{"id":235821,"date":"2025-09-18T07:26:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T07:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/235821\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T07:26:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T07:26:15","slug":"the-11-best-most-brazen-led-zeppelin-rip-off-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/235821\/","title":{"rendered":"The 11 Best + Most Brazen Led Zeppelin Rip-Off Songs"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s no secret that Led Zeppelin<\/a> ripped off lesser-known blues artists to craft some of their most timeless songs \u2014 so consider this list of the 11 best and most brazen Led Zeppelin rip-offs a loving act of paying it forward.<\/p>\n

For decades, rock artists have been trying to match\u00a0Led Zeppelin’s\u00a0earth-shaking blues-rock stomp and majestic grandeur. Some have gotten darnn close and made their own incredible songs in the process.<\/p>\n

Some of the songs listed below are shameless Led Zep rip-offs, while others channel the spirit and sound of the band more abstractly.\u00a0When it came to ranking them, we took a holistic approach, judging each song’s similarity to Led Zeppelin and its individual musical merits.<\/p>\n

Read on to see the 11 best and most brazen Led Zeppelin rip-offs that Jimmy Page<\/a> and Robert Plant<\/a> never wrote.<\/p>\n

11. Greta Van Fleet<\/a>, “Highway Tune” (Black Smoke Rising, 2017)<\/p>\n

Greta Van Fleet are one of\u00a0rock’s most meteoric (and divisive) success stories of the past decade. They\u00a0roared out of the gate with their debut single “Highway Tune,” which quickly generated loads of attention for its\u00a0frightening similarity to Led Zeppelin.<\/p>\n

Jacob Kiszka’s funky, descending guitar riff sounds like a slightly sped-up “The Rover,” while brother Joshua’s high-pitched bellow and liberal use of the word “mama”\u00a0were a dead ringer for Robert Plant. Greta Van Fleet have thankfully expanded their sonic palette since then, but the Led Zeppelin comparisons will likely dog them forever \u2014 for better and for worse.<\/p>\n

10. Bonham, “Wait for You” (The Disregard of Timekeeping, 1989)<\/p>\n

What would Led Zeppelin have sounded like if they’d continued into the ’80s?\u00a0The answer might be found\u00a0on\u00a0The Disregard of Timekeeping, the 1989 debut album by Bonham, founded by drummer\u00a0Jason Bonham<\/a>, son of late Zeppelin\u00a0drummer John Bonham.<\/p>\n

Lead single “Wait for You” writhes with swaggering riffs and Bonham’s inherited swing behind the kit. Singer\u00a0Daniel MacMaster channels Robert Plant’s nasally wail and cocksure bravado, while the additional keyboards and\u00a0slick hair metal\u00a0production evoke Plant’s own ’80s solo work.<\/p>\n

9. Zebra<\/a>, “Who’s Behind the Door” (Zebra, 1983)<\/p>\n

Plenty of bands have\u00a0swiped\u00a0Led Zeppelin’s muscular blues-rock attack over the years \u2014 but what about their softer side? That’s the side Zebra evoked on “Who’s Behind the Door,” off their self-titled debut album.<\/p>\n

The lilting acoustic guitars and Randy Jackson’s\u00a0wistful, soaring vocals evoke majestic Zeppelin tracks like “Ramble On,”\u00a0with a bit of ’80s production polish for good measure.<\/p>\n

8. Aerosmith<\/a>, “Legendary Child” (Music From Another Dimension!, 2012)<\/p>\n

With their grimy blues-rock boogie and unrepentantly sleazy lyrics, Aerosmith aspired to be the American Led Zeppelin from the minute they started jamming in their Boston apartment in the early ’70s.\u00a0That desire was clearly still there when they released “Legendary Child” as the lead single off their 2012 album\u00a0Music From Another Dimension!<\/p>\n

Although\u00a0the song\u00a0has the pop hooks\u00a0and fancy production of a latter-day Aerosmith tune, its verse riff is almost a direct rip of Zeppelin’s “The Wanton Song.” Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, even when you’re in your sixties.<\/p>\n

7. Rush<\/a>, “Working Man” (Rush, 1974)<\/p>\n

Before they\u00a0evolved into paradigm-shifting\u00a0prog-rock geniuses, Rush got their start as Led Zeppelin-worshipping hard rockers on their self-titled debut album. “Working Man” is perhaps the clearest example,\u00a0crammed\u00a0with crunchy\u00a0riffs, titanic grooves and Geddy Lee’s soaring wail.<\/p>\n

The trio flexes its\u00a0musical muscle in the mid-song jam \u2014 an art in which Led Zeppelin was well versed, and one that Rush would explore much further on future releases.<\/p>\n

