Led Zeppelin is a rock band that’s had a big influence on many other rock bands. They came from London and brought a unique rock style and big ideas. This all started when Jimmy Page played his guitar for the first time with the band.
But Jimmy Page can tell when people are copying them instead of being inspired by them.
Even before Led Zeppelin became famous, there was a claim that they copied other musicians. They used some blues melodies and guitar riffs that belonged to other artists. This caused some legal trouble for them because songs like ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and ‘The Lemon Song’ sounded too much like music from artists like Willie Dixon.
As Led Zeppelin’s style became well-known in the rock scene, other bands like Black Sabbath and Aerosmith started using their style in their own music. This started a trend where many rock bands followed their example. Even though Page couldn’t stop bands from copying his guitar sound, he didn’t like it when a certain power metal band took it too far in the 1980s.
Out of all the bands that copied Zeppelin, Page specifically called out Kingdom Come for copying their music too closely. He said that it went beyond being a compliment and was actually annoying. Kingdom Come formed with help from Bob Rock, who later became a famous music producer. The band played traditional rock music, but fans and critics didn’t really like it. Bob Rock loved Page’s style and even used a special guitar like Page’s when performing with the band.
Although Bob Rock found success with Kingdom Come and opened for Bon Jovi, he felt more comfortable working in the recording studio. He helped bands like Metallica and Aerosmith make great music. He even used his love for Led Zeppelin when working on Metallica’s Black Album, trying to make a song sound like Zeppelin’s famous song ‘Kashmir’.
However, Jimmy Page didn’t talk much about Zeppelin’s influence; his writing partner, Robert Plant, was more open about criticizing bands that copied them.
Robert Plant didn’t hold back when talking about bands that copied Led Zeppelin’s style. He recently criticized Greta Van Fleet for copying his singing style too much. Led Zeppelin’s members might have a point about bands copying them.
Having said that, we know if bands didn’t take inspiration from Zeppelin, some of the best rock songs might not exist.
