Today in History: August 25

By | August 25, 2016

Every
Year
August 25 is the 237th day of the year (238th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 128 days remaining until the end of the year.
1967 Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page hears Jake Holmes play “Dazed and Confused”.

Jake Holmes’ ‎Dazed And Confused (Tower 393, US) 7” Vinyl 45 RPM Promo

Jake Holmes’ ‎Dazed And Confused (Tower 393, US) 7” Vinyl 45 RPM Promo

On August 25, 1967, Jake Holmes played “Dazed and Confused” when he opened for The Yardbirds at the Village Theater in Greenwich Village, New York. Jimmy Page, then of The Yardbirds, liked “Dazed and Confused” so much that he later recorded it and the song appeared on Led Zeppelin’s debut album released on January 12, 1969.

In the early 1980s, Holmes wrote a letter to Led Zeppelin and said, “I understand it’s a collaborative effort, but I think you should give me credit at least and some remuneration.” Led Zeppelin never responded.

Jake Holmes’ ‎Penny’s (Tower 393, US) 7” Vinyl 45 RPM Promo

Jake Holmes’ ‎Penny’s (Tower 393, US) 7” Vinyl 45 RPM Promo

In June 2010, Holmes filed a lawsuit against Jimmy Page for copyright infringement, claiming to have written and recorded “Dazed and Confused” two years before it appeared on Led Zeppelin’s debut album. In court documents Holmes cited a 1967 copyright registration for “Dazed and Confused” which was renewed in 1995. This case was settled out-of-court in January 2012.As Led Zeppelin’s version of the song evolved over the years, it also incorporated parts of Gustav Holst’s “Mars, the Bringer of War”.

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