6. Montrose<\/a>, “Rock Candy” (Montrose, 1973)<\/p>\n

Montrose were hailed as America’s answer to Led Zeppelin when they\u00a0burst onto the scene in the early ’70s. It’s easy to see why when you press play on their signature song, “Rock Candy.”<\/p>\n

Denny Carmassi’s distinctive drum intro pays homage to “When the Levee Breaks,” while Ronnie Montrose’s\u00a0fiery blues-rock riffs and Sammy Hagar’s\u00a0blustery howl evoke Page and Plant, respectively. “You’re hard, sweet and sticky” might not have the same poetic grandeur as “If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now,” but it\u00a0certainly gets its point across.<\/p>\n

5. Heart<\/a>, “Barracuda” (Little Queen, 1977)<\/p>\n

If anybody on this list has the right to “rip off” Led Zeppelin, it’s Heart. Ann Wilson’s voice could move mountains at its best and she\u00a0pushes it to the limit on “Barracuda,” one of the band’s heaviest and most enduring hits.<\/p>\n

Call it bad timing that Led Zeppelin just so happened to release “Achilles Last Stand” one year earlier, guaranteeing\u00a0that “Barracuda”‘s chugging riffs and galloping drums would forever be inextricably linked to it.<\/p>\n

4. Audioslave<\/a>, “Cochise” (Audioslave, 2002)<\/p>\n

Audioslave \u2014 the supergroup comprising three-fourths of Rage Against the Machine plus Chris Cornell \u2014\u00a0set the rock world aflame with their multi-platinum debut album and its ferocious lead single “Cochise.” Cornell is in full face-melting mode, bellowing over scorching riffs and pulverizing grooves.<\/p>\n

The blunt-force impact of “Cochise” is so powerful that\u00a0it might take you several listens to realize that structurally and melodically, it’s almost a\u00a0carbon copy of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.”<\/p>\n

3. Kingdom Come<\/a>, “Get It On” (Kingdom Come, 1988)<\/p>\n

When German hard rockers Kingdom Come issued their self-titled debut album in 1988, they sounded so\u00a0incredibly, nay,\u00a0offensively\u00a0similar to Led Zeppelin that the music press referred to them as “Kingdom Clone.”\u00a0Surely that’s an overreaction, you may be thinking. And surely you’re wrong.<\/p>\n

With its fiery vocals and chromatic riffs,\u00a0Kingdom Come’s lead single “Get It On” sounds like a\u00a0spiritual\u00a0successor to “Kashmir” \u2014 which is a polite way of saying it’s a bald-faced rip-off.<\/p>\n

2. Whitesnake<\/a>, “Still of the Night” (Whitesnake, 1987)<\/p>\n

Robert Plant once derisively referred to Whitesnake (and former Deep Purple) frontman David Coverdale as “David Cover-version” because of his striking similarity to the former Led Zeppelin singer. Indeed, Coverdale evokes Plant’s banshee wail with almost startling accuracy on Whitesnake’s 1987 smash hit “Still of the Night.”<\/p>\n

The call-and-response between the vocals and riffs recall Zeppelin’s “Black Dog,” while the spacey interlude owes a debt to “Whole Lotta Love.” Coverdale has denied all copycat allegations, but it doesn’t take a Berklee grad to recognize the likeness.<\/p>\n

1. Billy Squier<\/a>, “Lonely Is the Night” (Don’t Say No, 1981)<\/p>\n

Oh boy \u2014 where\u00a0do we start? Billy Squier’s second album became a triple-platinum, Top 5 smash thanks to a treasure trove of hits, including one of his best-known songs, “Lonely Is the Night.”<\/p>\n

Squier’s adenoidal wail sounds eerily similar to Plant’s on this one, but the Zeppelin similarities begin before he even opens his mouth. The\u00a0opening guitar riff to “Lonely Is the Night”\u00a0swipes Led Zeppelin’s “Nobody’s Fault but Mine” almost note for note, making\u00a0this perhaps the most shameless Zep rip-off on\u00a0our list. Nevertheless, it\u00a0rocks abundantly.<\/p>\n

The 19 Songs Led Zeppelin Never Played Live<\/p>\n

Recapping the Led Zeppelin songs that never made their way to the stage and crowds.<\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It’s no secret that Led Zeppelin ripped off lesser-known blues artists to craft some of their most timeless…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":235822,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[171,980,975,50,982,983,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-235821","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-lists","10":"tag-music","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-original-features","13":"tag-rock","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115224116105522237","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}