Led Zeppelin Examples of Plagiarism

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Here is a compilation of 10 artists who have either won legal battles / settlements against Led Zeppelin or are currently in court. In most cases it is unfair to say that Led Zeppelin "stole" other people's music for their own albums. Zeppelin fans will say that they just covered these songs. However, this is not the case. According to the writing credits on I, II, III, & IV, all songs are said to be written by Page/Plant; even traditional songs. After many legal battles from original artists, their name credits have been restored. If you buy an LZ album today and compare it to the first pressing, you will see very different writing credits.
Many songs are open to interpretation. It's a 50/50 battle when you listen to Stairway to Heaven. All examples, however, do have back stories as to when Page or Plant referenced the "stolen" song prior to recording it themselves.
I had to cram 10 examples into a 10 minute video, so I suggest listening to the songs in full to make your own decisions. I'd also love to hear your side of the argument in the comments below. Let's be civil and open some good-point conversations. If you're using this forum for ignornace and name-calling, you'll be deleted and blocked. Enjoy.

UPDATE: There's a current lawsuit about Dazed & Confused. http://www.tmz.com/2010/06/29/led-zeppelin-dazed-and-confused-jimmy-page-laws...

UPDATE 2: (Thanks to MarctheManSeligman)
In an interview with Guitar World Magazine in 1993, Jimmy Page responded to the plagiarism lawsuits; "[A]s far as my end of it goes, 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 the grief. They couldn't get us on the guitar parts of the music, but they nailed us on the lyrics. We did, however, take some liberties, I must say [laughs]. But never mind; we did try to do the right thing."

UPDATE 3:
To those people stating that this is the same as rappers and R&B singers taking music loops, you're a bit mistaken. Most loops are sampled right after the copyright on the song has run out. There are many songs that people wait for and fight over because they see it coming down the copyright road. For instance, Jessica Simpson sampled John Melloncamp's "Jack & Diane". It was publicized that she won the fight to sample it and buy the rights to the guitar loop, beating out many others who fought for the right to use it. There are cases where rappers will use new loops, like Eminem using Dido's song "Thank You" in his song "Stan" no more than a year after her song came out. In that case, the song credits were shared, and through proper documentation was considered mutually beneficial. Those who do not follow the proper procedures get sued. Just ask The Verve when they sampled The Rolling Stones for Bitter Sweet Symphony. It was the group's biggest song ever and they barely got any money from it because it all went to the Rolling Stones. Rappers seem to follow the proper paperwork these days.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• led zeppelin
• page
• plant
• jimmy page
• robert plant
• stolen
• plagiarism
• blues
• rock

[SonofBrunhilde]

WRONG

[SonofBrunhilde]

LED ZEPPELIN wrote the friggin' music. Led Zeppelin were the geniuses. They didn't steal anything. I hope the asshole who posted this video gets hit by a truck.

[gcbluesgod1]

That's show biz pal. The money goes to who can put the sizzle in the music and sell it to the global market. Everybody wants credit for their creations and masterpieces, but life isn't fair and that's the way it is. Which Rapper is getting sued for their 'REMIX' practices they utilize? Let's see that video Michael Moore wanna be.

[gorgolyt]

@Frijolero18 grow up.

[Grievorious]

se eu soubesse falar ingles o idiota que levantou essas suspeitas sobre o zeppelin ouveria umas boas,nao tem oque fazer e temta levantar falso de uma das melhores bandas do mundo entao um pouco do meu ingles for you FOCK YOUR MOTHER FOCKER!!!!

[BawlinOnaBudget]

It is not Led Zeppelin's job to make sure that the artists that influenced them directly or indirectly have money in their pockets. Consequently, the lawsuits are only on the basis of copyright/"credit" being "owed". In the long run, must people don't even know who these people are or care to find out. There I said it.

[brimcowa]

yawn

[zakquack]

@leeharveyosmosis i was under the impression that they rarely got signed... instead they signed white guys to play their music and not credit them...

[leeharveyosmosis]

@zakquack

I'm saying the labels the bluesmen were signed to ripped them off.

[186kms]

Led Zeppelin blatantly stole from the old bluesmen. They never gave anyone credit for their works. That why they spent a lot of their time in court and losing 90% of the time. Make all the excuses you want, it not right and against the law…