10 Classic Songs You Didn't Know Were Ripped Off

For all that they've done for the rock genre, the work of Led Zeppelin tends to get a lot of flak from the music community. Since a lot of their core tracks are descended from old blues songs, a lot of the more snobbish music critics of the world have come down on Jimmy Page and co. for being one of the most successful "cover" bands in history. While most of those claims are unfounded, they might have a point when it comes to Whole Lotta Love.

Then again, it's even hard to dispute when you consider the mammoth soundscape that Jimmy Page has with his one guitar riff. For all intents and purposes, this one guitar idea is enough to give the song character of its own, launching the hard rock scene of the '70s singlehandedly. When Robert Plant comes up to sing though, the bluesy adlibs he throws in are a lot more familiar to those well versed in the blues tradition.

Recorded in the middle of the British Blues Boom, the opening "Way down inside, woman you need it" is actually lifted from You Need Loving from blues legend Willie Dixon, who ended up suing Zeppelin and eventually receiving royalties and songwriting credit along with Plant and Page. While the template may have been the blues, no other 12 bar belter could really create the kind of energy that Whole Lotta Love provides.