Latest news with #DazedandConfused
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Cultural history of late-'60s rock hits some sour notes
There's a depth and richness in rock 'n' roll that, at its best, rivals other art forms. But to reveal it, the music has to be placed in the broader texture and framework of culture and politics. John Einarson is the Winnipeg author of more than 20 rock-music music biographies. His past subjects include Neil Young, Randy Bachman, John Kay, Ian & Sylvia, The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. From Born to Be Wild to Dazed and Confused Despite his literary output, he allows his crowning epitaph to be that 'he opened for Led Zeppelin' as the 17-year-old guitarist of local band Euphoria at the Man-Pop Festival at Winnipeg Stadium in August 1970. He's clearly a rock-music musicologist of the first order. And he also knows the tech stuff inside out. As a former rock musician, he writes knowledgably about guitar makes and models, tunings, chord progressions and amplifier manufacturers and sizes. But his focus this time round is conceptual, and much more ambitious than a rock bio. It's a cultural history, viewed through the lens of rock music in the late 1960s. He's set himself a tall order — one he doesn't fill, and which is handicapped by a dubious editorial choice in the book's format. Einarson traces the evolution of rock 'n' roll from psychedelia to heavy rock to heavy metal. Each of the three years he principally treats of — 1967, '68 and '69 — is introduced by a 'Timeline of Significant Events,' multi-page month-by-month one- or two-sentence bulleted lists of significant historical or musical events of each year. It's the kind of pedagogical aid Einarson, a former schoolteacher, might employ for instructing middle or high school students. But it has no business in a cultural history about rock music. Some of the timeline potted summaries also surface in the chapters that follow. But far better if more of them were integrated into the music-driven narrative, and the bulleted lists nixed. The net result: the music isn't fully and seamlessly placed within the larger context of the times and shaping historical events. The book's title encompasses two songs Einarson considers signal recordings for the birth of hard rock — Steppenwolf's Born to Be Wild, released in 1968, and Led Zeppelin's Dazed and Confused, released in 1969. But he begins the narrative in 1965, with the rise of psychedelic music. He charts how psychedelia's gentler, more experimental ethos gave way through 1966-67 to a louder, heavier and more visceral sound, pioneered by the Who, the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Jeff Beck. It finally crystallized in the likes of Steppenwolf and Led Zeppelin, he maintains. He links the evolution of psychedelic-cum-flower-power rock into a darker, heavier rock genre due to worsening geopolitical events — the Vietnam War's Tet Offensive, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, increasingly violent student and civil-rights protests, the presidential election of Richard Nixon. This heavy rock, often today dubbed 'classic rock,' in turn gave way to a host of successor imitators, collectively known as heavy metal. Heavy metal music's intellectual quotient is near zero. It's a kind of a soma, loudly lulling its fans into ignoring real-world issues. Both early and later practitioners (Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Megadeath, Metallica) are weak derivatives of the pioneers of heavy rock (Jeff Beck, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Steppenwolf). What heavy metal imported was more overt sexual content, dilettantish dabbling in the occult, mysticism and Satanism, and adolescent proto-anarchism. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. But Einarson renders neither a critical judgment nor an endorsing defence of the genre, remaining pretty much mute on its merits or lack of same. This is an intelligent record of rock music's evolution in the late 1960s. But while it's an interesting chronicle, there's a dearth of considered scrutiny. The music's interaction with politics and geopolitics is thin. The music's interaction with contemporary books, movies, plays and television is negligible to non-existent. The broader context of the music is too often missing. As cultural history, it's criticism lite. Douglas J. Johnston is a Winnipeg lawyer and writer.
Kuwait Times
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Kuwait Times
Whole lotta legal argument: Led Zeppelin guitarist Page sued
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is being sued in California by the composer of "Dazed and Confused," one of the British rock band's biggest hits. Its epic guitar riffs and complex drum work made the song an enduring show stopper for one of the most influential groups of the 1970s. Page's soulful licks and singer Robert Plant's soaring vocals in the song -- it was on their first album -- helped establish the band's trademark blues-rock sound. But while the sound of "Dazed and Confused" was all theirs, it was originally by folk rocker Jake Holmes, who recorded it in 1967, a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Monday said. The suit argues that Page and music publisher Warner Chappell disregarded a 2011 settlement over the song by issuing early live recordings and featuring it in Sony Pictures' new documentary "Becoming Led Zeppelin" without permission, payment or credit. "The film incorporates at least two performances of 'Dazed and Confused' -- one by the Yardbirds and one by Led Zeppelin," the suit says. According to the filing, the film says the Yardbirds version of Holmes' song was written by Page alone, while the Zeppelin version in the documentary was written by Page, but "inspired by" Holmes. Page played with the Yardbirds -- who had a version of the song -- from 1966 to 1968 before leaving to form Led Zeppelin with Plant, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. "Dazed and Confused" appears on the band's self-titled debut album, which came out in 1969. Holmes and Page settled a copyright dispute over the song after a lawsuit in Los Angeles in 2010. Details of that settlement were not made public, but Holmes' new suit claims he is now owed $150,000 per alleged infringement in connection with the song's use by the Yardbirds. "Starting in or around 1968, the Yardbirds began to publicly perform the Holmes composition," the complaint says. "Every performance of 'Dazed and Confused' by the Yardbirds is a performance of the Holmes composition." Monday's suit is not the first time the provenance of a Led Zeppelin hit has been legally questioned. The iconic smash hit "Stairway to Heaven" was the subject of a lengthy legal tussle when Los Angeles band Spirit claimed the famous opening riff was swiped from their work. The case almost made it to the US Supreme Court, but ultimately the country's chief justices refused to take it up, and let stand a California court's ruling in favor of the British rockers. — AFP
