For James Gandolfini who sadly and shockingly died today. A fine actor who when he appeared on screen or stage you just had to stop and watch him and he made you forget about the other actors. He made his name as Tony Soprano and he will always be Tony Soprano in our hearts. You are sadly missed, James Gandolfini
Don't Stop Believing
Just a small town girl
Livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train going anywhere
Just a city boy
Born and raised in south Detroit
He took the midnight train goin' anywhere
A smoker in a smokey room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share a night
It goes on and on and on
Strangers waitng
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlight people
Living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night
Working hard to get my fill
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to roll the dice just one more time
The Song Remains the Same is the first track off of Led Zeppelin's 1973 album Houses of the Holy.
This was Robert Plant's tribute to world music, reflecting his belief that music is universal.
Originally The Song Remains the Same was an instrumental with the working title The Oveture, before Plant put lyrics to it, after which the song became known as The Campaign before Led Zeppelin settled on The Song Remains the Same.
Zeppelin first performed the song live on their 1972 Japanese Tour Bootlegs from this tour show that the song did not have a settled title to it. Plant even called the song Zep while on stage in Tokyo. From late 1972 to 1975 The Song Remains the Same ( just as on Houses of the Holy) segued into The Rain Song. The Song Remains the Same would be the opening song for the 1977 and 1979 concerts, before being dropped from the set list for the 1980 European tour. The song was also performed at the 2007 Led Zeppelin reunion show at the O2 Arena.
For the album release Robert Plant's vocals were slightly sped up, while Jimmy Page played the overdubs on a Fender Telecaster guitar and a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar. In live performances, however, Jimmy played a Gibson EDS-1275 double neck 12-string.
Video from Earls Court Show in 1975
The Song Remains the Same
I had a dream. Crazy dream.
Anything I wanted to know, any place I needed to go.
Hear my song. People won't you listen now?
Sing along.
You don't know what your missing now.
Any little song that you know.
Everything that is small has to grow.
And it has to grow.
Na, na, na, na,wow!
California sunlight, Calcutta rain.
Honolulu starbright- the song remains the same.
Sing out Hare hare, dance the Hoochie Koo.
City lights are oh so bright , as we go sliding...sliding...sliding through.
Sunday Morning on CBS had Anthony Mason conduct an interview with the three surviving members of Led Zeppelin: John Paul Jones,Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.
' The Lemon Song' is of course by Led Zeppelin and is on their 1969 album Led Zeppelin II. It was recorded in Hollywood, California at Mystic Studios while the band was on their second tour of America. 'The Lemon Song' was released October 22, 1969.
With sexual innuendo laced through 'The Lemon Song' also featured some of Zeppelin's most blues influenced playing. 'Lemon' was practically recorded live in studio. There was no electrical devices used to create Robert Plant's vocal. It was made purely with Plant's voice and the acoustics of a 16x16 foot room with wooden walls in Mystic Studios.And of course with the heavily funk influenced complex bass performance of John Paul Jones.
'The Lemon Song' was performed on Zeppelin's first three tours of the U.S. ( on the first tour as 'Killing Floor'), before it was dropped from their live line-up in late 1969. But the "squeeze my lemon" continued to be inserted in 'A Whole Lotta Love' medley and ad libbed elsewhere.
'The Lemon Song' borrows (maybe a little too heavily) from Howlin' Wolf's 'Killing Floor, which Led Zeppelin would often incorporate into their live set list during their first tour of America.For the second and third North American tours it evolved into 'The Lemon Song', with Robert Plant often improvising lyrics on stage.
Other lyrics, notably "squeeze (my lemon) 'til the juice runs down my leg', can be traced back to Robert Johnson's song ' Travelling Riverside Blues' ( sometimes also called 'Mudbone' or Mud Bone'). It's also likely that Robert Johnson borrowed this song himself from another 1937 Arthur McKay song called 'She Squeezed My Lemon'. The song also borrowed from Albert King's 1966 song 'Cross-Cut Saw'.
On the early 1970's British re-release of Led Zeppelin II, does the label list 'The Lemon Song' as 'Killing Floor' as the third song and credited it to Chester Burnett (Howlin' Wolf's given name), while the liner notes list the song as 'The Lemon Song' and give Led Zeppelin credit. So, in December of 1972, Led Zeppelin was sued by Arc Music, owners of the publishing rights to Howlin' Wolf songs, for copyright infringement. The suit was settled out of court. Even though the terms of the settlement were not released, soon after Howlin' Wolf received a check from Arc Music for $45,123 and co-writing credit on further releases of the song.
