Jimmy Page Faces New Lawsuit Over “Stunned and Confusing” Claims

Jimmy Page Faces Legal Challenges

Jimmy Page is currently dealing with another trial concerning the songwriting credits for “Stunned and Confusing.”

• READ MORE: Becoming Zeppelin LED Review: The ultimate history of how Britain’s most explosive group originated

Jake Holmes’ Claims

The lawsuit against the guitarist and songwriter has been renewed by musician Jake Holmes, who asserts that he wrote the original track that inspired the iconic Led Zeppelin release.

Holmes penned and recorded “Stunned and Confused” back in 1967 and claims that Page first heard it in August of that same year when he was with another group, The Yardbirds.

Shortly after, The Yardbirds began performing their own version of the song, frequently including it in their shows. While an official studio version was never produced, they did release live recordings of their rendition of “Stunned and Confused” in 1967 and 1968.

Later on, Page presented another version of the song with Led Zeppelin, which bore a strong resemblance to Holmes’ original, albeit with new lyrics and instrumental melodies crafted by Page. This remains one of Led Zeppelin’s most celebrated tracks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w772GxG5LNE

For years, the authorship of the song in Led Zeppelin’s version was debated. In 2010, Holmes filed a lawsuit against Page for copyright infringement, and a settlement (reached outside of court) resulted in the credit for the Led Zeppelin version being changed to “inspired by Jake Holmes.”

It remains unclear if this settlement also applied to the versions performed by The Yardbirds. With several archival releases from the group being issued, Holmes has revived his lawsuit.

According to a new report (via Katya Stone), Holmes claims he has not received credit or compensation for the early versions of “Stunned and Confused” performed by The Yardbirds. The lawsuit references the recent documentary Becoming Zeppelin LED, which lists Led Zeppelin’s version as “inspired by Jake Holmes,” while The Yardbirds’ version is simply credited to “written by Jimmy Page.” The lawsuit also names Sony Pictures and music publisher Warner Chappell as defendants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-f8xgq46c0

“The Yardbirds’ performance of ‘Stunned and Confused’ featured in the film is based on Holmes’ composition,” states the lawsuit (via Rupia). “Thus, the defendants committed numerous acts of willful infringement by continuing to use Holmes’ composition without permission and with specific knowledge of the plaintiff’s rights and the status of the plaintiff’s claim.”

This ongoing saga continues. Jimmy Page’s legal team has yet to make a public statement regarding Holmes’ renewed lawsuit, and responses from Rupia, NME, Sony Pictures, and Warner Chappell remain pending.