Top 10 Songs That Led Zeppelin Ripped Off
All musicians are influenced by somebody else and it's normal to trace some slight influences but beyond certain extent it's already too much - it's called plagiarism.Many music artists were sued but Led Zeppelin are the Olympic champions - they did it many times and their plagiarism is the most brutal one because they stole entire songs with music and lyrics, and often with the song titles. Too many Led Zeppelin songs are actually uncredited covers.
Led Zeppelin were sued over all songs on this list, except one because it's a traditional song and no one is able to claim ownership (In My Time of Dying).
Before voting, adding comments or new items, you ideally should give a listen to the songs you don't know. They are available on youtube.
It's essentially the same song - music, lyrics, and absolutely the same song title! It's an uncredited cover. Jake Holmes released this song in 1967.
My mother was very surprised when I told her this ages ago. Just shows, doesn't it?
Whole Lotta Rip Off... Almost everything is the same - music, lyrics, and the keyword in the title (love).
It's known that Page and Plant used to see The Small Faces live, and Robert Plant even sounds like the singer of The Small Faces (Steve Marriott).
The song sounds kind of similar and has one word in common in the title and it's a rip-off? Jesus! That's like saying Fade to Black by Metallica ripped off Beyond the Realms of Death by Judas Priest, even though Priest's song is better.
It was a total rip-off from the heavy metal version by the Jeff Beck Group. They made this Willie Dixon cover known by white audiences, and Zeppelin just copied this song from note to phrasing.
Whole Lotta Rip Off - 2.
This Muddy Waters song was actually ripped off twice. You Need Loving by The Small Faces is also a blatant rip-off. The original is by Muddy Waters, titled You Need Love.
That's why in most sources you will read that Led Zeppelin stole the song from Muddy Waters. It's true, but it's not the whole truth.
Led Zeppelin stole the song from The Small Faces. There are more similarities between Led Zeppelin and The Small Faces, but there are still lots of similarities between Led Zeppelin and the original by Muddy Waters. Both illegal versions were quite verbatim.
This Joan Baez song is a cover that became more popular than the original, a folk song by Anne Bredon recorded with The Plebs.
Led Zeppelin ripped off the Joan Baez cover version, which is why there are more similarities.
The person who wrote this was never even credited.
Wiki: "In 2014, Mark Andes, and a trust acting on behalf of Randy California, filed a copyright infringement suit against Led Zeppelin in an attempt to obtain a writing credit for "Stairway to Heaven." Page denies copying "Taurus."
Oh, come on, he obviously did. Nobody knows if Page got permission from Randy California because the guy died. Let's suppose Page got the permission - again, the problem is that Led Zeppelin didn't mention Spirit and Randy California as co-writers.
But then again, it isn't official if they did or didn't. Yes, it sounds almost exactly like it, but Page claims to have gotten permission from one of the members to use the riff and was also a huge fan of their work.
However, the man who supposedly gave him permission later died when trying to save his child, so there can't be any official proof.
"In My Time of Dying" is a well-known traditional gospel song that has been covered by many people, including Bob Dylan (1962).
Physical Graffiti's epic "In My Time of Dying" is one instance of blatant plagiarism that the members of Led Zeppelin were never sued over. The song was credited to all four Led Zeppelin members, instead of saying it's a cover. But because it's traditional, no one is able to claim ownership and sue Led Zeppelin over its supposed authorship.
Uncredited cover that was later credited back to Dixon.
"The Lemon Song" does sound like "Killing Floor" by Howlin' Wolf, with a similar riff and lyrics. Some other parts, including the song's titular "lemon," are taken from another old blues song: Robert Johnson's "Travelling Riverside Blues."
Howlin' Wolf's publisher sued Led Zeppelin, but Led Zeppelin preferred to settle this out of court.
Howlin' Wolf is Chester Burnett's stage name.
Led Zeppelin used this song for the second part of "How Many More Times."
Led Zeppelin used this song in the first part of "How Many More Times" and obviously the title, where Led Zeppelin bothered to change only one word (replacing "years" with "times").
The blues ballad "Since I've Been Loving You" was credited to Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones. However, Led Zeppelin's song "shares" lots of lyrics with this song, and the song's mellow atmosphere is very reminiscent of Moby Grape's "Never."