THE LEMON SONG
I should have quit you baby, long time ago
I should have quit you baby long time ago
I wouldn't be here, my children down, on the killin' floor
I should have listened, baby, to my second mind
I should have listened, baby, to my second mind
Every time I go away and leave you, darling, you send me the blues way down the line.
Said, people worry I can't keep you satisfied.
Let me tell you baby, you ain't nothin' but a two-bit, no good jive.
Went to sleep last night, worked as hard as I can, Bring home my money, you take it, give it to another man.
I should quit you, baby, such along time ago.
I wouldn't be here with all my troubles, on the killing floor.
Squeeze me baby, 'til the juice runs down my leg.
Squeeze me baby, 'til the juice runs down my leg.
The way you squeeze my lemon, I'm gonna fall right out of bed.
I'm going to leave my children right on this killing floor.
I was originally starting a post about the song 'The Song Remains the Same' but I have very easily gotten sidetracked. First it was ' Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp' from Earls Court in '75 and now it is Led Zeppelin's 1969 concert in full from Cleveland, Ohio. OH LORDY! They're playing 'Dazed and Confused' right now and that song, for some reason, makes me want to cry. I don't know if it's Robert Plant's voice or Jimmy Page's guitar or it could be a compilation of both of them, but OH MY GOSH I'm friggin' speechless. I won't be cruel and keep it to myself, here it for you to enjoy:
Led Zeppelin had a four-point landing in Cleveland,Ohio on July 20,1969, the same day that Apollo 11 landed on the moon, at Musicarnival. Led Zeppelin had a sold-out concert, of clapping, stomping and dancing in the aisles, of 2,574.
Jimmy Page received a standing ovation for his bluesy solo "White Summer". But the group hit their stride in the last 10 minutes of "Dazed and Confused" when Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham played in a tight together jam.
Led Zeppelin closed with "Communication Breakdown" .
I have a strong suspicion that is Peter 'G' Grant over Jimmy's shoulder that got cut out.
I'll do 'Bron-Yr-AurStomp' and 'The Song Remains the Same' at a later date.
"When the Levee Breaks" is the eighth and last song on Led Zeppelin IV. "When the Levee Breaks" was originally written and recorded by Delta blues musician and songwriter Kansas Joe McCoy and his wife, American blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, Memphis Minnie in 1929. This song is in reaction to the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, that ravaged the state of Mississippi and surrounding areas. Many of the homes and the agricultural economy in the Mississippi Basin were destroyed and devastated. As a result, many people fled to the cities in the Midwest, which contributed to the "Great Migration" of African-Americans in the first half of the 20th century. "When the Levee Breaks" main focus is of Greenville, Mississippi when more than 13,00 residents in and around the area evacuated to a nearby, unaffected levee for its shelter at high ground. The commotion that would have been caused if this and other levees had broken is the underlying theme of the song.
The original lyrics to "When the Levee Breaks" by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie:
WHEN the LEVEE BREAKS
If it keeps on rainin', the levees goin' to break
If it keeps on rainin', the levees goin' to break
And the water gonna come in, and have no place to stay.
Well all last night I sat on the levee and moan
Well all last night I sat on the levee and moan
Thinkin' 'bout my baby and my happy home
If it keeps on rainin', the levees goin' to break
If it keeps on rainin', the levees goin' to break
And all these people have no place to stay
Now look here mama what am I to do?
Now look here mama what am I to do?
I ain't got nobody to tell my troubles to
I works on the levee mama both night and day
I works on the levee mama both night and day
I ain't got nobody, keep the water away
Oh cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do no good
Oh cryin' won't help you, prayin won't do no good
When the levee breaks, mama, got you to lose
I works on the levee, mama both night and day
I works on the levee, mama both night and day
I works so hard, to keep the water away
I had a woman, she wouldn't do for me
I had a woman, she wouldn't do for me
I'm goin' back to my used to be
I's a mean old levee, cause me to weep and moan
I's a mean old levee, cause me to weep and moan
Gonna leave my baby, and my happy home
Now for the Led Zeppelin version of "When the Levee Breaks". It was recorded at Headley Grange in December of 1970 to March of 1971 with the use of the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. As with the other songs on ''Led Zeppelin IV'' the song was tried unsuccessfully to be recorded at Island Studios at the start of the recording sessions.
