The irony that they are being honored by the first black American president for stealing and copying black American music.

I'm not the biggest Zeppelin fan but their stealing has been exaggerated.

I just hope they don't decide to get Obama to give one to Dave Mustaine!

That would mean megadeth are on the same level as Zeppelin and that will never be the case.

musical styles have been copied forever so no irony there

nice award for zep and also letterman

Next up: Anal Cunt

A six hour shower and a gallon of bleach later I'd still hate myself for going.

It's a good thing we don't have any economic problems in America so Obama can do stuff like this!

How about creating some jobs instead of honoring a band that you probably never listened to growing up in Hawaii, dufus!

EVERY PRESIDENT since Carter has been involved in the Kennedy Center honors, year-in, year-out, through ALL SORTS of crises.

Just admit you hate the black Muslim Kenyan socialist usurper no matter what he does.

Don't act like you have some high-minded opposition to the President being involved in these honors, because I guarantee you wouldn't be saying shit if it were McCain or Romney up there.

You couldn't be more wrong.

It always amuses me seeing the hatred for anyone opposed to Obama on this fucking site. This idiot is on the edge of a fiscal cliff he created and here he is honoring Led Zeppelin and some other useless bums. I wouldn't give a fuck if he was up there if he was actually a good president, but I think we all know that isn't true. If any of you little liberal nerds can prove me wrong on that go ahead. Otherwise fuck Obama and fuck Bob Costas and all those other Democrat fuckwits.

Must be awkward being a conservative living in a liberal country.

...and personally authorized Goldman Sachs to issue the credit default swaps which brought down Wall Street. All while conspiring with Osama Bin Laden to orchestrate a communist takeover of America from his birthplace in Kenya.

No, no...he grew up in KENYA.

Remember...he's not even eligible to be President!

You need to get your talking points in line, Slingblade. You're slipping.

Ooops!

they were hugely influenced by black blues players and played lots of songs by them and made them heavier and more rock. then they started making new music and used them as influence.

Why stop at America?

\m/

Somehow I just knew that rather than being a "congratulations Led Zeppelin" segment this would quickly turn into an "Obama sucks / no he doesn't" flame war. Ah well. Such is the nature of politics. Carry on...

LZ rules!!!!!! Letterman tonight \m/

I'm not sure Willie Dixon wrote The Rain Song...
Led Zeppelin was the greatest rock and roll band to walk the face of the Earth.

All of you dick-licks attempting to politicize this on the internet are puny chodes ...your mom won't even honor you for cleaning the room you should have moved out of in 1994.
It's the internet bitches; nobody cares what the fuck you think.

Congratulations to the guys on a well deserve honor.

Influential or not, definitely STOLE music from people. In fact, with songwriting credits, they were sued by Willie Dixon and he WON in a court of law. Now songs on the first album they had to change the songwriting credits on for several songs to include other writers. Black Sabbath were INFLUENCED by blues, Led Zeppelin actually STOLE. And Dazed and Confused, by Jake Holmes, then done as a COVER by Yardbirds, then Page stole the arrangement the Yardbirds did. But the original riff (Holmes version) and some lyrics are virtually identical. No credit EVER given for that one. As far as the political stuff, well Ronald Reagan did something similar for Michael Jackson in the eighties, who really gives a shit, presidents and politicians do this all the time, doesn't meant the members of Zeppelin worship Obama or something, same as Jackson seemed pretty apolitical about the Reagan thing back in the day.

they did steal. for sure. first 2 albums in particular, and the Stairway intro(Tauras by Spirit)...BUT, they are still excellent! right? They also did end up creating many great original songs.

the songs they did steal, like Dazed & Confused, Babe I'm gonna leave you, agree, they should have given credit to the originals. But Zep definitely put their own stamp on those tunes, they are pure Led Zep...

though the "Way down inside, woman, you need" part of WHole Lotta love was completely lifted from the Small Faces' Steve Marriot(who Plant worshipped). The song is a blues song(You need Love, which the Small Faces credit), but the style of singing Plant uses is 100% Marriot...regardless...

where as a band like, say, the Black Crowes wrote their own songs, but their style is 100% Humble Pie, Faces, STones, and many others. you listen to HPie's "Smokin", and you realize "damn, the Crowes stole this whole style". I find that more offensive. (unless of course you the blues artist Zep ripped off).

after all that, Zep is amazing, despite maybe needing a check on their morals in their early days.

whole lotta love from president Obama!

