Hamburglars of rock.

Never understood the appeal.

They don't call him Jimmy Plage for nothing...


Zeppelin III was a great album, but aside from that, mostly just boring, self-indulgent cock rock, as far as I'm concerned.

Every bad rips off other bands. There's far better reasons to not particularly care for Led Zeppelin.

Like Bob Hope said, the way to success is to only steal from the best.

Nestea Plunge: Led Zeppelin didn't do songs everybody liked, they left that to the Bee Gees.

Or the Shiatty Beatles.

page was well known for stealing other people's stuff. willie dixon. bert jansch. spirit...

Subby misunderstands how the blues works.

mediaho: Subby misunderstands how the blues works.

Yeah... that's what I was going to say. The same blues riffs / lyrics have been around for a long, long time. BB King, Clapton, Led Zeppelin, etc... all used material from Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Leadbelly, Blind Lemon Jefferson, etc.

Led Zeppelin introduced the blues to a huge audience... as did the Stones for that matter.

/Not ripoff artists

Pocket Ninja: Every bad rips off other bands. There's far better reasons to not particularly care for Led Zeppelin.

It's not ripping off their music that is unacceptable. It's ripping off their money.

mediaho: Subby misunderstands how the blues works.

mediaho msiunderstands how songwriting royalties work.

ummm, jimmy page was in the yardbirds, taurus is different than stairway, and they ripped off willie dixon

kronicfeld: Or the Shiatty Beatles.

How are they?

I'm beginning to think they never really had the blues at all!

Immature poets imitate. Mature poets steal.

mediaho: Subby misunderstands how the blues works.

first: taurus/stairway is not a blues song.
second: borrowing communal riffs and stealing whole passages and lyrics and claiming credit yourself are two different things

kronicfeld: Nestea Plunge: Led Zeppelin didn't do songs everybody liked, they left that to the Bee Gees.

Or the Shiatty Beatles.

Was that the name they used after The Silver Beetles?

YourMom: ummm, jimmy page was in the yardbirds, taurus is different than stairway, and they ripped off willie dixon

And Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Blind Lemon Jefferson, etc.

dont care.

/puts on zeppelin IV
//can't hear you
///I'M NOT LISTENING
////LA LA LA LA

A great band regardless. It sucks they did not give credit where credit is due though. I try to think of it as they were inspired/influenced by the old blues masters and not ripping them off.

/Gallows Pole

FlashHarry: first: taurus/stairway is not a blues song.

and its also not REMOTELY similar to stairway to heaven except for the descending thing in the very beginning thats been done to death by alot more people than zeppelin and spirit.

you cant ripoff blues music morons. not paying those guys is a different story, but who do you pay? hire the best detective in the world to attempt to find out the first guy who put 3 chords together and said something about having the blues?

ill be convinced when you show me an example of a real zeppelin song that was ripped off from someone else, not this lameness like stairway and blues/folk songs.

screwing jake holmes is the only blatant musical ripoff here and page is indeed an assh0le for doing such a thing.

Gunny Highway: A great band regardless. It sucks they did not give credit where credit is due though. I try to think of it as they were inspired/influenced by the old blues masters and not ripping them off.

There is no question they are a great band. No one is arguing that for even a moment. That would be silly.

The point is they made reprehensible business choices. Mostly under the guidance of the excreable Peter Grant, but they did it nonetheless, and got caught.

You can still love thier records and accept this fact.

absoluteparanoia: kronicfeld: Or the Shiatty Beatles.

How are they?

They suck. So it's not just an ironic name.

Ninjazx: dont care.

/puts on zeppelin IV
//can't hear you
///I'M NOT LISTENING
////LA LA LA LA

..and really no reason why you should care what others think.

When it comes to something as subjective as music or art, who gives a fark what anyone else thinks?

mahavishnunj:
and its also not REMOTELY similar to stairway to heaven except for the descending thing in the very beginning

otherwise known in the business as "the hook."

here's a short list of others:

"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."

more info here (new window)


/huge zep fan

It's common in the business for songwriters to rip off other song writers. John Lennon said something about it in an interview, but I cannot find the quote.

vstring: It's common in the business for songwriters to rip off other song writers. John Lennon said something about it in an interview, but I cannot find the quote.

this is true. it's just not legal, that's all.

mahavishnunj: you cant ripoff blues music morons. not paying those guys is a different story, but who do you pay? hire the best detective in the world to attempt to find out the first guy who put 3 chords together and said something about having the blues?

You're kidding, right?



Hire a detective? How about look at the label. See that name in parentheses? "Dixon"? See also "Arnel Music" and "BMI"?

Mystery solved!

Best zeppeling album?
My vote is for Zep 1
/4 is just over played

kungfu jesus with a side of lime: Best zeppeling album?
My vote is for Zep 1
/4 is just over played

i'd vote III or houses of the holy.

Gunny Highway: A great band regardless. It sucks they did not give credit where credit is due though. I try to think of it as they were inspired/influenced by the old blues masters and not ripping them off.

/Gallows Pole

Exactly what I would have said if I was more awake. for the most part I like the Led zeppelin versions better than the originals.

When do we get the tread about Great White ripping off Led Zep songs?

