Singer-songwriter Jake Holmes has revived a long-dormant battle with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page over the songwriting credits for “Dazed and Confused.”
Holmes’ new copyright infringement suit alleges that he has not received proper credit or royalties for early versions of “Dazed and Confused” performed by the Yardbirds, including a recording featured in the recent documentary, Becoming Led Zeppelin. Holmes claimed he sent a cease and desist to Page and the other defendants last month, but those letters have gone ignored, leading him to file the lawsuit.
Holmes wrote and recorded “Dazed and Confused” in 1967, and Page allegedly heard the tune in August of that year after the singer-songwriter opened for the Yardbirds in Greenwich Village (the track also appeared on Holmes’ 1967 album, “The Above Ground Sound” of Jake Holmes). Soon after, the Yardbirds worked out their own version of the song, which they began to incorporate into their live performances; while they never recorded a proper studio version of “Dazed and Confused,” several live recordings were made in 1967 and 1968.
The song, however, stuck with Page, and he would go on to rework it further with Led Zeppelin. While Page wrote new lyrics to the song, the main instrumental melody — especially the famous descending riff — remained largely similar to Holmes’ original.
For years, Holmes declined to take issue with Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused,” even reportedly remarking at one point, “I said, ‘What the hell, let him have it.’” But in 2010, he did finally file a copyright infringement lawsuit against Page, and the case was ultimately settled out of court
As part of the settlement agreement, the songwriting credit for Led Zeppelin’s version of “Dazed and Confused” was reworked to be “inspired by Jake Holmes.” And while Holmes retained full ownership over the copyright to his original composition, it’s unclear if the settlement stipulated how any Yardbirds recordings of “Dazed and Confused” should be credited.
As Holmes’ new lawsuit notes, over the past three years, several archival Yardbirds releases have come out that include some of those live recordings of “Dazed and Confused.” Holmes alleges that these recordings have been falsely credited to Page and that, as such, he hasn’t received any royalties.
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Additionally, Holmes argues that in Becoming Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin’s version of “Dazed and Confused” is properly credited as “Written by Jimmy Page, inspired by Jake Holmes,” but the version by the Yardbirds is credited only as “Written by Jimmy Page.”
“The Yardbirds performance of ‘Dazed and Confused’ in the film is a performance of the Holmes Composition,” the lawsuit states, adding: “Defendants have thus committed multiple acts of willful infringement by continuing to use the Holmes Composition without authorization and in the face of both specific knowledge of Plaintiff’s rights and Plaintiff’s cease and desist demand.”
A lawyer for Page did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
From Rolling Stone US
