An American folk-singer is suing Led Zeppelin, claiming he wrote their classic song Dazed and Confused. Jake Holmes, whose authorship of the tune has been widely cited for decades, is pursuing Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin's labels for at least $1m in damages.
In documents filed on Monday, Holmes cited a 1967 copyright registration for Dazed and Confused, renewed in 1995. That song, which you can listen to here, was released in 1967 on the San Francisco-born musician's debut album.
In fact, the path that leads from Holmes to Page is very well known. As documented by Perfect Sound Forever magazine, Holmes opened for Page's then-band, the Yardbirds, at a Greenwich Village gig in August 1967. "That was the infamous moment of my life when Dazed and Confused fell into the loving arms and hands of Jimmy Page," Holmes recalled in an interview with Will Shade. Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty described going to a record shop the next day to buy a copy of Holmes's album. "We decided to do a version," he said. "We worked it out together with Jimmy contributing the guitar riffs in the middle."
When the Yardbirds broke up in 1968, Page brought the song to his new band, releasing it on Led Zeppelin's self- titled first album. But although Holmes's contribution to the tune is often commented upon – and even dominates Dazed and Confused's Wikipedia page – Page is credited as the track's sole songwriter. In 1990, Musician magazine quizzed Page on the subject, asking if Holmes was the original composer. "I don't know about all that," Page replied. "I'd rather not get into it because I don't know all the circumstances. What's he got – the riff or whatever? ... I haven't heard Jake Holmes so I don't know what it's all about anyway. Usually my riffs are pretty damn original."
It's not clear why Holmes has waited more than 40 years to file a plagiarism suit. Due to a statute of limitations, the 70-year-old can only claim royalties and damages for the past three years; and so he's doing just that, seeking actual damages, three years of song profits and statutory damages of $150,000 (£99,000) per infringement. As the track appears on everything from Led Zeppelin's debut to their BBC Sessions, as well as DVDs and compilations, that's no small sum. Enough, certainly, to fund a late retirement.
The case continues.