The Dynamite Monkey: Gunny Highway: A great band regardless. It sucks they did not give credit where credit is due though. I try to think of it as they were inspired/influenced by the old blues masters and not ripping them off.

There is no question they are a great band. No one is arguing that for even a moment. That would be silly.

The point is they made reprehensible business choices. Mostly under the guidance of the excreable Peter Grant, but they did it nonetheless, and got caught.

You can still love thier records and accept this fact.

That sounds reasonable I think i can do that.

Nice investigative reporting!

Everybody knows that Jimmy Page had an amazing ability to copy old blues riffs and make them better.

@Go Fast Turn Left

I hear they are under a lot of fire for that one.

Go Fast Turn Left: When do we get the tread about Great White ripping off Led Zep songs?

Probably never, since the only thing Great White is remembered for is fire.

Doh - burned! You out smoked me, there NonCleverName!

Read the book "Sounds like Teen Spirit". Zeppelin stole most their early shiat.

Zep has a few rocking songs like Custard Pie, Good times/Bad times, etc. but they mostly ripped people off. I realise everthing comes from something but they straight up stole. Plus I cant stand Jimmy Pages whole "mystical shaman" schtick.

I liked The Yardbirds.

EVERYONE STOLE FROM BLUES GUYS RARR GENERAL PRIVILEGED WHITE OUTRAGE GRRGRRGRRRR

vstring: Probably never, since the only thing Great White is remembered for is fire.

Naw, man, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown did that.

What about kind of ripping off the riff from "Superstition" for "Trampled Under Foot"?

I also heard something about "nobody's fault but mine" having something ripped off from somewhere...

well to their credit, Led Zep thought that the riff/lyrics from "whole lotta love" were past their copywrite, and part of public domain when they did "whole lotta love"... i mean it was like 20/30/40?? years or more after it was first written, right?

/or is it generally 50+ years for copywrited stuff to go into public domain?
//plus Jimmy Page was a good/great but slightly sloppy guitarist...[discuss]

Did subby just wake up and realize life isn't fair?

OldManDownDRoad: vstring: Probably never, since the only thing Great White is remembered for is fire.

Naw, man, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown did that.

Jimi Hendrix.

They wacked Ritchie Valens too but then he was already wackin' Lil Richard (Ooh my Soul, Ooh My Head, Boogie with Stu)

dothemath: Zep has a few rocking songs like Custard Pie, Good times/Bad times, etc. but they mostly ripped people off. I realise everthing comes from something but they straight up stole. Plus I cant stand Jimmy Pages whole "mystical shaman" schtick.

I liked The Yardbirds.

Just listen to the music. Dont pay attention to all the other shiat. By listening you will realize Led Zepplin rocks.

Also I think people loved them so much because seeing them in concert was an amazing experience. I never had to pleasure but what I have seen on DVD and heard from older people led me to this conclusion.

When you listen you can feel the Rock and Roll. Thats how you know it is good.

The Dynamite Monkey: Hire a detective? How about look at the label. See that name in parentheses? "Dixon"? See also "Arnel Music" and "BMI"?

Wow, is that your vinyl? I'd love to have some Otis Rush on my shelf.

Growing up in the rural South, guys like Rush and Willie Dixon were staples on the only radio station I could get: WTIK in Durham NC. They alternated between R&B and what is now known as "classic country" to serve their audience of mostly farm folks.

The first time I heard Led Zep with my pal Mike, we both said: "Sheesh, they didn't write that . . . "

But I also felt the same way about a lot of country rock - we heard a lot of hooks and arrangements that were awfully familiar.

Borrowing a musical idea is one thing. Slapping your name on the label is another.

T.M.S.

"Hamburglars of rock."

LOL. Bravo...

Peter Grant was a pudwhack. And they shouldn't have taken credit for what they didn't create. The stuff they did create was good enough they shouldn't have felt the need to rip others off.

Nonetheless, they were a great band.

Disagrees.

FlashHarry: here's a short list of others:

i appreciate the list, but its still almost entirely blues and folk songs.

The Dynamite Monkey: Hire a detective? How about look at the label. See that name in parentheses? "Dixon"? See also "Arnel Music" and "BMI"?

Mystery solved!

whos to say dixon wrote it? you do realize blues is about as incestuous as it gets musically, right? a similar thing happened with jazz standards being retitled by other players. if you are that concerned about your music getting 'ripped off', how about writing something that your average 8 year old cant play.

The problem wasn't just that they "borrowed" riffs (and sometimes entire songs) from other artists, the problem was that they refused to give credit where credit was due and often flat out lied and claimed the songs as their own creations. Page was an amazing, talented, rockin musician, but he was also a complete douchebag.

As a blues fan, I have to say that it's a genre where the reusing of lyrics, riffs and entire songs to an artist's personal style is extremely common [i.e. "Hoochie-coochie Man" and "Mannish Boy"], far more than rock. It's a very collaborative world where artists don't go running to the lawyers every time they inspire each other. I'd say Zep doing these covers is in the spirit of this, although they should be giving proper credit. But, if they're suing others for borrowing what they themselves have borrowed, though, they're farking hypocrites.