According to Jimmy Page, the song's structure "was a riff that I'd been working on, but Bonzo's drum sound really makes a difference on that point." Engineer Andy Jones recorded the famous drum performance by putting John Bonham and a new Ludwig drum kit at the bottom of a stairwell and recording the drum performance using two Beyerdynamic M160 microphones, at the top of the stairwell, giving the distinctive resonant but slightly muffled sound.
Back aat the Rolling Stones' mobile studio, Bonzo compressed the drum sound through two channels and added an echo through Pages Binson echorec 2 unit.
Page recorded Robert Plant's harmonica part using the backward echo technique, putting the echo ahead of the sound when mixing, creating a distinct effect.
Binson Echorec 2
"When the Levee Breaks" was recorded at a different tempo, then slowed down, which explains the 'sludgy' sound particularly on the guitar and harmonica solos. Because of the heavy studio production of the song, "When the Levee Breaks" was difficult to recreate live.Led Zeppelin only performed the song in the early stages of their 1975 U.S. Tour.
This is also the only song not to be re-mixed after a supposedly disastrous mixing job in the U.S. ( the rest of the tracks were mixed again in England). The original mixing of the song was kept in its original form.
WHEN the LEVEE BREAKS
(Led Zeppelin version)
If it keeps on rainin', the levee's goin to break,
If it keeps on rainin', the levee's goinin' to break.
When the Levee Breaks I'll have no place to stay.
Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan,
Lord, the mean old levee taught me to weep and moan.
Got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home,
Oh, well, oh, well,oh, well.
Don't it make you fell bad,
When you're tryin' to find your way home,
You don't know which way to go?
If you go South,
They go no work to do,
If you don't know about Chicago.
Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good,
Now, cryin won't help you, prayin' won't do you know good.
I guess by now everyone has heard the sad news of the death of Whitney Houston. I was starting to watch Charlie Brown Valentine's Day specials on ABC and they broke in for a short time with the news of Ms. Houston's death. Well of course I changed the channel to CNN to make sure I had heard right the first time and unfortunately, I had. I was in total shock, still in shock a bit, but I guess the news is starting to sink in. But anyway, I was like "Wait, what? Hold on! No this is not real", just a total shock. Nobody saw this coming about Whitney Houston. At least I don't think they did, I know I did not. The Grammy's have been thrown for a tailspin, as we all have, they were already having to deal with tributes to Etta James ( I imagine they would be doing something for her), Don Cornelious and a farewell piece to Glen Campbell because of his Alzheimer's disease, but at least there has been some time to plan something, but THIS, I hope that they can pull something classy together in such a short time.
Now I imagine that over the next few days and weeks that there is going to be a lot of speculation on Ms. Houston's cause of death and I would think that there will be rumours of recent drug use and crap like that. I for on won't believe anything until the coroner's report comes out and that will take a few days, at least I believe it will take that long, but with this being a famous person they may do it a bit quicker but still be thorough. Now with all that being said I do have my own theory on the cause of death, her heart just gave out. That's it. That simple. I just hope it is that true. Especially for her family's sake.
But whatever happened Whitney Houston was one of the greatest voices in music, regardless of your generation.
I Remember "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" in junior high because it was used this as one of the songs aerobic class.
Oh! I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna feel the heat with somebody Yeah! I wanna dance with somebody With somebody who loves me
Oh! I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna feel the heat with somebody. Yeah! I wanna dance with somebody, With somebody who loves me.
Somebody who...somebody who...somebody who loves me...
Somebody who...somebody who.. somebody to hold me in his arms
I need a man who'll take a chance, On a love that burns hot enough to last. So when the night falls, My lonely heart calls.
Oh! I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna feel the heat with somebody. Yeah! I wanna dance with somebody With somebody who loves me.
Ooh, ooh! Dance! Come on baby, Dance! Woo! Yeah! Dance! You dance like this... Whoa! (Dance!)
Don't you wanna dance? (dance!) with me baby. Don't you wanna dance? (dance!) with me boy. Don't you wanna dance? (dance!) with me baby. With somebody who loves me.
Don't you wanna dance? Say you wanna dance. Don't you wanna dance? (dance!)
Don't you wanna dance? Say you wanna dance. Don't you wanna dance? (dance!)
Don't you wanna dance? Say you wanna dance (uh-huh) (dance!) With somebody who loves me. Ooh (dance!) Ooh-oh (dance!) Ooh (dance!) With me baby.
