NEWS – Folk Singer Sues Led Zeppelin for Plagiarism

Forty-one years after its release and folk singer Jake Holmes is allegedly suing rock legends Led Zeppelin for plagiarism over their 1969 track Dazed and Confused. Holmes had included the track on his first album “The Above Ground Sound” of Jake Holmes two years before Led Zeppelin’s debut but the latter’s guitarist, Jimmy Page, had reworked the song with his previous group The Yardbirds and had decided to use it once again for Led Zeppelin’s 1969 eponymous release. Although it has been common knowledge for many years Holmes apparently filed a lawsuit against Page and the group’s record label on Monday. The Guardian state: “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.”