Jimmy Page Couldn’t Look a Famous Guitarist in the Eyes for Years After Ripping Him Off
Led Zeppelin had a reputation for lifting music that didn’t belong to them, and one guitarist insinuated that Jimmy Page felt guilty about it. Page idolized Bert Jansch, a Scottish folk musician. He attended concerts and admired his innovation. Jansch inspired Page, though the Led Zeppelin guitarist may have borrowed from him a bit too liberally. Jansch said Page ripped him off and, in the years afterward, could barely look him in the eye.
Guitarist Bert Jansch accused Jimmy Page of stealing from him
Page often discussed Jansch’s influence on him, noting that he was “obsessed” with the Scottish guitarist.
“It was so far ahead of what everyone else was doing,” he said, per The Guardian. “No one in America could touch that.”
Jansch’s influence on Page was clear, particularly in the songs “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” and “Black Mountain Side.” Jansch’s bandmate Jacqui McShee said they were blatantly similar to “The Wagonner’s Lad” and “Black Waterside.” The latter is particularly similar to Jansch’s music; even the titles are nearly the same.
“It’s a very rude thing to do,” McShee said, per Rolling Stone. “Pinch somebody else’s thing and credit it to yourself.”
Jansch himself noted the similarities between his music and Page’s. He believed Page felt guilty about it.
“The thing I’ve noticed about Jimmy [Page] whenever we meet is that he can’t look me in the eye,” Jansch said, per Ultimate Classic Rock. “Well, he ripped me off, didn’t he? Or let’s just say he learned from me. I wouldn’t want to sound impolite.”
Jimmy Page was not the only artist who idolized the guitarist
Page may have taken his love of Jansch too far, but he wasn’t the only artist who learned from him.
“Paul Simon used to follow me around and we would play these little places on the outskirts of London for £5 a gig,” Jansch said.
Neil Young believed that Jansch’s talent on the acoustic guitar was akin to Jimi Hendrix on the electric guitar. When Bob Dylan visited London, Jansch acted as his tour guide. Even The Beatles benefited from Jansch’s indirect influence. Musician Donovan learned a great deal from the Scottish guitarist. When he met up with the band, he passed on finger-picking techniques he’d learned from him.
Led Zeppelin has faced further accusations of plagiarism
Just as there are many more artists who appreciate Jansch, Led Zeppelin has faced many more accusations of plagiarism. They have dealt with plagiarism accusations over “Stairway to Heaven,” “The Lemon Song,” “Dazed and Confused,” “Whole Lotta Love,” and “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You.” In many cases, the band has had to settle with the artists accusing them.
Jansch never took the matter to court, even though he believed Page had stolen from him. Despite the credible accusations, Page thought bandmate Robert Plant was more to blame.
“I always tried to bring something fresh to anything that I used,” he said in the book Light & Shade: Conversations With Jimmy Page by Brad Tolinski. “I always made sure to come up with some variation. In fact, I think in most cases, you would never know what the original source could be. Maybe not in every case, but in most cases. So most of the comparisons rest on the lyrics. And Robert was supposed to change the lyrics, and he didn’t always do that, which is what brought on most of our grief.”
