‘Dazed and Confused’: how a stolen song inspired the 21st-century psychedelia revival
The music world is often rife with injustices, where some artists fail to receive the credit they deserve. One notable example is Led Zeppelin’s adaptation of Jake Holmes’ 1967 track ‘Dazed and Confused’. The band took the basic framework of Holmes’ dirge and transformed it into their own psychedelic masterpiece, receiving acclaim as pioneers for their efforts. Despite this creative appropriation, the song remains a standout track on Led Zeppelin’s 1969 self-titled debut and serves as a testament to their innovation.
However, this stylistic cornerstone of Led Zeppelin’s early career owes much to the original author of the song. Holmes, an American singer-songwriter, crafted the dark and atmospheric folk-rock track for his 1967 debut, The Above Ground Sound of Jake Holmes. While the song’s mood and lyrics—referring to being “dazed and confused”—led many to interpret it as a reflection of a bad acid trip through the psychedelic lens of the time, Holmes consistently asserted that it was actually about the emotional turmoil stemming from a lover’s indecision about ending a relationship.
Despite the thematic inspiration, Holmes looked heavily to his psychedelic heroes in The Byrds and The Blues Project when writing and put a unique twist on the genre. Despite being distinctive and personal, this artistic masterstroke would soon be taken by one of the era’s most influential forces and a man well-versed in repurposing influences: Jimmy Page.
In August 1967, Holmes opened for Page’s band and own psychedelic pioneers, The Yardbirds, in Greenwich Village. Holmes later recalled: “That was the infamous moment of my life when ‘Dazed and Confused’ fell into the loving arms and hands of Jimmy Page.”
Although drummer Jim McCarty was the only member of his band to witness Holmes’ performance, he was so impressed by the track that he bought the album the next day and shared it with his bandmates. They were equally captivated and, driven by inspiration, decided to rework the song, focusing on its descending chromatic bassline and incorporating new riffs by Page into the middle section. The track quickly became a central feature of their setlist as they explored deeper into psychedelia and innovative dark guitar music, distinguished by Page’s groundbreaking use of a bow on his guitar.
After The Yardbirds split in 1968, Page formed ‘The New Yardbirds’, who swiftly evolved into Led Zeppelin. ‘Dazed and Confused’ was one of the first songs he showed them at their first rehearsal and only the second they ever recorded. With frontman Robert Plant adding blue-infused, rawer, and more passionate lyrics and the group developing the deeply narcotic middle section, the group refined the work of The Yardbirds on the track and made it their own. After release, they were lauded for their efforts on it, with Holmes an unknown name to most.
Holmes knew about Led Zeppelin’s version appearing on their hit debut album but took no action. It wasn’t until the early 1980s that he wrote to the band and asked for a credit but received no response. Later, in 2010, he then filed a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement and naming Page as a co-defendant. An undisclosed settlement was reached out of court between the two men in 2011, and the suit was dismissed in 2012. Since then, the credit on Zeppelin releases has been “Jimmy Page, inspired by Jake Holmes”.
While Led Zeppelin are undoubtedly psychedelic pioneers, with Page one of the genre’s definitive forces, it is a great travesty that even now Holmes is not widely known to be the author of ‘Dazed and Confused’. Ironically, though, there’s a high chance his song wouldn’t have gone on to be a genre classic and would have remained an obscure time capsule back to the hippie era if Page hadn’t picked it up.
While Holmes’ material was undoubtedly ingenious with its central bassline, opaque nature, and strange middle section, Page and Led Zeppelin’s rework has been so significant that it can be heard throughout 21st-century psychedelia. Its swaggering, moody atmosphere and heady middle section can spiritually be heard in several modern bands today, with King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard notably leading the charge. These include earlier staples such as the creeping verses of ‘People Vultures’ and more jam-leaning moments like the deeply psychedelic ‘Iron Lung’, which recalls the genre’s far-out early years in the late 1960s.
Another influential band that brings to mind the arty psychedelia of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Dazed and Confused’ is Wand. Cory Hanson’s outfit are already one of the century’s most overlooked groups by the mainstream, with their minimal and unique take on psychedelia—which can be dissonant and metallic to flowery and melodic—recalling the essence of the 1969 version across their career.
The spacious ‘Scarecrow’ from 2019’s Laughing Matter is one exhibit, with its expressive drums, general mood and heady textures tying them together, as does the crunching daze of 2024’s ‘Smile’. Another man who stylistically evokes ‘Dazed and Confused’ in elements of his sound is Hanson’s friend Ty Segall, who is greatly indebted to the genre’s heyday in the late 1960s.
These are only some of those who continue to carry the torch of ‘Dazed and Confused’ today, with artists from California to Australia doing so. Even stoner rock innovators Queens of the Stone Age, in their more ornamental and cinematic moments, have recalled the track, from the opening of ‘The Sky is Fallin” to ‘Suture Up Your Future’. In fact, leader and guitarist Josh Homme’s heavy but spacey guitars are a direct descendant of Page’s, with his cacophonous, sliding solos reflecting this.
The spirit of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Dazed and Confused’ is everywhere in 21st-century psychedelia and exists outside of the genre, too, demonstrating its extensive cultural significance. It’s not bad going for a stolen song.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter
All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.