"Going to California" is the seventh song on Led Zeppelin IV and it was released on November 8, 1971. It has a wistful folk-style sound, with Plant on lead vocals, John Paul Jones played the mandolin and Page played an acoustic guitar. It is also 3:31 long.
The song is reportedly about Joni Mitchell, who was the target of both Jimmy Page and Robert Plant infatuation. Plant would often say the name "Joni" after the following stanza, when "Going to California" was performed live:
To find a queen without a king,
They say she plays the guitar and cries and sings
In a 2002 'Spin' magazine interview, Plant said that the song " might be embarrassing at times lyrically, but it did sum up a period of my life when I was 22." In another interview with the same magazine, in 2007, Plant stated that the song was about "Me reflecting on the first years of the group, when I was about...20, and was struggling to find myself in the midst of all the craziness of California and the band and the groupies...."
"Going to California" started out as a song about California earthquakes and when Jimmy Page, audio engineer Andy Johns and band manager Peter Grant went to Los Angles to mix the album, they by chance experienced an earthquake. At this time the title of the song was "Guide to California".
At Led Zeppelin concert, "Going to California" was performed during the bands acoustic sets, first played on their Spring 1971 tour of the United Kingdom. Led Zeppelin's live performance of the song at Earl's Court 1975 is on the second disc of the Led Zeppelin DVD.
Plant performed the song on his solo tours of 1988/1989 and at the Knebworth Silver Clef show in 1990. He again performed it on his 2005 Mighty ReArranger tourwith a synthesizer and a double bass added
GOING TO CALIFORNIA
Spent my days with a woman unkind,
Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine.
Made up my mind to make a new start,
Going to California with an aching in myheart.
Someone told me there's a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair.
Took my chance on a big jet plane
Never let them tell you that they're all the same.
The sea was red and the sky was grey,
Wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today.
The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake
As the children of the sun began to wake
Seems the wrath of the Gods
Got a punch in the noseand it started to flow;
I think I might be sinking,
Throw me a line if I reach it in time
I'll meet you up there where the path
Runs straight and high.
To find a queen without a king;
They say she plays guitar and cries and sings.
La, la, la, la
Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn
Tryin' to find a woman who's never, never, never been born.
Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams,
Telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard, as it seems.
The sixth song from 'Led Zeppelin IV' is "Four Sticks". As the title suggests, John Bonham used four sticks, at the same time, on this track. This is because he was so frustrated with the fact that he could not get the track down right during the recording session at Island Studios, that Bonham decided to take out his frustration on the drums and picked up two sets of drumsticks and just started beating away on the drums as hard as he could. This resulted in Bonham recording the perfect take and that was the one Led Zeppelin kept. But apparently John Bonham wasn't the only one that was having problems with the recording of "Four Sticks", for it took more takes that usual. John Paul Jones played a VCS3 synthesizer on the track.
Jimmy Page once said of "Four Sticks",: " It was supposed to be abstract." The abstract effect is further achieved by the unusual meter signature, aka time signature, of the song., featuring riffs in a mixture of 5/8 and 6/8 time signatures. Out of frustration over another failed take of the recording, Jimmy Page began to play an improvised guitar riff, which was later developed into the the albums second song - "Rock & Roll".
"Four Sticks" has only been performed live once, in Copenhagen, Denmark on Led Zeppelin's 1971 European tour and has been preserved only on bootleg recording.
"Four Sticks" is 4:44 long and as a single was released on February 21,1972.
FOUR STICKS
Oh, Baby, it's cryin' time, Oh, Baby, I got to fly.
Got to try to find a way, Got to try to get away,
'Cause you know I gotta get awayfrom you, Babe.
Oh, Baby, the river's red, Oh, Baby, in my head.
There's a funny feelin' going on, I don't think I can hold out long.
* And when the owl cries in the night,
Oh Baby, Baby, when the pines begin to cry,
Baby, bay, Baby, how do you feel?
