success? Tough cookies. Zep did it in extraordinary fashion? Hurray!
Great to see so many of you in the “anything my “friends” do is okay with me” camp.
My gripe is that they would have been perceived differently had they been introduced as a great “cover”/rework band, as opposed to a being presented as originators.
You’ve been brainwashed by all the years of enjoying them under false pretenses and are willing to give them a pass.
If you like Stephen King and suppose we discover that all his plotlines were stolen, would you still stick with him saying “well he’s still a great storyteller” ?
