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Led Zeppelin vs. Chicago vs. Green Day vs. The White Stripes
July 22nd, 2009 by Keith
Thanks to Craig for this set of gems!
Led Zeppelin keeps popping up here. They're either sounding like someone else or others are sounding like them. Check out some of the history of "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You".
[mini_player audio="/music/led_zeppelin_babe-im-gonna-leave-you.mp3" artist="Led Zeppelin" track="Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" year="1969"]
And now check these out!
[mini_player audio="/music/chicago_25-or-6-to-4.mp3" artist="Chicago" track="25 or 6 to 4" year="1970"]
[mini_player audio="/music/green_day_brain-stew.mp3" artist="Green Day" track="Brain Stew/Jaded" year="1995"]
[mini_player audio="/music/white_stripes_dead-leaves-and-the-dirty-ground.mp3" artist=" White Stripes" track="Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" year="2001"]
A duett of...
Hey, cool blog. Just thought I’d let you know, though–the White Stripes track is actually “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground.”
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Heather, thanks for the heads up on the typo!
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Sorry to say this, well noticed, but the chord structure of all four of those songs is based around one of the most popular guitar scales know nto man!! lol
Thus, the likelihood of them being similar is incredibly high. Smoke on the Water by Deep purple uses most of the same notes but in a different order.
Credit for noticing the alarming similarity though…..
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May as well include Cream’s White Room and Tales of Great Ulysses while your at it.
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And “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, if you speed it up.
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@Reverend Flash
Good one! I’ll definitely add that.
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And that new movie is coming out with Jack White and Jimmy Page. Might get heated…
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Anne Bredon wrote “Babe, I’m gonna Leave You” in the 50′s anyway, and it was covered by Joan Baez before Led Zeppelin ever did.
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I’m surprised it hasn’t been said yet, but I’ve always considered Brain Stew to sound more like Kashmir by Led Zeppelin than anything else.
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Actually, when I was a kid my cousin Marco pointed out how all those songs originated from “Hit the Road Jack” by Ray Charles. Which I’m sure goes back even further if you care to keep digging.
Stereo Kitsch!
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Keith Reply:
July 6th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Excellent find!
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Reverend Flash Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 2:32 am
I don’t hear the Ray Charles similarity. Some people seem to be getting stuck on the idea that the songs in question only have a descending bass line in common. This is wrong. They have a descending chord progression that definitely doesn’t drop in the typically scaled fashion of ‘Hit The Road Jack’ at all.
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I don’t know why, but I always thought “Last Resort” from Papa Roach always sounded similar to these riffs as well. Particularly “Brain Stew” from Green Day.
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The outro riff from Cafe Tacvba’s “Esta Vez” actually uses the EXACT same riff as ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leav You’ just in a different key. Its still a wicked song by a wicked band, but the influence is obvious.
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Keith Reply:
July 26th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
Excellent! I’ll be sure to add this one.
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The verses of Styx’s “Suite Madam Blue” are the same progression in a different key (B minor, if memory serves). The vocal melody bears a striking resemblance to “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
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I noticed this also. It seems that wherever I look, Green Day is always in this kind of thing.
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The chord progression is very common. You can find it in:
Led Zeppelin – Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You
The Beatles – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Chicago – 25 or 6 to 4
Styx – Suite Madam Blue
Ray Charles – Hit the Road Jack
Aerosmith – Dream On
Billy Joel – Piano Man (Piano Solo)
Cream – White Room
It’s a common chord progression and it’s probably been used for centuries. It’s not a stolen chord progression, it’s more cliché.
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I thought “Brain Stew” sounded like “Ten Years Gone”, not making the connection between it and “Babe. I’m Gonna Leave You” It is not just the chord progression, it is the rythym vocals and general sound of the song.
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What about “Ugly kid joe’s – Slower Than Nowhere”
and yes… it is kind of a common chord progression
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Also something that mixes well or would make a good addition to these in a mash-up is that “guitar gently weeps” beatles track, has a similar downward chord progression.
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DasEagle Reply:
February 7th, 2013 at 11:37 pm
I overlooked that this song has already been mentioned here, sorry bout that.
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