Dazed And Confused

(This is not a reference to THC's mental state . . . at least in his opinion.  One of the first posts on this blog was The Evolution of Dazed and Confused.  Since the key embedded video in that post has been made inaccessible by YouTube and some additional information has come to THC's attention he is presenting a revised version today.)

(Jimmy Page from innocentwords)


Dazed And Confused from Led Zeppelin's debut album, released in 1969, remains one of the band's most popular tunes; an epic heavy tune showcasing the guitar riffs and screeching vocals for which Zeppelin came to be known.  The song's been used in many TV shows and movies (it even became the title of a movie with a great cast) and was a highlight in the band's concerts.  On the album the composition of the song is credited to Jimmy Page, Zeppelin's lead guitarist.  But was Page really the composer?
In 1967 a little known singer named Jake Holmes released his debut album oddly entitled "The Above Ground Sound" Of Jake Holmes.  It wasn't a big seller but one of its purchasers was 16-year old THC.  He liked it enough that he took the train from suburbia to see Holmes play two shows in August and September 1967 at The Bitter End, a small club in New York City's Greenwich Village and got to sit in the first or second row.  Holmes opened the August show for Neil Diamond, just starting his solo career with the hits  Solitary Man (on which he does a fine version about 12 minutes into the video linked below), Cherry Cherry and Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon.  Holmes was terrific and Diamond proved to be a fine live performer.  You can listen to Diamond's set here (sorry for the bad audio quality) which includes I'm A Believer, the huge hit Neil wrote for The Monkees and Kentucky Woman, soon to be released as his next hit single. A warning note - though the YouTube video says it is from The Bitter End if you listen closely it appears possible two of the songs, including Kentucky Woman, may have been edited into it from other appearances, though THC remembers him playing it in his set.

(above and below from fondmineandsteve)
Holmes next opened for Van Morrison whose first solo hit, Brown Eyed Girl, was still riding high on the charts.  Much of Morrison's set consisted of songs later included on his 1968 album Astral Weeks which, for unexplainable reasons, was adored by the critics.  Morrison was unbearable, wandering around the stage with his eyes closed, hands on his head, yelling unintelligible lyrics accompanied by music which was mostly boring though on occasion it rose to the level where it became irritating.

At the time THC liked much of Holmes' repertoire but having recently listened to the album most of it does not hold up well with one exception, a song called Dazed And Confused, which stood out then and now for its weirdness and intensity.  As you can hear Holmes played with an unusual band lineup - Jake on acoustic guitar,  a bass, a very trebly lead guitar and no drums.  You can watch Holmes playing at what seems to be The Bitter End here.  And now take a listen to Dazed And Confused by Jake Holmes.

The lyrics are different than the Zeppelin version but the melody is the same as is the basic chord structure.  Even the guitar break bears some similarity.  Coincidence?  THC thinks not.

In August 1967, Holmes opened a show for The Yardbirds, a British band with a lead guitarist named Jimmy Page.  THC has written about The Yardbirds before and earlier lineups featured Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck as guitarists.  This is the 1966 version of the band featuring both Beck and Page, playing The Train Kept A Rollin' from Michaelangelo Antonioni's film Blowup (one of many hit movies from the era that are unwatchable today and among Vanessa Redgrave's first films).

The Yardbirds liked Dazed And Confused quickly incorporating it into their live set with Page embellishing the instrumental sections.  Appearing on French TV in March 1968 their revamped version still had Holmes' lyrics, sung horribly by Keith Relf, but with an arrangement sounding very much like that recorded by Zeppelin a year later.  Embedding of the video from French TV is disabled by YouTube but you can see it here.

Later that year The Yardbirds dissolved and Page started a new band, Led Zeppelin, a name bestowed by Keith Moon, The Who's drummer, who Page was trying to recruit to join his new group.  Page completed the transformation of Dazed And Confused by writing new lyrics and that's how it happened.  Dazed And Confused was not the only Zeppelin song to generate controversy over its composition - if you do a google search on "led zeppelin plagiarism" you'll come up with 89,600 hits and "led zeppelin song stealing" yields 159,000 results.

