Led Zeppelin started life as a heavy, psychedelic blues band. They eventually evolved to become a well-rounded band worthy of having songs added to the Library of Congress. Yet like other groups from the era, they showed their deference for the musicians who preceded them by using elements of their songs in their own tunes. When the band got caught, guitarist Jimmy Page said singer Robert Plant was the one to blame for Led Zeppelin’s lawsuits.
Jimmy Page blamed Robert Plant for Led Zeppelin’s copyright infringement lawsuits
Led Zeppelin soared into the music mainstream soon after they launched. Their first two albums came out within 10 months in 1969 and quickly found a massive audience, especially in the United States.
Page had ideas for several songs kicking around in his head when he formed the band, but appropriating tunes from other artists helped Led Zeppelin’s early albums come together quickly. They were credibly accused of ripping off four songs from Led Zeppelin I and Led Zeppelin II: “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You,” “Dazed and Confused,” “Whole Lotta Love,” and “The Lemon Song.”
Bluesman Willie Dixon received songwriting credits on “You Shook Me” and “I Can’t Quit You Baby” from the first album and “Bring It on Home” from LZ II, per AllMusic. Page blames Plant for the band getting nicked over the lawsuits that led to them giving songwriting credits (per Light & Shade: Conversations With Jimmy Page author Brad Tolinski):
“I always tried to bring something fresh to anything that I used. I always made sure to come up with some variation. In fact, I think in most cases, you would never know what the original source could be. Maybe not in every case, but in most cases. So most of the comparisons rest on the lyrics. And Robert was supposed to change the lyrics, and he didn’t always do that, which is what brought on most of our grief. They couldn’t get us on the guitar parts or the music, but they nailed us on the lyrics … So, anyway, if there is any plagiarism, just blame Robert.”
Jimmy Page
Page said Plant is why Led Zeppelin faced copyright lawsuits over their early work, and we can see his point.
We understand why Page called out Plant over Led Zeppelin’s lawsuits
Page was never shy about hiding his love for the musicians that inspired him. He spoke glowingly of folk performer Burt Jansch and blues legends such as Buddy Guy, Willie Dixon, and Muddy Waters. Plant shared some of those same influences. Page might not be totally blameless in Led Zeppelin’s copyright lawsuits, but we agree that Plant shoulders more of the burden.
Take “You Shook Me.” The guitarist borrowed liberally from Waters’ 1962 song for his main riff, but that’s almost to be expected on a simple blues tune. Page later takes his part in a totally different direction while Plant lifts his first-verse lyrics almost wholesale.
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Page’s iconic riff on “Whole Lotta Love” is close to 100% original. Meanwhile, Plant copies directly from Waters’ “You Need Love.” Waters sings “Baby way down inside / woman you need love / Woman you need love, you’ve got to have some love” and “I ain’t foolin’ you need schoolin’ / Baby you know you need coolin,’” and so does Plant.
The same goes for “The Lemon Song.” Page’s chugging riff sounds nothing like Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor,” but Plant’s first verse is basically a direct summation of the original.
Led Zeppelin shrugged off other lawsuits — one for plagiarizing “Stairway to Heaven” and another for “Boogie With Stu” off Physical Graffiti — but we can see why Page blamed Plant for the copyright infringements on the early albums.
The litigation didn’t impact Zep’s success
Led Zeppelin’s copyright lawsuits might have slightly impacted the bottom line (they had to share royalties on songs where others received songwriting credits), but they didn’t affect their success.
Six of the band’s eight studio albums went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Their debut surprisingly cracked the top 10 (it peaked at No. 7), while the legendary Led Zeppelin IV stopped at No. 2 thanks to a Sly & the Family Stone record.
Jimmy Page blamed Robert Plant for the copyright lawsuits brought against Led Zeppelin, and he had a point. While his guitar parts for their early blues-heavy songs varied from the source material, Plant’s lyrics hardly did. Yet Zep carved their own path later in their career and found worldwide success as they did it.
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