Obama sucks

Actually You Need Love is credited to Marriott/Lane not Willie Dixon on the Small Face's album. Plant sung Dixon's lyrics over an original piece of music. The Small Faces ripped off the music and lyrics without credit, but didn't get sued because the amount of money to be made would be negligible. The only part Plant copies is the "Way down inside..." bit outside of that Plant sings it completely differently.

When the 'stealing from blues artists' topic comes up it's always amazing how the young music scholars never mention all the borrowed songs the electric blues artists in the 50s/60s did from the old delta blues cats in the 20s/30s...

you just "learned" me, I assumed the S.Faces gave credit because they had the original song title, and arrangement was more true. My bad...but Plant doesn't make it completely different, listen to the Marriot, its virtually identical, in tone as well, just Plant holds the note longer.

all those English bands borrowed, or stole, and its well documented. And you are right, they took from even further back.

Congrats to the Zeppelins !
Nice tribute by Barry O !!
Watch Letterman 2night !!!!!

Dave's already binned all his Led Zep albums.

I'm a longtime Small Faces and Humble Pie fan and I just listened to You Need Loving again on Youtube to refresh my memory. I stand by comments and cannot believe that anyone would ever claim that Plant sings it virtually identical. Steve sings it in a laid back shuffle manner with a touch of beatnik scat while Robert shouts a brand new melody imagining himself as a 10 ton phallus and inventing cock rock in the process...

we'll agree to disagree. Plant not only was a self proclaimed Marriot groupie, but the vocalist Page invisioned for LZ was a Marriot type....and Plant's tone is nearly identical...but you don't hear it, that's fine...and I do agree, Plant takes it to another level...I respect you know your stuff though, Mr. GeezIommi!

Definitely agree with the moral check, including kidnapping a 13 year old girl like Page did. Horrible and would be arrested nowadays. Zep were influential, but I always think people should point out the facts about them. i like em, and yes, others stole, like Purple stealing riffs for Child In Time, etc.

non musically, most of those english bands were completely heidonistic. Who, Stones, Zep, etc.

for the record, re: Marriot & Faces. I've yet to come across someone til today who doesn't hear the remarkable resemblance...

musicially, all those bands were heidonistic. yes, Page with the 13 year old for one. list goes on and on...

for the record, re: Marriot & Small Faces:
Later, they were said to be one of many influences on the formation and musical style of British hard rock group Led Zeppelin. Marriott is reputed to have been Jimmy Page's benchmark when selecting a lead singer, and there are unmistakable stylistic and timbral similarities between the voices of Marriott and Robert Plant, Led Zeppelin's lead singer. In fact, Plant was a fan of Small Faces and a regular at their early gigs where he also ran small errands for them. Zeppelin's classic song "Whole Lotta Love" is said by some to be a direct take of Marriott's version of the classic song "You Need Lovin'", originally written by Willie Dixon and recorded by American blues singer Muddy Waters.[30] Small Faces would regularly perform "You Need Lovin'" in their live set, and the song also appears on their debut album Small Faces, released by Decca in May 1966.

"It was fantastic, I loved it, Muddy Waters recorded it but I couldn't sing like Muddy Waters so it wasn't that much of a nick. I was a high range and Muddy was a low range so I had to figure out how to sing it. So I did and that was our opening number for all the years we were together. Every time we were on stage that was our opening number, unless we had a short set. That's where Jimmy Page and Robert Plant heard it. Robert Plant used to follow us around. He was like a fan." – Marriott[31]

However Marriott bore no animosity to Plant. He is quoted as shouting "Go on my son!" and wishing him luck when he first heard Plant's version on the radio.[

Although Robert and Jimmy have been very coy about the 'borrowing' issues they have both been very open and consistent about their influences and what they were looking for as a template for Led Zeppelin from day one. A combination of light and shade with blues, folk and rockabilly coming from Jimmy and Robert. Bonham and Jones brought the soul and funk flavors. Jimmy had this idea since the Yardbirds were falling apart in 68. The bootlegs bear out the embryonic template for this vision.

