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The Unknown Singer Who Inspired a Classic Led Zeppelin Song

Posted on by angelo
The Unknown Singer Who Inspired a Classic Led Zeppelin Song

Jake Holmes: the underground folk singer who inspired a Led Zeppelin classic

(Credits: Far Out / Alamy / Annie Spratt)

Without the Yardbirds, rock music would be very different. When Jeff Beck was in the band, he brought a new way of playing to the average guitarist, freeing him from the shackles of being a singer and encouraging musicians to embrace flamboyance, moving further toward the center. Additionally, Jimmy Page, although he had previously worked with several different bands as a session guitarist, used his time in the Yardbirds to perfect his sound. His time with the band prepared him for what was to come: Led Zeppelin.

If you took one member of Led Zeppelin out of the equation, it wouldn’t be the same band. Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and John Bonham all brought something to the table that was both unique and essential to their success. However, Jimmy Page, with his unique abilities as a guitarist, his ear for music in general, and his affinity for things as a whole, was a crucial part of the band.

In The Yardbirds, he perfected the sound that would eventually be taken up by the classic rock band. He also drew inspiration from a number of songs that would eventually become some of Led Zeppelin’s most beloved. While touring with the Yardbirds, he and the rest of the band went to see an underground folk singer whose playing style and look would inspire a huge Zeppelin track.

While on tour, on a free evening in New York, the band went to see Janis Ian at Café a Go Go, and while they undoubtedly enjoyed her set, it was the opening act that really amazed. Playing two acoustic guitars in a trippy, descending style, Jake Holmes gave the band insight into a style of music that hadn’t been explored much before. One song, in particular, was about a bad acid trip, and it really captured their imagination. It was called “Dazed and Confused.”

The Yardbirds saw it as the perfect song to steal and make their own, so the next day they went to the nearest record store and bought The underground sound of Jake Holmes. They twisted it slightly, giving it a heavier rock feel, and renamed the song “I’m Confused”.

The Yardbirds never released it, but once Led Zeppelin formed, Jimmy Page gave the song another chance. The lyrics were rewritten, but the sinister, edgy style of the song was still present. When the band released their first album, Led Zeppelinwhile there were a number of heavy hitters, “Dazed and Confused” stood out to fans as something entirely new.

Even today, when people talk about Led Zeppelin’s classic songs, “Dazed and Confused” is always mentioned, and rightfully so. Although it may have been taken from Jake Holmes, the band managed to inject their classic Led Zeppelin style into the track to innovate on what rock music could achieve, something they would eventually become synonymous with.

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