1 (edited by aaronfirebrand 2004-08-28 12:57:18)

Topic: No Honor Among Thieves

So here we go with my thread about one aspect of corruption in the corporate music biz.  That aspect being the one thing I will not forgive these "artists": Taking the credit (and the money) for another's work.  I don't much care if these sleazebags take a lot of drugs or use groupies like kleenex.  None of my concern, unless they preach it to their audiences.  I'm mostly upset that some of these individuals feel free to rip somebody off for a tune and and then act like there's nothing wrong with it.  I swear, they act just like republicans!  If they get nailed, it's always an "out of court settlement", and the fans rarely glimpse their heroes' duplicity.  There are many examples of this, but I'll start with Led Zeppelin (because I really dislike everything about them), and because this tale has an interesting twist.  As it turns out, Jake Holmes, who actually wrote "Dazed and Confused", also wrote the army jingle, "...be all that you can be, in the army."  The story of LZ's (really jimmy page's) penchant for misappropriation is here:

http://www.furious.com/perfect/jimmypage.html
http://www.furious.com/perfect/yardbirds2.html


Jake Holmes is covered here:

http://www.furious.com/perfect/jakeholmes.html

This sort of thing is widespread. I've even read that Dylan ripped off "Blowin' In The Wind"!
It's ironic when these people send their lawyers out to make sure no one is playing "their" songs without paying.
Boycott the thieves, search out the original artists' recordings. You will be glad you did.

I don't intend to limit this thread to music. Some of the greatest thieves have been the world's biggest heroes. Like Edison, who apparently didn't invent anything at all. How about Einstein working in the patent office at the time Tesla's work was being filched?