Jake Holmes released a second album but while his performing career quickly faltered he ended up becoming quite successful.  In 1969 he co-wrote the Watertown album for Frank Sinatra.  It was Sinatra's least commercially successful album but it was, after all, Frank Sinatra!  During the 1970s Jake became a phenomenally successful jingle writer.  Included among his credits are writing the music for "Be All That You Can Be" for the US Army, "Be a Pepper" for Dr. Pepper, "Best a Man Can Get" for Gillette, and "Aren't You Hungry for Burger King Now?" and doing the vocals on many of them.

All through these decades Jake never took action about Jimmy Page's writing credit for Dazed And Confused other than writing a letter to Led Zeppelin which was never answered.   Finally in 2010 he filed a lawsuit against Page claiming copyright infringement.  The case was dismissed with prejudice in 2012 (see Order of Dismissal) but it looks like that action was part of a settlement between the parties though neither has spoken publicly about it.  Shortly thereafter Celebration Day, a Zeppelin live album, was released with the credits for Dazed And Confused reading "Jimmy Page; inspired by Jake Holmes".

(Jake Holmes today from Broadwayworld)
(Jimmy Page today from local rhthyms)

The Evolution of Dazed and Confused

You know this tune from the first Led Zeppelin album, released in 1969.  An epic heavy tune showcasing the riffs for which Zeppelin came to be known.  The song's been incorporated into many TV shows and movies (it even became the title for a movie) and was one of the band's most popular live tunes.  On the album the composition of the song is credited to Jimmy Page, Zeppelin's lead guitarist.  But did Page really write the tune?

Rockin' The 60s

1960s that is.

Before forgetting more about those years, I'll attempt to reconstruct the bands I saw in concert during that decade.  I have the nagging feeling a few are missing.

March 1966
The Byrds
White Plains, NY

My favorite American rock band of the 65-66 period.  This was just after Turn, Turn, Turn became a #1 hit.  My dad took me to the show (thanks dad!). The auditorium was less than 1/2 full, and The Byrds played for only about 30 minutes, which was the norm back then.  How things would change within the next three years!

June 10, 1966
Soundblast '66
Ray Charles
Stevie Wonder
The Beach Boys
The Byrds
The Gentrys
The Marvelettes
The McCoys
Yankee Stadium, NY

Sounds like a great show, doesn't it?  Well, it wasn't.  Only about 10,000 in attendance and each act played 3 or 4 songs with long breaks in between.  I remember Stevie Wonder performing Bob Dylan's Blowing In The Wind and Uptight. I could swear I previously wrote a post devoted to this show but can't find it.

For you young 'uns, The Gentrys were one-hit wonders selling a million copies of Keep on Dancing in late 1965.  The McCoys had a giant #1 with Hang On Sloopy in '65.  Their lead guitarist was Rick Derringer who went on to have a big solo career (Rock n Roll Hoochie Koo) and become a session guitarist for, among others, Steely Dan (he plays the solo on Chain Lightning).  The Marvelettes were a Motown girl singing troupe that had a monster smash in the early 60s with Please, Mr Postman and then a string of minor hits - at the time of Soundblast '66 they were charting with Don't Mess With Bill.

 June 30, 1966
The Lovin' Spoonful
Brien McMahon High School
Norwalk CT

My mother was vice-chair of the Norwalk Democratic Party Committee at the time and they were seeking to raise funds.  I can't remember if she asked me, or I suggested, a rock concert.  I do know I was the one who suggested The Lovin' Spoonful who had a couple of Top Ten hits.  By the time of the concert, in the high school gym, Summer In The City was #1.  If memory serves the party made $900 on the show, not bad for the time.

February 26, 1967
Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels 
Brien McMahon High School
Norwalk CT 

Not well remembered today, Ryder & The Wheels were an outstanding rock n soul band with a series of hits from 1965 to 1967 - Jenny Take A Ride, Devil With A Blue Dress, Sock It To Me Baby, and Little Latin Lupe Lu.  Dynamic show at my high school.

