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Dazed and Confused is the biggest hit from the debut album of Led Zeppelin released 12th january, 1969. This song and album became music history. It is still considered a huge cover hit by many people. In fact, most of the songs from Led Zeppelin's debut album are cover versions of other artists' material and not Zeppelin compositions.
According to the Dazed and Confused Songfacts, it was inspired by an acoustic song that Jimmy Page heard folk singer Jake Holmes perform.
Holmes' version was not about an acid trip, but contained many of the same elements that made their way into the Led Zeppelin version.
Singer-songwriter Jake Holmes wrote and recorded "Dazed and Confused" for his debut solo album "The Above Ground Sound" of Jake Holmes, released in June 1967. Like the other tracks on the album, the song does not include any drums. It was recorded entirely with the trio of Holmes on guitar, keyboard, and vocals; Ted Irwin on guitar; and Rick Randle on bass. The song has been incorrectly labelled as a tale about a bad acid trip. Holmes has confirmed that is not the matter:
"I never took acid. I smoked grass and tripped on it, but I never took acid. I was afraid to take it. The song's about a girl who hasn't decided whether she wants to stay with me or not. It's pretty much one of those love songs."
In August 1967, Holmes opened for The Yardbirds at a Greenwich Village gig in New York. According to Holmes, "That was the infamous moment of my life when Dazed and Confused fell into the hands of Jimmy Page."
When "Dazed and Confused" appeared in Led Zeppelin's album in 1969, Holmes was aware of it but didn't follow up on it at that time. He said: "In the early 1980s, I did write them a letter and I said basically: 'I understand it's a collaborative effort, but I think you should give me credit at least and some remuneration.' But they never contacted me."
In June 2010, Holmes brought suit against Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page for copyright infringement, claiming to have written and recorded "Dazed and Confused" two years before it appeared on Led Zeppelin's debut album. In court documents Holmes cited a 1967 copyright registration for "Dazed and Confused" which was renewed in 1995. This court case was "dismissed with prejudice", as the parties settled out of court in January 2012.
In concert, Led Zeppelin would play an extended version of this song which would sometimes run as long as 30 minutes. It was a showcase for the amazing guitar wizardry of Jimmy Page, and they never played it quite the same twice.
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