Craze, Baby, the rainbow's end, Mmm, Baby, it's just a den
For those who hide, Who hide their love to the depths of life
Saint Lucy, Saint Lucia or Santa Lucia was born in Syracuse, Sicily to a wealthy Christian noble family in 283. Saint Lucy's Roman father died while she was still an infant, leaving her and her mother,Eutychia, without a protective guardian. Even so, Eutychia took singular care of Saint Lucy and furnished her with sublime and tender sentiments of piety and religion. Because of the early impressions Saint Lucy received and the strong influence of divine grace, she discovered no disposition but towards virtue and she was yet very young when she made her vow to God to stay a virgin. However, Saint Lucy kept this vow from her mother, who was pressing her to marry a young man, who happened to be a pagan. The saint sought occasions to prevent this marriage from taking place. Because Eutychia had suffered with dysentery for four years Saint Lucy was able to convince her mother to go to the tomb of Saint Agatha, patroness of Catania, and offered their prayers all night to God for relief from dysentery, until they both fell asleep. Saint Agatha came to Saint Lucy in a vision and said "You shall be the glory of Syracuse, as I am of Catania." It was at that instant Eutychiha was cured.
Immediately following this Saint Lucy told her mother of her desire to devote herself to God in a state of perpetual virginity and bestowing her fortunes on the poor.In gratitude Eutychia gave Saint Lucy the liberty to follow her heart's desire. News of her distribution of her father's inheritance and jewels came to the ears of Saint Lucy's intended from a talkative nurse, that Saint Lucy had found a nobler Bridegroom.
This enraged Saint Lucy's promised bridegroom and he denounced her as a Christian to the magistrate, Paschasius, who ordered her to burn a sacrifice of an image of the emperor. Saint Lucy refused saying "I offer to Him myself, let Him do with His offering as it pleases Him." She was then commanded to be exposed to prostitution in a brothel, to which Saint Lucy asserted:
"No one's body is polluted so as to endanger the soul if it has not pleased the mind. If you were to lift my hand to your idol and so make me offer against my will, I would still be guiltless in the sight of the true God, who judges according to the will and knows all things. If now, against my will, you cause me to be polluted,a twofold purity will gloriously imputed to me. You cannot bend my will to your purpose; whatever you do with my body, that cannot happen to me."
However, the guards could not move Saint Lucy, even when they hitched to a team of oxen, because she had become filled with the Holy Spirit. Even when she had daggers plunged into her throat Saint Lucy prophesied against her persecutor. One legend claims that her eyes were gouged out by either the tyrannical government official or her jilted intended. Another story says that she tore her eyes out herself and gave them to her pagan suitor so he would leave her alone. In every story, however, God would restore her eyes to her, more beautiful than ever. Saint Lucia died on December 13,304.
The emblem of the eyes on the plate or cup must be linked to the popular devotion to her, as protector of sight, because her name, Lucia, comes from the Latin word for "light", lux. Lucy's name also played a large part in naming her patron saint of the blind and those with eye trouble. She is patroness of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy.
Her feast day is December 13. Saint Lucia is venerated by the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican, Orthodox Christians and in the Lutheran Church. Saint Lucia is one of the seven women, aside from the Holy Mother, who is commemorated by name in the Cannon of the Mass.
She is one of the few saints celebrated in the Lutheran Church among Scandinavians, who take part in Saint Lucy Day celebrations. In Sweden, the oldest ( or youngest) daughter in each household traditionally carries a tray of coffee and pastries called, lussekatter (Lucy cats) to her parents before they get up in the morning. She wears a white gown, scarlet sash and crown of greens and four, seven or nine lighted candles. her brothers, wearing white shirts and tall cone-shaped hats decorated with stars and and her sisters all in white carrying lighted candles, follow her.In many towns, a Saint Lucy carries coffee and buns to each house. She and her followers each carry a lighted candle, sing carols through the dark streets as Saint Steven, represented by a man on horseback, leads the way.The procession is done in honor of Saint Lucy traversing darkened woods to bring bread and other food the poor.
In Switzerland, she strolls around the village with Father Christmas, giving gifts to the girls while he gives gifts to the boys.
Italians eat small cakes or biscotti shaped like eyes, light bonfires, and conduct an evening candle light procession, all in honor of Santa Lucia.
In Sicily, they pay tribute to a miracle performed by Santa Lucia during the famine of 1582. At that time she brought a flotilla of grain bearing ships to a starving Sicily, whose citizens cooked and ate the wheat without taking the time to grind it into flour. Thus, on Saint Lucy Day, Sicilians do not eat anything made with wheat flour. Instead they eat cooked wheat called cuccia
SANTA LUCIA (Original Italian lyrics)
Sul mare luccia l'astro d'argento
Placida e l'onda , prospero e il vento
Sul mare luccia l'astro d'argento
Placida e l'onda, prospero e il vento
Venite all'agile barchetta mia
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Venite all'agile barchetta mia
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Con questo zeffiro , cosi soave
Oh, com e bello star sulla nave!
