Perhaps the single most iconic section of Led Zeppelin’s live set came in the form of one song lasting 30 minutes. “Dazed and Confused” is the psychedelic centerpiece of Led Zeppelin’s 1969 self-titled debut album.
Originally an acoustic folk song written by Jake Holmes about a romantic relationship gone wrong, Jimmy Page’s first group, the Yardbird’s, began interpreting the song after Holmes opened for them in 1967 at a small show in NYC’s Greenwich Village. The song was never recorded by the Yardbirds in the studio, but as a concert song it took on a life of its own.
Led Zeppelin bassist, John Paul Jones, recalled the day when the future members of Led Zeppelin came together for the first time, "Jimmy [Page] played us the riffs at the first rehearsal and said, 'This is a number I want us to do'."
It was Jones’ first time hearing the song, but certainly not his last. With a new grit to the evolving Jake Holmes lyrics, an electric acid guitar that was beaten to death by a cello bow, and the heaviest drumming ever heard on pop radio, “Dazed and Confused” would be played at every single Zeppelin concert tour from 1968 through 1975.
From the song’s deep, bass-only intro to the cocaine/fueled guitar solo, “Dazed and Confused” was the type of song that left the lucky fans in attendance in absolute awe.
In an interview with British television in 1970, vocalist Robert Plant and drummer John Bonham were pressed about being fan-voted as the top group in the world, knocking the Beatles off from that distinction for the first time in 8 years. As the host, facetiously, compared Zeppelin to the Beatles and asked how on earth they could possibly hold the top spot for as long as their pop rivals, he diminished the music of Led Zeppelin as “un-hummable”. As John Bonham attempted to explain that the times they are a-changin', the host further pressed on:
“So you’re saying that your fans don’t necessarily WANT to whistle the tunes, to ‘hum’ the tune, they’re much more sophisticated than, ya know, MY generation?”
Bonham smiled and calmly replied:
“Well no, not in that sense. I think, these days...let’s say, ‘the public’ – not just to say ‘the kids’ because we have had all sorts of people at concerts, I think that they are coming to LISTEN to what you are playing and not just to look at you and see what you are. I mean, I remember when I was… This is going back a few years… when I first went to see the Beatles... because we mentioned them a few times… it was to look at them, you know? It wasn’t... you didn’t really bother with what you were listening to. And today, it’s not what you are – it’s what you’re playing.”
Whether it is from the infamous concert movie The Song Remains The Same or the live album How The West Was Won, it was never more evident that the fans were coming in masses for a true listening experience. “Dazed and Confused” epitomizes how Led Zeppelin changed the way popular music was listened to forever. No longer did music need to fit in three-minute packages, written by artists, but played by showman. It was now cool to “jam”. It was OK not to understand what words were being sung, as long as it felt good on your ears. At Led Zeppelin concerts, you didn’t have to sit close to the stage because being there felt good with your eyes closed.
I’ll never forget after introducing my good friend, Ryan Digney, to the live Zeppelin experience via their concert movie, I received a text from him several months later. He was disappointed to hear that the studio version of “Dazed and Confused” was only six minutes and 27 seconds long. The 29+ minute version on The Song Remains The Same had left such an impact, he committed 5 times the required amount of time needed to listen to the studio version.
The composition of “Dazed and Confused” was created before Led Zeppelin officially formed, but it was the earliest indication of where Jimmy’s band was going. 50 years later, Led Zeppelin and the Beatles have set aside each other atop the ranks of the most influential bands of all time. And yes, we are still humming their tunes.
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