August 1967
Neil Diamond
Jake Holmes
The Bitter End
Greenwich Village, Manhattan

I was a fan of Jake Holmes and have written previously about this and the next show on the list.  Holmes was terrific and early Neil Diamond was very good.  Led Zeppelin (specifically, Jimmy Page) lifted Dazed and Confused from Jake.

September 1967
Van Morrison
Jake Holmes
The Bitter End
Greenwich Village, Manhattan

See above, except that Van Morrison was unbearably horrible.

October 10, 1967
The Doors
Danbury High School
Danbury CT

Held in the high school auditorium.  The Doors were booked after release of their first album but before Light My Fire became a huge hit in the summer of 1967.  Sold-out show.  Though tame by their latter standards it was still pretty wild for high school kids in 1967.  I found this recording of the show on YouTube.  Sound quality is poor but gives a flavor for the brooding power of Jim Morrison and the band.

Early 1968
Cream
Staples High School
Westport, CT

A half-full auditorium to see Cream tour in support of its recently released Disraeli Gears album.  They opened with Tales of Brave Ulysses.  When they hit the first chord, fuses blew and the auditorium went dark.  After restoring power, the concert went well.  Those boys could play!

August 6, 1968
The Doors
JFK Stadium, Bridgeport CT

The 1967 version of The Doors was crisp and powerful.  By 1968 the rot had sunk in.  An obviously stoned Jim Morrison was incoherent during the first part of the concert.  He abruptly snapped out of it in the later stages but the show paled in comparison to what we saw the prior year.

Late November 1968
Jefferson Airplane
Buddy Guy
Fillmore East
East Village, Manhattan

What a showman Buddy Guy was, playing guitar behind his back as he came off the stage and walked down the aisle.  Based on their albums was a fan of Jefferson Airplane but liked them even better live.  A much heavier sound in concert driven by Jack Cassidy's bass (see this prior THC post to hear what they sounded like at the Fillmore). 

February 1969

Blood, Sweat & Tears

Darien High School (CT)

 

This was as BST was becoming hugely popular after replacing lead singer Al Kooper with David Clayton-Thomas and releasing its second album a couple of months before. Clayton-Thomas was a much, much better vocalist than Kooper but Al was much superior as songwriter, arranger ,and visionary and band never recaptured the magic of its first album, Child Is Father To The Man.  I remember the concert as okay, but nothing special.

Spring 1969

Gary Puckett & The Union Gap

Brien McMahon High School

Norwalk CT

Our senior class was raising money for our prom.  In the fall of 1968 I'd spoken with the William Morris Agency about booking The Who for their planned tour but it was postponed (if you're wondering it cost $6500 to book The Who for a concert) and eventually we settled on Gary Puckett who'd had several monster hits.  Of course, as sophisticated seniors we weren't big fans but the sophomore and junior girls loved him.  He played in our gym and when he sang Young Girl we had to link our arms together to protect Gary and the band from being overrun by the surging girls.  The song would probably have difficulty getting airplay today; actually Gary might be arrested today.

May 17, 1969
The Who
Sweetwater
It's A Beautiful Day
Fillmore East
East Village, Manhattan

The Who came to America in May 1969 in support of their new album Tommy, which broke them as a big act worldwide.  This was the second of a three night stint at the Fillmore East.  One of the best shows I've ever seen.  They opened with some of their older material, then ripped right through the entire Tommy album, and then started a wrap up.  It was astonishing, Keith Moon in constant motion on the drumkit, looking like he had no bones in his arms, Townshend windmilling on the guitar, and Entwhistle's thundering bass.