Con questo zeffiro, cosi soave
Oh com e bello star sulla nave!
Su passegieri, venite via!
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Su passegieri, venite via!
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
In fra le tende, badir la cena
In una sera cosi serena
In fra le tende, badir la cena
In una sera cosi serena
Chi non dimanda, chi non desia
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Chi non dimanda, chi non desia
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Mare si placida, vento si caro
Scordar fa i triboli al marinaro
Mare si placida, vento si caro
Scordar fa i triboli al marinaro
E va gridando con allegria
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
E va gridando con allegria
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
O dolce Napoli, o suol beato
Ove sorridere volle il creato
O dolce Napoli, o suol beato
Ove sorridere volle il creato
Tu sei l'impero dell'armonia
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Tu sei l'impero dell'armonia
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Or che tardate? Bella e la sera
Spira un auretta fresca e leggiera
Or che tardate? Bella e la sera
Spira un auretta fresca e leggiera
Venite all'agile barchetta mia
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Venite all'agile barchetta mia.
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
(ENGLISH TRANSLATION)
On the sea shimmers the silver star
The wave is peaceful, prosperous wind.
On the sea shimmers the silver star
The wave is peaceful, prosperous wind.
Come quickly my boat.
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!
Come quickly my boat.
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!
With this breeze so gentle
Oh, how beautiful to be on the ship!
With this breeze so simple
Oh, how beautiful to be on the ship!
Its passengers, come on!
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!
Its passengers, come on!
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!
In between the tents, dinner invitations
On such a quiet evening
In between the tents,dinner invitations
On such a quiet evening
Who does not demands, desires to those who do not.
"Misty Mountain Hop" is the fifth song on Led Zeppelin IV and was released as a single on December 2,1971. Even though it was the B-side of "Black Dog" in Australia and the U.S., it still got a lot of airplay on FM radio stations. The song is 4:38 long and of course "Misty Mountain Hop" was also recorded at Headly Grange.
In a musical manner the song is of a medium tempo with bassist John Paul Jones playing the electric piano in the opening sequence. It has a notable presence of layered keyboard and guitar parts, which makes it melodically solid and is driven by one of John Bonham's most powerful recorded studio performances. Featuring a memorable riff, on which Jones and Page harmonize using keyboard and guitar. The repeating riff in "misty Mountain Hop" sounds like a funk rock bassline and is based on note A G E. In the second half of the second verse, at 2:11, mistakenly fall out of sync with one another. But Led Zeppelin thought the rest of the take was too good, so they kept the mistake in the song.
One of the most common interpretations of the lyrics of "Misty Mountain Hop" is that they refer to an encounter with police in the park after smoking marijuana and leaving to go to the Misty Mountains ( where the spirits fly) which seems to be a reference to "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkein. Another variation is that the song is about a 'love-in' at a park near London that was broken up by police.
On the 1971 Led Zeppelin European Tour in Copenhagen, Denmark "Misty Mountain Hop" made its debut and was regularly played live at Led Zeppelin concerts from late 1972 through 1973, often directly linking into "Since I've Been Loving You" (from Led Zeppelin III). "Misty Mountain Hop" was also performed at Knebworth in 1979. Because of a broken string on his main Les Paul Jimmy Page used a 1977 Gibson RD Artist guitar, for the second of two performances. The surviving members of Led Zeppelin performed "Misty Mountain Hop" at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert in 1988 with John Bonham's son, Jason, on drums and then again for the 21st birthday of Robert Plant's daughter the next year. "Misty Mountain Hop" was again performed at the Led Zeppelin reunion show at the O2 Arena, London on December 10, 2007.
___________________________________
MISTY MOUNTAIN HOP
Walkin' in the park the other day, Baby,
What do you, what do you think I saw?
Crowds of people sittin' on the grass with flowers in there hair said,
"Hey, Boy do you want to score?"
And you know how it is;
I really don't know what time was, woh, oh,
So I asked them if I could stay awhile.
I didn't notice but it had got very dark and I was really,
Really out of my mind.
Just then a policeman stepped up to me and asked us said
"Please, hey,would we care all to get in line,
Get in line."
Well you know,
They asked us to stay and have some tea and have some fun,
Oh, oh, he said that his friends would all drop by, ooh.
Why don't you take a good look at yourself and describe what you see,
And Baby, Baby, Baby, do you like it?
There you sit, sitting spare like a book on a shelf rustin'
Ah, not trying to fight it.
