Latest news with #Yardbirds
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
Wall Street Journal
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
‘The Yardbirds' Review: The Reign of the Guitar Gods
'It's a shame the Yardbirds have no image,' opined Herman's Hermits' Peter Noone bluntly in 1966, 'because they would be the Number One group in England.' It's true that the Yardbirds—whose 'magnificent reverberations' are chronicled in Peter Stanfield's 'The Yardbirds: The Most Blueswailing Futuristic Way-Out Heavy Beat Sound'—remain a difficult band to peg among their peers. They were tricky to market, too, stiff and uncomfortable in publicity photos. Despite the powerful, affectless voice of their singer Keith Relf, the Yardbirds frontman offered no Mick Jagger-like threat to the female populace. One British magazine described him as 'frail like a sparrow,' more likely to engender maternal feelings in its teen readership. In any case it was its succession of genius guitarists to whom the rest of the band was in thrall. The sequence began with Eric Clapton, who left in 1965 over a mix of personality clashes and his own blues orthodoxy. He was followed by sonic adventurer Jeff Beck, who moved front and center with his arsenal of fuzz, distortion and feedback, and, finally, Jimmy Page, who arrived in 1966 as a bassist but graduated to guitar, violin bow in hand, foot rocking on the wah-wah pedal. Their classic mid-'60s lineup included Chris Dreja on rhythm guitar, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and Jim McCarty on drums (the sole original member in the current iteration of the band). The London rhythm-and-blues scene—including the Crawdaddy Club, where the Rolling Stones were launched—gave the Yardbirds their start. Their signature was the 'blueswailing' rave-up, the instrumental interlude that could stretch any three-minute number into a sweaty epic jam, feeding off the proximity of an audience moving, in the words of one contemporary journalist, 'like a crazy caterpillar on pep pills.' Their debut album, 'Five Live Yardbirds,' recorded at the Marquee Club in 1964, would later be tagged by All Music Guide as 'the best such live record of the entire middle of the decade.' After Mr. Clapton's departure, the Yardbirds gravitated toward commercial pop ('For Your Love,' 1965), then pioneered psychedelia ('Shapes of Things,' 1966) before unexpectedly and ill-advisedly joining forces with Mickie Most, the producer of acts such as Herman's Hermits and Donovan. When Relf and Mr. McCarty left in 1968, Mr. Page, in pursuit of a 'heavy beat sound,' recruited new members into an act that briefly toured as the New Yardbirds. They re-formed as Led Zeppelin, inheriting some Yardbirds tunes including the staple 'Dazed and Confused.'
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
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.
Reuters
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
Jimmy Page, Sony Pictures sued by songwriter over Led Zeppelin song
May 5 (Reuters) - Songwriter Jake Holmes sued former Led Zeppelin and Yardbirds guitarist Jimmy Page, music publisher Warner Chappell (WMG.O), opens new tab and film studio Sony Pictures (6758.T), opens new tab in California federal court on Monday for allegedly violating his rights in the song "Dazed and Confused." Holmes said in the complaint, opens new tab that Page and Warner Chappell broke a settlement agreement by releasing new early live recordings of the song and featuring it in Sony Pictures' documentary "Becoming Led Zeppelin" without paying or crediting him. Holmes accused Page of copyright infringement and breach of contract. Spokespeople for Warner and Sony Pictures did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the complaint. Holmes' attorney Daniel Johnson declined to comment. Holmes, a singer-songwriter and prominent ad jingle creator, wrote "Dazed and Confused" in 1967. Page's band the Yardbirds reworked it later that year, and his next band Led Zeppelin featured it on their debut album in 1969. Holmes sued Page for copyright infringement in 2010 over Page's versions of the song. The dispute was settled outside of court in 2011. The new lawsuit said that Page has since released several archival Yardbirds live versions of "Dazed and Confused" that only credit Page as its songwriter, breaking their agreement and infringing his copyright. The complaint said that "Becoming Led Zeppelin," released in February, also uses "Dazed and Confused" without permission. Holmes requested damages of at least $150,000 per instance of infringement under U.S. copyright law. The case is Holmes v. Page, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 2:25-cv-03977. For Holmes: Daniel Johnson
