For the film, see Dazed and Confused (film)

"Dazed and Confused" is a song by folk singer Jake Holmes from his debut solo album "The Above Ground Sound" of Jake Holmes, released in June, 1967. The song was widely popularized by, and is still heavily identified with, rock group Led Zeppelin's version, recorded in October 1968 at Olympic Studios, London, and included on their eponymous debut album.

During a 1967 Yardbirds tour of the United States, Holmes opened for them at Village Theater in Greenwich Village on August 25, 1967. The Yardbirds were inspired by his performance and decided to re-work the song for their own use. The Yardbirds' interpretation (which was included on the semi-illegitimate "Live in New York" album under the erroneous title "I'm Confused") featured long instrumental patches of bowed guitar courtesy of Jimmy Page and dynamic instrumental flourishes. It quickly became a staple of The Yardbirds' live act during the Page-era for the band.

When the Yardbirds finally ended their existence as a band in 1968, the song was re-worked by Page yet again, this time for Led Zeppelin's 1969 debut album. It became a centrepiece for the group, before the success of "Whole Lotta Love" on their second album. The Led Zeppelin version contained altered lyrics by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant compared to the Yardbirds version, and with John Bonham on drums the song developed into a manic, menacing performance. For reasons unknown, Jimmy Page claimed sole credit for the song upon release, and Holmes has never received any royalty payments for their recording. [1]

Holmes never pressed charges against the band, but merely sent the band a letter. His letter saying "I understand it's a collaborative effort, but I think you should give me some credit at least and some remunity" was never replied to and he did not follow up on it. [2]

The live version of Zeppelin's cover, often clocking at around 20 minutes in early versions, and well over 30 minutes in later versions, allowed bassist John Paul Jones and Bonham to improvise and include riffs from other songs such as "The Crunge", "Walter's Walk", and Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco" (to name a few). Although initially performed similarly to the studio version, later live performances had some noticeable differences. The song (except for the fast middle section) was performed at a slower overall tempo. By mid 1969, the section where Page plays guitar with a violin bow saw the rest of the band drop out completely, allowing him to perform a lengthier free-form improvisation. By 1972, another improvised section had been added between the verses and this. The fast section was extended to allow changes in dynamics and volume, as well as changing the beat, sometimes seguing in and out of another song altogether. There was a short jam at the end of the song after the final verse.

The song was not, as rumoured, used as the basis for the title of the 1993 film Dazed and Confused, which chronicled the lives of various youths on their last day of high school in 1976. Unsurprisingly, it is therefore not found on the film's soundtrack. Richard Linklater and the film's other producers based the film on their, and their friends', high school experiences in the 1970s. It is rumored that Richard Linklater did appeal to Led Zeppelin band members to use the song in the movie and although Jimmy Page supposedly agreed to this, Robert Plant was opposed, so the song was not used.