You really don't care if they're coming, oh, oh,
I know that it's all a state of mind.
If you go down the streets today, Baby you better,
You better open your eyes,
Folks down there really don't care, don't care, really don't
All right now for one of the greatest, some may even argue it is the greatest, rock song in music history..."Stairway to Heaven".
"Stairway to Heaven" was released on November 8,1971 by Led Zeppelin and it runs for 8 minutes and 2 seconds. The song, which is the fourth song on Led Zeppelin IV, is composed of several sections, that increase in tempo and volume as the song progresses.The last section is a high tempo hard rock section highlighted by Jimmy Page's intricate guitar solo.
Led Zeppelin started planning "Stairway to Heaven" in early1970, when they decided to create a new epic song to replace "Dazed and Confused" as the centerpiece of their concerts.Jimmy Page would work on the song in 8-track studio he had installed in his boathouse, trying out different sections on his guitar. By April he was telling journalists that their new song could be 15 minutes long and described it as something that would "build in climax" with John Bonham's drums not coming in for sometime. In October of 1970, after nearly touring constantly for 18 months Page and Plant worked on the song in a Welsh cottage called Bron-yr-Aur, where the started writing songs for the album. Led Zeppelin started writing "Stairway to Heaven' in December of 1970 at Basing Street Studios, a new Island Records studio, in London.
To complete the song and the rest of the album Led Zeppelin went to the former poorhouse, Headley Grange in Liphook Road, Headley, Hampshire where they recorded the album with the Rolling Stone mobile studio.
Page kept a cassette recorder close by and the idea for "Stairway to Heaven" came together in bits and pieces of taped music. Jimmy Page states:
"I had these pieces, these guitar pieces,that I wanted to put together. I had a whole idea of a piece of music that I really wanted to try and present to everybody and try to come to terms with. Bit difficult really,it started on acoustic and as you know it goes through to electric parts. But we had various run-through [at Headley Grange] where I was playing the acoustic guitar. Robert was sitting in the corner or rather leaning against the wall and as I was routining the rest of the band with this idea and this piece, he was just writing. And all of a sudden he got up and started singing, along with another run-through and he had 80% of the words there... I had these sections and I knew what order they were going to be in, but it was just a matter of getting everybody to feel comfortable with each gear shift that was going to be coming."
John Paul Jones, Led Zeppelin's bassist, recalled this presentation of "Stairway to Heaven" following its beginning at Bron-Yr-Aur:
"Page and Plant would come back from the Welsh mountains with guitar intro and verse. I literally heard it in front of a roaring fire in a country manor house!I picked up a base recorder and played a run-down riff which gave us an intro, then I moved into a piano for the next section, dubbing on the guitars."
In a 1977 interview, Page elaborated:
"I do have the original tape that was running at the time we ran down "Stairway to Heaven"completely with the band. I'd worked it all out the night before with John Paul Jones, written down the changes and things. All this time we were all living in a house and keeping pretty regular hours together, so the next day running it down. There was only one place where there was a slight rerun. For some unknown reason Bonzo couldn't get the timing right on the twelve-string part before the solo. Other than that it flowed pretty quickly."
The first attempt at the lyrics written by Robert Plant sitting by an evening fire at Headley Grange, were partly spontaneous and Page claimed that " a huge percentage of the lyrics were written then and there.'" Page was strumming the intro chords when a flash of inspiration came to Robert Plant. Said Plant: "I was holding a pencil and paper and for some reason I was in a very bad mood. Then all of a sudden my hands were writing out the words 'There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold/ And she buying a stairway to heaven.' I just sat there and looked at them and almost leapt out of my seat." Plant's explanation for the lyrics was that it "was some cynical aside about a woman getting everything she wanted all the time without giving back any thought or consideration. The first line begins with a cynical sweep of the hand... and it softens after that."
The lyrics to "Stairway to Heaven" is a reflection of Robert Plant's reading at the time. Plant, who is a great admirer of all things mystic, Celtic writings and old English legends and lore, had been reading J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and "Magic Arts in Celtic Britain" by Lewis Spence.The Tolkien influence can be heard in the phrase "In my thoughts I have seen Rings of Smoke Through the Trees." which could be a reference to Gandalf , the wizard in "Lord of the Rings",making smoke rings when he is puffing his pipe. There is also a correlation to the lady in the song and Lady Galadriel , the Queen of the Elves, who lives in Lothlorien, the golden forest.
