Dez's Top Rock/Pop, #15: Led Zeppelin

Thievery and Flattery

Many (if not most) of the important bands of the 1960’s and 70’s trace their musical roots back to blues music. Blues is the most direct ancestor of rock and roll, although rock and roll also has country, folk, R&B and jazz in its bloodstream. But blues is the root. Blues is the music that many of the 60’s and 70’s rock gods were listening to as impressionable teens. Many British musicians especially were drawn to American blues. Like de Toqueville analyzing our democracy, sometimes it takes a foreigner to really appreciate something that is supposed to be so American.

Led Zeppelin was one of the most important blues-based rock bands of the era. Throughout their recording career, Zeppelin included blues covers on their records and in their live sets. As with most great artists who are inspired by what came before, Zeppelin did not merely ape the blues masters, but made the blues their own. The first two Zeppelin records especially are primarily turbocharged blues. The problem is that Jimmy Page and Co. did not always acknowledge (as in credit, as in royalties) their influences. To be fair, blues music itself has a long tradition of “borrowing” and “developing” songs based on what came before. Most of the original blues masters were not too concerned with copyright laws either. But Zeppelin should have known better.

The problem is particularly acute on Led Zeppelin II. Starting off with the hard rocking, psychedelic Zeppelin standard “Whole Lotta Love.” While the music is wholly Zeppelin, Robert Plant evidently had a little writer’s block, and so he “borrowed” some verses from Willie Dixon’s “You Need Love.” "Whole Lotta Love" was listed as a Led Zeppelin composition on the record, and once Dixon sued, they settled out of court. Then on “The Lemon Song,” Zeppelin borrowed alternatively from Howlin’ Wolf (“Killing Floor”), Robert Johnson and Albert King. Again, the song is credited only to Zeppelin. The closer, “Bring It On Home,” is also loosely based on Sonny Boy Williamson’s song of the same name. From Led Zeppelin III, their innovative take on “Gallow’s Pole” was nonetheless based on the Leadbelly classic. “When the Levee Breaks”? Based on the 1929 song by Memphis Minnie. “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” from Presence? Based on Blind Willie Johnson’s original, yet credited to “Page/Plant” on the record.

Again, Led Zeppelin definitely takes these songs to new places and add their own music. (In fact, “When the Levee Breaks,” Zeppelin-style, has to be amongst the most ominous and scary blues ever laid down. John Bonham’s drumbeat could shift the earth’s plates. That drumbeat is also one of the most sampled beats in rap, by the way. That is a type of justice, considering how much Zeppelin borrowed from their own predecessors. Page and Plant have both pointed this fact out in defending themselves). But the credits should (and mostly do now on more recent pressings of the Zeppelin albums) be shared between Zeppelin and the original masters, where appropriate. The blues masters have been screwed enough by the industry and their record companies. They should at least be given credit (and royalties) by fellow artists. Kudos to Dixon and Howlin’ Wolf for taking Zeppelin to court on these matters.

The Evolution of a Song...
Here is a series of recordings of the traditional blues tune, "Gallow's Pole." First is one of the original recordings, by blues legend Leadbelly (his version was called "Gallis Pole.") Next is a version from the early 60's from folk artist Fred Gerlach. Jimmy Page has said that Led Zeppelin's version of "Gallow's Pole" was based on Gerlach's. If you listen to the progression, I think that you can appreciate how Zeppelin were able to take a simple blues song and really take it to a new place in complexity and mood.







Led Zeppelin is, of course, much more than just turbocharged blues. Part of what makes their music so compelling is that they put their heavy stamp upon several genres, including folk, hard rock and country. They were innovatively using world music elements before many others (“Kashmir”), experimenting with reggae (“D’yer M’ker”), and even starting to use synthesizers near the end (In Through the Out Door). So they may have leaned heavily on their influences, but they used them in the best way. They learned from them and then filtered them through their own sensibilities and talents, and then took the music to new and exciting places. But they still should have given credit where credit was due.

What To Listen To:
Their first five records are absolute essentials. The rest are good, but spotty. Led Zeppelin I laid the groundwork for taking blues-based rock to new places; Led Zeppelin II took it as far as it could logically go; Led Zeppelin III (maligned by fans and critics at the time for not sounding exactly like what came before, this record has earned a well deserved reappraisal over the decades and is now loved as much as anything else in their canon) started to dabble with acoustics and folk music; the fourth untitled record (aka 'Led Zeppelin IV', 'Four Symbols') is a Mecca for 70's hard rock fans; and Houses of the Holy is my personal favorite, lightening the mood in places, and stretching out and playing with several genres of music previously untouched by the band. The live album that they released during their tenure as a band is notoriously dull, but the live collection How the West Was Won does them justice. Get that one instead of The Song Remains the Same. There are some decent compilations out there, but Zeppelin created such a complete atmosphere with each record, you don’t get the full impact on a compilation.