As the band and the audience grew more frenzied we noticed smoke in the theater.  Some type of announcement was made to exit the place but we ignored it.  Then we saw a guy in a suit wander onto the stage, grab a microphone and started to talk.  Roger Daltrey pinned his arms back and Townshend walked over, all the while continuing to play his guitar, and kicked the guy in the privates.  Actually, it sounds better when Roger Daltrey tells it, which he does in his recently released autobiography, Thanks A Lot Mr Kibblewhite:

" . . . this bloke jumped up onto the stage and grabbed the microphone off me.  I grabbed it back and told him to fuck off, but he kept struggling.  As we were wrestling with it, I noticed Pete crossing the stage toward us, doing a Chuck Berry duck walk.  Perfectly on beat, he kicked the bloke in the balls, then I grabbed the mic, and we finished the song." 

The next thing I remember dozens of New York City policemen flooded down the two aisles, the side doors flew open, and they pushed us out along each row and onto the street.

It turned out the building next door caught fire and they were worried about the Fillmore catching fire.  We didn't care.

Daltrey and Townshend were arrested for assaulting the guy who grabbed the mic, who turned out to be a plainclothes police officer.  

Of the opening acts, I preferred It's A Beautiful Day.  To listen to their best song see this THC post.

June 1969
Rhinoceros
Brien McMahon High School
Norwalk CT

The band that played our senior prom.  Take a listen.  Not bad, eh?


 

August 1969
Woodstock (2nd Day)
Country Joe McDonald
Santana
John Sebastian
The Incredible String Band
Canned Heat
Mountain
The Grateful Dead
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Janis Joplin
Sly & The Family Stone
The Who
Jefferson Airplane
Bethel, NY

First time I'd heard Santana and Soul Sacrifice immediately stood out (love Carlos Santana's guitar tone and Michael Shrieve was a helluva drummer).  UPDATE: Here is full version of the Woodstock performance including Shrieve's entire drum solo] The closing acts from Creedence on were phenomenal.  Show started at 2pm on Saturday and ended shortly after dawn on Sunday.  Let's end with Sparks from The Who.

Becoming Led Zeppelin

On the recommendation of the THC Daughter (a huge Zep fan) I watched Becoming Led Zeppelin, a recent documentary covering the founding of the band and its first two album and initial tours.  The Daughter gets A+ for her recommendation.

Becoming features recent interviews with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones, as well as a previously unheard late 1970s interview with John Bonham (who died in 1980) along with incredible footage of early Zeppelin gigs which I'd never seen before.

We get the origin stories for the band members, including Bonham and Plant who were friends before Zeppelin.  I knew about Page's background as a studio musician and Yardbird but little about the others and found it quite interesting - Plant was studying to be a chartered accountant!  I also hadn't been aware of the extent to which putting the band together and its initial recordings were a Jimmy Page driven project.

The performance footage shows Zeppelin as a overpowering sonic powerhouse right from the start and Bonham sure hits those drums hard.  The documentary is also a reminder that the rock critics, particularly the influential Rolling Stone, hated Led Zeppelin, but despite that the band quickly built a huge following. 

Page, Plant, and Jones were engaging in their Old Guy interviews and watching them listening to the Bonham interview (which they'd never heard) was touching.

I was also happy to see Page give a public nod to Jake Holmes as the inspiration for Dazed and Confused.  You can read about the specifics of how Page was "inspired" by Holmes here.

Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You

I first heard this song on Led Zeppelin's 1969 debut album.  It became my favorite from that record, combining Jimmy Page's folk and electric guitar and Robert Plant's soulful and powerful vocal in an incredibly dynamic and dramatic fashion.  The song carried the notation - "Traditional; arr. by Jimmy Page".

It wasn't until many years later I learned the back story.  Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You was composed in the 1950s by Anne Bredon, a student at Berkeley.  After hearing Anne perform, Joan Baez made the first recorded version on a 1962 album.  It sounds very, very different from Zeppelin's.

It was not until 1990 that the credit on Zeppelin's album was corrected to attribute the composition to Bredon and she was paid back royalties at the time.  Zeppelin was known to take creative credit for modifying compositions originally done by other artists.  The most famous is Dazed and Confused which was actually composed by Jake Holmes.