Despite going through a bit of Led Zeppelin withdrawal during the ‘90s—not shunning them; just simply caught up in the music of our peers and general vibes of the times—the collective work as a unit of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham is without a doubt firmly lodged in our musical DNA. Fuelled by the timely acquisition of the band’s choice recent CD box set—not only do we finally own the catalog on CD, we got a steep discount from a friendly retailer on this set of mini LP replicas, which we were wonderfully surprised to discover we had inadvertently purchased the twice as expensive, higher-fidelity Japanese version!—we’ve been on a Zeppelin binge of late.
But no matter how much we may love the mighty Zep, we are not oblivious to the numerous charges of plagiarism levied against the legendary quartet—quite a few of them substantiated by lawsuits won against the band over the years. Which brings us to Wilson and Alroy.
Even though they know their music and can put a couple of coherent sentences together, Wilson and Alroy are not music journalists. Just a couple of opinionated, Gen-X pricks—we mean that as a compliment—that aren’t always on point (their Black Sabbath reviews are pretty lousy and off-base; especially the ones covering the classic first four albums) but get it right most of the time.
One cool thing about their site is that they've gone through the trouble of compiling a list of songs that Led Zeppelin partially and/or completely ripped-off and tried—successfully, in most cases—to pass off as their own. Sure, songwriters always nick a bit here and there, but c'mon. This is what they've compiled:
Now by popular demand! A list of some of the songs Zep stole from other artists:
* "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" - A folk song by Anne Bredon, this was originally credited as "traditional, arranged by Jimmy Page," then "words and music by Jimmy Page," and then, following legal action, "Bredon/Page/Plant."
* "Black Mountain Side" - uncredited version of a traditional folk tune previously recorded by Bert Jansch.
* "Bring It On Home" - the first section is an uncredited cover of the Willie Dixon tune (as performed by the imposter Sonny Boy Williamson).
* "Communication Breakdown" - apparently derived from Eddie Cochran's "Nervous Breakdown."
* "Custard Pie" - uncredited cover of Bukka White's "Shake 'Em On Down," with lyrics from Sleepy John Estes's "Drop Down Daddy."
* "Dazed And Confused" - uncredited cover of the Jake Holmes song (see The Above Ground Sound Of Jake Holmes).
* "Hats Off To (Roy) Harper" - uncredited version of Bukka White's "Shake 'Em On Down."
* "How Many More Times" - Part one is an uncredited cover of the Howlin' Wolf song (available on numerous compilations). Part two is an uncredited cover of Albert King's "The Hunter."
* "In My Time Of Dying" - uncredited cover of the traditional song (as heard on Bob Dylan's debut).
* "The Lemon Song" - uncredited cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor" - Wolf's publisher sued Zeppelin in the early 70s and settled out of court.
* "Moby Dick" - written and first recorded by Sleepy John Estes under the title "The Girl I Love," and later covered by Bobby Parker.
* "Nobody's Fault But Mine" - uncredited cover of the Blind Willie Johnson blues.
* "Since I've Been Lovin' You" - lyrics are the same as Moby Grape's "Never," though the music isn't similar.
* "Stairway To Heaven" - the main guitar line is apparently from "Taurus" by Spirit.
* "White Summer" - uncredited cover of Davey Graham's "She Moved Through The Fair."
* "Whole Lotta Love" - lyrics are from the Willie Dixon blues "You Need Love."
I'm not listing covers that the band credited to the actual authors ("You Shook Me") or the less blatant ripoffs (the "Superstition" riff in "Trampled Underfoot"). If you have anything to add to this list, please tell me. (D B Wilson)
To state that Led Zeppelin’s musical influence is undeniable is a monumental understatement. But that influence sometimes reaches way past sound and fury and into the area of legality. To wit:
In the late ‘90s Colombian rockers Bloque recorded a latin-flavored version of “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You” in Spanish called “Nena”—which translates as “Babe”—on their self-titled debut, echoing Zeppelin’s recording of the song on their self-titled debut some thirty years prior. However, upon further inspection of the album’s credits, the song is listed as written by Ivan Benavides and Ernesto Ocampo, Bloque’s main songwriters!
Talk about a wide-spread influence…
