Song of the Day 5/6: Jake Holmes, “Dazed and Confused”

Led Zeppelin is notorious for claiming writing credit for songs they “borrowed.” It wasn’t just old blues numbers, like turning Willie Dixon’s “You Need Love” into “Whole Lotta Love” and Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor” into “The Lemon Song.” Guitarist Jimmy Page swiped Randy California’s riff for “Stairway to Heaven” and the band turned Moby Grape’s “Never” into “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” in both cases failing to credit the original composers.

But I didn’t realize that “Stairway” wasn’t the only iconic Zeppelin that was plagiarized. “Dazed and Confused” from band’s first album in 1969 was more than “based on” the same song by a folk-rock singer named Jake Holmes. After Holmes sued in 2010 and a subsequent settlement, future releases credit “Page (inspired by Jake Holmes).” Hear for yourself.

Though everyone thinks the song is about a bad acid trip, Holmes has always insisted it’s about the emotional upheaval of a romantic break-up. It might be the first acid-folk song.

“Dazed and Confused” was released on his 1967 LP “‘The Above Ground Sound’ of Jake Holmes.” Page heard it that year when Holmes opened for the Yardbirds at a gig in Greenwich Village, and started playing it with them soon after. Now that some live archival material from Yardbirds has been released Holmes is suing again, because once again Page alone has been credited.

As that video demonstrates, Keith Relf was no Robert Plant, who changed some of the lyrics but kept Holmes’ anguished vocal intensity.

Fun fact: After Holmes’ recording career ended in the mid-’70s he moved into advertising, writing jingles for dozens of prominent products. His most famous work in that field came with the “I’m a Pepper” jingle for Dr Pepper, aired frequently from 1977-83.