The 5 Most Famous Musicians Who Are Thieving Bastards

[Dr. Strange]

Wowser!

#5. Led Zeppelin
#4. The Black Eyed Peas
#3. Metallica
#2. Deep Purple
#1. Andrew Lloyd Webber

http://www.cracked.com/article_18500_the-5-most-famous-musicians-who-are-thieving-bastards.html

[Amerigo Vespucci]

1. Led Zeppelin: Thieving Bastards AND Litigious Fucksticks

That's the bigger of the two insults...not the idea that they would steal from legends like Willie Dixon without a moment's hesitation, but they are also one of the most litigious bands on the planet. Look SIDEWAYS at one of their songs without writing a check and you'll find your ass in court.

As I have said many, many, many times on DU:

FUCK Led Zeppelin. For these and several other reasons I don;t need to repeat here.

[Dr. Strange]

2. So...you're saying you don't care for Led Zepplin?

:P

I had never heard of Spirit's song "Taurus," but damn! That's a total thievery right there.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

6. And that's the difference between Jimmy Page and Spirit's Randy California...

...Randy died while saving his kid from drowning.

Page is a sweaty little junkie fuck. He may have cleaned up his act since his hair turned grey but he is still a sweaty little junkie fuck.

Randy California, who wrote "Taurus", was aware of the similarity between his song and "Stairway to Heaven" but always maintained a low-key response when asked about it. A number of websites have repeated (without attribution) the notion that Randy California didn't regard "Stairway to Heaven" as plagiarism, but rather as a "reworking" of his song. This is definitely not the case. Randy California clearly had strong feelings about this, even though he chose not to make a big issue of it. According to his mother, Bernice Pearl, "when people would ask Randy about , he used to always say, 'Let it go.'" but then she went on to say, "There should have been at least one telephone call from Led Zeppelin, some sort of 'Thank you.' Something. But it never came." <3>He had the chance to have his say about the similarity between "Taurus" and "Stairway to Heaven" in his song-by-song liner notes for the 1996 reissue of Spirit, but all he wrote was, "People always ask me why 'Stairway to Heaven' sounds exactly like 'Taurus,' which was released two years earlier. I know Led Zeppelin also played 'Fresh-Garbage' in their live set. They opened up for us on their first American tour." <4> He left it at that, but when asked directly about it in an interview with Jeff McLaughlin in Listener shortly before his death, Randy California was much more direct,

Listener: Speaking of Led Zeppelin, the guitar introduction to your 1967 composition, "Taurus," is a dead ringer for Zeppelin's introduction to "Stairway to Heaven," released in 1971. Did they ever acknowledge their artistic debt to you? They must of known "Taurus," having performed as your warmup band.

California: Well, if you listen to the two songs, you can make your own judgment. It's an exact... I'd say it was a rip-off. And the guys made millions of bucks on it and never said, "Thank you," never said, "Can we pay you some money for it?" It's kind of a sore point with me. Maybe some day their conscience will make them do something about it. I don't know. There are funny business dealings between record companies, managers, publishers, and artists. But when artists do it to other artists, there's no excuse for that. I'm mad!

Listener: Well, take comfort in the fact that you're the true author of one of the most instantly recognizable guitar riffs in rock history.

California: Yeah, right... <5>

Given the similarity between "Stairway to Heaven" and Randy California's "Taurus", Robert Plant's lyrics "There's a feeling I get when I look to the west/And my spirit is crying for leaving" take on a different meaning. Perhaps this is some sort of nod to Randy California.

http://www.turnmeondeadman.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=41&Itemid=51

[Seneca]

11. They stole from Robert Johnson more than anyone

Then again, Robert Johnson stole from Charley Patton and others before him.

The blues is just one theft after another. That's mainly due to the oral tradition which informed the southern Delta culture for so long.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

15. I mentioned Dixon because...

...in a print interview years ago, Plant or Page (not sure which) was confronted about "appropriating" his song "You Shook Me," and the wimp-ass response was something along the lines of "Well, we've changed the song so substantially that it has become a new composition."

Bullshit. They're thieves.

I don't know a lot about John Paul Jones, and in all honesty, have never heard a single bad thing about him.

But Page, Plant and Bonham? Fuck 'em. Scum of the Earth. I don't give a shit if Page can crank out riffs and Plant can wail like a castrati. As human beings, they SUCK.

[NoGOPZone]

16. I've never been impressed with Plant's singing

His voice is very good and well suited for slower material, but he misses something when he tries to imitate his blues heroes.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

18. He doesn't have a blues voice at all, period.

To paraphrase the late, great Phil Hartman (as Frank Sinatra), "Muddy Waters had CHUNKS of guys like Plant in his STOOL."

He's an annoying, narcissistic shrieking diva. I LOVED it when Page did the Coverdale-Page thing. I can;t think of a single thing that could have pissed Plant off to a greater degree.

[Seneca]

17. I know all about the lawsuit Dixon filed against them

Here's a story you may find amusing:

Once Bob Dylan attended a party held by Led Zeppelin in Los Angeles, and the band was happy to see him, holding him in high regard. But Dylan was aloof, and kept to himself. Later, Ron Wood came over to Cole, who was talking to Jimmy and Robert. He was laughing so hard he could not walk, and finally said to them. “Peter (Led Zeppelin’s manager) just walked up to Bob Dylan and introduced himself. He said ‘I’m Peter Grant, and I’m the manager of Led Zeppelin.’ And Dylan looked at him and said “Don’t come to me with your fucking problems!”

:rofl:

[Amerigo Vespucci]

19. One more reason to love the Zimmerman...

...as if we needed one.

:rofl:

There you have it...in the music world, Bob's a hero, Page and Plant are zeroes.

As I've said before, I have ONE mix CD...ONE...which contains ALL the Led Zeppelin I need to hear. I play it maybe once a year, and it's only out of nostalgia, because I grew up with that shit on the radio, and it could not be escaped.

I remember the Atlantic Records Anniversary...the first "Led Zeppelin Reunion"...page was SO FUCKED UP he couldn't play his own shit. It was as if the Zeppelin were made out of "Led" and so were his fingers. Their handlers tried to excuse it away with some lame story but everyone KNEW it was SMACK, plain and simple.

Once again...fuck 'em ALL, just FUCK THEM.

[motely36]

3. Definitely Webber

The man has never had an original thought.

[KamaAina]

4. Pat Frakkin' Boone

:grr: :banghead:

[TheMightyFavog]

8. I actually BOUGHT this album as a misguided teenager who listened to Dr. Demento

[TZ]

5. !

:popcorn:

[NoGOPZone]

7. Jimmy Page was recently sued again

Jake Holmes, a folk singer turned jingle writer, sued Page last month claiming that the Zeppelin classic 'Dazed and Confused' is a rewrite of a song he released two years prior. Helping his case is the fact that the Yardbirds with Page as a member performed the original song live.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jun/30/led-zeppelin-sued-dazed-and-confused

The Jake Holmes song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTsvs-pAGDc

[Kat45]

13. someone sent my that last week but the link wasn't working

I'm glad you posted it here because it gave me a chance to listen. Whoa! Sure is a rip off.

[Blue_Tires]

9. lol...awesome...

[SunnySong]

10. Obviously Rap "artists" were exempt due to the use of the word musician. nt

[Fast Dude]

12. The "C" in cRap is silent. nt

[Steely_Dan]

14. ELVIS! n/t

[rucky]

20. Kid Rock

[last_texas_dem]

21. Always thought DP's "Black Night" was a rip-off of "We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet"

by the Blues Magoos. Apparently, it's a rip-off of multiple songs. (Still pretty damn catchy, though...)