On March 5,1971 Led Zeppelin performed "Stairway to Heaven" for the first time in Belfast, Northern Ireland and according to John Paul Jones the people were not impressed. The audience came to hear songs they knew- like - "Whole Lotta Love".
When the band started the U.S. leg of their tour the song got a better reception.From 'Led Zeppelin: The Definitive Biography' by Ritchie Yorke, Page said of playing the song at an August 1971 show at the Los Angeles Forum: "I'm not saying the whole audience gave us a standing ovation- but there was a sizable standing ovation there. And I thought ' This is incredible because no one's heard this number yet. This is the first time hearing it!' It obviously touched them, so I knew there was something with that one."
The world premiere of " Stairway to Heaven" was recorded on April 1, 1971 at the Paris Cinema, in Lower Regent Street,London, in front of a live audience and three days later it was broadcasted on the BBC. After that the song was performed at almost every following concert,unless there were technical issues or those rare cut short due to curfews. 1975 marked the time when"Stairway to Heaven" got it's place as the regular finale in every Led Zeppelin concert. But, after their U.S.concert tour in 1977, Plant began to tire of singing "Stairway to Heaven". According to him " There's only so many times you can sing it and mean it...It just becomes sanctimonious." Led Zeppelin's last performance of this song, as a whole band, was on July 7,1980 in Berlin ( in the Western Sector I would imagine); this version was also one of the longest, lasting for about 15 minutes.
When playing the song live, the band often extend the song over 10 minutes, with Plant adding lyrical ad-libs and Page playing an extend guitar solo, using a Gibson EDS-1275 double neck guitar so that he would not have to switch between a six string guitar to a twelve string guitar.
At the 1985 concert event Live Aid, "Stairway to Heaven" was played by the surviving members of Zeppelin and in 1988 at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert with John Bonham's son, Jason Bonham, on drums and as an instrumental by Jimmy Page on his solo concert tours.
By the late 1980's , Plant made his negative feelings towards the song clearer in an interview. He stated in 1988:
"I'd breakout into hives if I had to sing ("Stairway to Heaven") in every show. I wrote those lyrics and found that song to be of some importance and consequence in 1971, but 17 years later, I don't know. It's just not for me. I sang it at the Atlantic Records show because I'm an old softie and it's my way of saying thank you to Atlantic because I've been with them for 20 years. But no more "Stairway to Heaven" fo me."
But by the mid 1990's, Plant had apparently a softer view of the song. During the Page and Plant tours instead of playing the final notes of "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You"they played the first few bars of "Stairway to Heaven". In 1994, at a Tokyo news station, they performed an acoustic version for Japanese television. Also, thy performed the song at O2 Arena on December 10,2007 as part of the Led Zeppelin reunion show.
Robert Plant cites the most unusual performance of "Stairway to Heaven" as being at Live Aid when Duran Duran was at the side of the stage crying. Plant stated "... there was something quite surreal about that."
The legacy of "Stairway to Heaven" is that of high regard. It is often rated as among one of the greatest rock songs of all time. Although the song was released in 1971 it wasn't until 1973 that it achieved it's "anthemic" status. Recalls Jimmy Page I knew it was good, but I didn't know it was going to be like an anthem... But I knew it was the gem of the album, sure."
"Stairway to Heaven" was put into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock 'n' Roll, in 1994. The English rock magazine 'Classic Rock', in 1999,listed it as the #1 song of the Best Songs Ever and was placed #31 on Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time" Despite never having been officially released as a single, it is one of the most requested song on FM radio in the United States during the 1970's. Through download sales promoting Led Zeppelin's compilation album "Mothership", "Stairway to Heaven" hit #37 in November of 2007 on the U.K. Singles Chart.
In the late '90's the trade magazine 'Monday Morning Replay' reported that "Stairway to Heaven" was still played 4,203 times a year by the 67 largest AOR (album-oriented rock) radio stations in the U.S. ASCAP, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, refuse to release exact figures on how many it has been since it has been released, but that on each AOR station in America, the song was played 5 times a day, during the first 3 months of existence; twice a day for the next 9 months; once a day for the next 4 years;and 2 to 3 times a week for the next 15 years. There are roughly 600 AOR and Classic Rock stations in the U.S., which means "Stairway to Heaven"has been broadcasted a minimum of 2,874 times. At 8 minutes per spin, roughly 23 million minutes-almost 44 years- have been devoted to the song. So far.
STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
There's a Lady Who's Sure All That Glitters is Gold.
