And Led Zeppelin ripped off blues artists...but who is remembered more? Howling Wolf, Willie Dixon or the mighty Zep? Yeah, Page, Plant and crew, because they took elements of blues songs and made it something unique and reinvented. Which is exactly what Elvis did...he interpreted the material and made it better than the original.
My favorite example of Led Zeppelin improving on a blues classic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqDLVR2I5QE
But at least Zeppelin didn’t try to pass this of as “original” material the way Elvis did with “Hounddog”.
I'm much more familiar with Howlin' Wolf and Willie Dixon.
exactly....the Delta bluesmen along with two other roots....religious and Appalachin-Country with a hair of up and comer Jazz pretty much formed Rock and Roll and later Rock...
I love the old bluesmen...most came from my homestate...I have educated myself on them for 35 years now....but there is a reason the big Rock bands went so much further
not because they were white..was Hendrix white?
it was talent and to some degree at least compared to the 1920s guys...electric guitars
it’s like saying Mozart ripped off the Keep harp player from the 1400s
Yes, but Led Zepplin did not remotely improve upon Dixon or Burnett. Simply made a watered down version that was palatable to mindless white teenaged boys.