Japan Today
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Whole lotta legal argument: Led Zeppelin guitarist Page sued
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, seen here with frontman Robert Plant, is being sued over the copyright of 'Dazed and Confused' Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is being sued in California by the composer of "Dazed and Confused," one of the British rock band's biggest hits. Its epic guitar riffs and complex drum work made the song an enduring show stopper for one of the most influential groups of the 1970s. Page's soulful licks and singer Robert Plant's soaring vocals in the song -- it was on their first album -- helped establish the band's trademark blues-rock sound. But while the sound of "Dazed and Confused" was all theirs, it was originally by folk rocker Jake Holmes, who recorded it in 1967, a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Monday said. The suit argues that Page and music publisher Warner Chappell disregarded a 2011 settlement over the song by issuing early live recordings and featuring it in Sony Pictures' new documentary "Becoming Led Zeppelin" without permission, payment or credit. "The film incorporates at least two performances of 'Dazed and Confused' -- one by the Yardbirds and one by Led Zeppelin," the suit says. According to the filing, the film says the Yardbirds version of Holmes' song was written by Page alone, while the Zeppelin version in the documentary was written by Page, but "inspired by" Holmes. Page played with the Yardbirds -- who had a version of the song -- from 1966 to 1968 before leaving to form Led Zeppelin with Plant, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. "Dazed and Confused" appears on the band's self-titled debut album, which came out in 1969. Holmes and Page settled a copyright dispute over the song after a lawsuit in Los Angeles in 2010. Details of that settlement were not made public, but Holmes' new suit claims he is now owed $150,000 per alleged infringement in connection with the song's use by the Yardbirds. "Starting in or around 1968, the Yardbirds began to publicly perform the Holmes composition," the complaint says. "Every performance of 'Dazed and Confused' by the Yardbirds is a performance of the Holmes composition." Monday's suit is not the first time the provenance of a Led Zeppelin hit has been legally questioned. The iconic smash hit "Stairway to Heaven" was the subject of a lengthy legal tussle when Los Angeles band Spirit claimed the famous opening riff was swiped from their work. The case almost made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, but ultimately the country's chief justices refused to take it up, and let stand a California court's ruling in favor of the British rockers. © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jimmy Page Once Again Being Sued by Original 'Dazed and Confused' Songwriter
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways The post Jimmy Page Once Again Being Sued by Original 'Dazed and Confused' Songwriter appeared first on Consequence. Jimmy Page is once again facing litigation over Led Zeppelin's 'Dazed and Confused' from original songwriter Jake Holmes. Holmes, 85, filed the motion for copyright infringement and breach of contract in California court on Monday (May 5th). He alleges that Page, music publisher Warner Chappell, and Sony Pictures violated his rights to 'Dazed and Confused' due to the release of new early live recordings of the song, plus its feature in the documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin documentary, without paying or crediting him. Holmes originally wrote 'Dazed and Confused' in 1967, and the singer-songwriter toured as support for Pages' first band, The Yardbirds, during the decade. The Yardbirds would eventually craft their own version of the song before Page and Led Zeppelin reworked it for their self-titled debut album. In 2010, Holmes sued Page for copyright infringement after claiming that he wrote to Page requesting credit for the track, but was ignored. The dispute was settled outside of court a year later, and the song was credited as 'Jimmy Page – inspired by Jake Holmes' on future reissues of Zeppelin's debut album. Holmes' latest suit cites newly released archival Yardbirds live renditions of 'Dazed and Confused' that only credit Page as the songwriter, which Holmes' lawsuit claims as a break in their agreement, per Reuters. Holmes also claims that the song was used without his permission in the Becoming Led Zeppelin doc. He's seeking at least $150,000 per instance of infringement under US copyright law. Becoming Led Zeppelin Editor's Pick The new filing that Page 'willfully infringed the Holmes composition by falsely claiming that the Holmes composition is the Page composition, by purporting to license use in the film of the Holmes composition as if it was the Page composition, and by collecting license fees for use of the Holmes composition in the film.' Popular Posts Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rock Legend Sued Over Iconic Songwriting Credits
Songwriter Jake Holmes is Dazed and Confused about why Jimmy Page won't give credit where credit is due when it comes to the 1969 Led Zeppelin hit and he wants the courts to sort it all out. Legendary rocker Jimmy Page is being sued by songwriter Jake Holmes over money and credit Holmes claims he is due and that Page is denying him. The song in question is the 1969 Led Zeppelin hit Dazed and Confused. Holmes filed suit against James Patrick Page, Jimmy's legal name, in federal court stating that according to a settlement reached between he and Page in 2011, he holds the copyright on the song. The first version of the song was originally released in 1968 by the Yardbirds when Jimmy Page was a member of that group. When Jimmy joined Led Zeppelin he recorded another version with them and Page was the only credited writer. Holmes later sued over that because he had gotten the copyright for the song in 1967. That suit led to their 2011 settlement. According to his new filing Holmes took issue when he saw the new Zeppelin IMAX documentary, Becoming Led Zeppelin which was released in early 2025. According to the film credits, Dazed and Confused was "inspired" by Holmes but written by Page. Holmes says that this is false. He believes that any version of the song was written by him and he wants the courts to order that he be fairly compensated and credited for his work. He wants all monies earned from the use of the song in the documentary and from any future releases it is used in.
