Jake Holmes (Finally) Sues Led Zeppelin

Singer and songwriter Jake Holmes has filed a copyright infringement case against Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin for stealing his 1967 song Dazed and Confused.

It's puzzling that it took him this long given the striking musical and lyrical similarities between Zeppelin's classic and Holmes original. Page credited himself as sole author of Dazed and Confused when the song was included on Zeppelin's first album in 1969.

As I documented in an earlier post, Holmes shared a bill with Page's Yardbirds in New York City during the summer of 1967, and Dazed and Confused quickly became a part of the Yardbird's live set.

Needless to say, there's a lot of money at stake here. The Led Zeppelin album has sold over 8 million copies in the U.S. to date. Add that worldwide sales plus the song's inclusion of various Zeppelin live albums and compilations and Holmes is looking a substantial payday.

Holmes has stated that he attempted to contact Zeppelin's representatives at various times through the years, but to no avail.

It's good to see justice served after so many years.

Here's a link to the New York Times story.

Here's how the song evolved starting with the version on Holmes' 1967 album The Above Ground Sound of Jake Holmes:




The Yardbird's version from French TV in early 1968:




And the version Page and the newly formed Zeppelin recorded in the fall of 1968 for release on their debut album: