It's hard to miss the fact that the members in Pearl Jam are Led Zeppelin fans and that their 1998 single, "Given to Fly," sounds a bit parallel to Zeppelin's classic hit, "Going to California." The former Zep front man, Robert Plant, stopped by for an interview at the 2015 Sasquatch Music Festival with Pearl Jam guitarist, Mike McCready, for SiriusXM's Pearl Jam Radio Station, cracking jokes about the comparable tunes.
In the midst of McCready's Q&A session, Plant was asked a question about his opinions on musical originality and creativity in which he explained it's "absolutely crucial," adding, "Being an entertainer, outside of skill, craft, experience and whatever else it is you grow into, repetition is a hell of an evil bedfellow," reports SiriusXM.
Elaborating on the importance of ongoing inventiveness he explained, "To repeat yourself as regularly as we do as entertainers - you know this. I mean, how many times have you played 'Going to California'? Oh sorry, whatever your song is called." McCready shared some laughs with Plant on the matter, responding "Yeah, yeah, whoopsadaisy. Mind you, nobody's perfect."
The discussion evolved into imitation in the music industry and how every artist is guilty of drawing inspiration from others. McCready even recounted the night Pearl Jam front man, Eddie Vedder, referred to "Given to Fly" as "Going to California," notes UltimateClassicRock.
"When you came to see us in Sweden, we did the song, and he said, he dedicated it to you I think, and acknowledged you, and said 'Given to California,'" McCready remembered. "It's a good job he had some dancing girls backstage afterwards to take the heat out of the moment," said Plant. "We're all mature, so we all know that's okay. I didn't get a check in the post, nothing like that."
The 66-year-old musician who shoots down any talk of a Led Zeppelin reunion is all too familiar with how easy it is to plagiarize from musical inspirations. He has found himself along with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones of Zep in several lawsuits over the years.
The singer recently headlined Mountain Jam while Jimmy Page officially closed the doors of the band's vaults, completing the reissuing process of each of their nine studio albums.