I've read the above article about Marriott before, but frankly that's the only time I've heard Marriott name checked concerning Zep influences and the tone of the article is more in line with Steve tootin' his own horn during his sad later years when he slid into self inflicted obscurity. I don't doubt that Robert probably liked Steve, but they were mining the same blues influences just like Beck, Clapton, Page were ripping off the same guys and any overlap is usually, but erroneously attributed to copping their mates licks rather than drinking from the same well. Plus most younger listeners aren't aware where the guitar licks (Albert King) or vocal stylings (Otis Redding) come from. I mean claiming that Robert's natural voice is rip off of Steve's a quite amusing to say the least. Steve liked the soul a lot more than Robert, but Stevie had no where near the West coast and UK folk style that Robert had.

I only quote the article to show that the "influence" was documented. and I'm not knocking Plant, or Zep. I love the band. I know they all borrowed. And I think Zep are truly originals, as is Plant. I'm definitely not one of these people saying "Zep are bogus thieves"...but I hear the Marriot clip and it blew me away. I was like "wow, that's Plant", when I heard it years ago, and everyone I play it to is like "wow"...but you don't hear it? that's fine.

Yes, Marriot did derail his career too, sadly, he was amazing...maybe he lacked song writing talent though.

the President was holding his nose is disgust the entire time because he has to honour a bunch of old honkies. You can bet that he'd much rather be presenting an award to a modern hip hop African American recording artist.

well maybe this is good after all, the Legendary Bluesman Buddy Guy is in attendance alongside Zepplein so props to the President honoring these great musicians.

here is that Led Zeppelin is being honored. Wonder though if Obama really likes all these musicians though or is he just saying that crap cause it's true.

Even if they stole anything, they have given much more back in many ways, even to me! Those Blues musicians in question would be as irrelevant today as they were before, if it wasn't for Rock and Hard Rock artists. If anything, they may have sold more records after the free exposure. Congrats to Led Zep, very few of us Americans get honored this way, we're so proud of you! This is beyond music, this is American Culture: As hated and envied around the world as much as some music fans hate and envy Led Zep...deal with us losers!

Zep didn't steal jack shit, only uneducated morons say that. they payed homage to the early blues guys in I Can't Quit You (giving credit to Willie Dixon), gave credit to Memphis Minnie for some lyrics in When The Levee Breaks. What about Kashmir, Ten Years Gone, In the Light, In My Time Of Dying, Rain Song, Wanton Song, Achilles Last Stand, Over The Hills, Tangerine Going To California, That's The Way, Gallows Pole, SOng Remains The Same, Ocean, No Quarter, and about 70 other songs...where did they "steal" them from?? They didn't. I rest my case. They were THE most original band in history, and people are strangely jealous that no one, even the Beatles, even came close. Plus, on stage every night, Zep improvised more great riffs off the top of their heads than most otehr bands put together came up with in their whole career. Only idiots think Zep weren't freakishly creative. More creative than anyone else by a long shot.

again, I love Zep, but they did indeed steal. They do give credit to Dixon, but they also do NOT give credit to the writer of say, Dazed and Confused, which he in the Yardbirds completely stole...and btw, made it a zillion times better. But the song was writing by someone else(Holmes).

they were freakishly creative though. Love the band. But its not black & white in either direction...and btw, the Beatles were amazingly creative. the Blue Print. I personally have never since heard a more creative band in the studio. Live, that's another story.

COULD YOU IMAGINE MITT ROMNEY ATTEMPTING TO HONOR LED ZEPPELIN!!!

He wouldn't be honoring them because he wouldn't even be President yet. Inauguration is in January 2013 dumbass!