Black Dog (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Black Dog" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Song by Led Zeppelin | ||
| from the album Led Zeppelin IV | ||
| Released | November 8, 1971 | |
| Recorded | December 1970 | |
| Genre | Hard rock | |
| Length | 4:56 | |
| Label | Atlantic Records | |
| Writer(s) | Page/Plant/Jones | |
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Page | |
| Led Zeppelin IV track listing | ||
| "Black Dog" (1) |
"Rock and Roll" (2) |
|
"Black Dog" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, which was released as the lead-off track of their untitled fourth album in 1971. It was released as a single in the US and Australia with Misty Mountain Hop on the B-side, and reached #15 on Billboard and #11 in Australia.
The sounds at the beginning are those of Jimmy Page warming up his electric guitar. He called it "waking up the army of guitars"—which are multitrack recorded in unison with electric bass guitar to provide the song's signature riff.
Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones, who is credited with writing the main riff, got the idea for "Black Dog" after hearing Muddy Waters' experimental psychedelic-blues album, Electric Mud. He wanted to try "electric blues with a rolling bass part." The start-and-stop a cappella verses were inspired by Fleetwood Mac's 1969 song "Oh Well."
John Bonham's drumming was patterned after the riffs on Little Richard's "Keep a Knockin'". Despite its seeming simplicity, the song features a complex, shifting time signature that the band has sometimes claimed was intended to thwart cover bands from playing the song.
The song's title came from a nameless black dog that wandered around the Headley Grange studios during recording. It has little to do with the song lyrics, which are about desperate desire for a woman's love and the happiness resulting thereby.
Jimmy Page decided to record the guitar directly into a 1176 limiter preamp (manufactured by Universal Audio), distort the stages of it, and then send that to a normally operating limiter. In other words, no guitar amplifier was used in the recording process. The sound is very twangy, but in a hard-edge sort of way. Similar techniques were used in the song "No Quarter".
[edit] Trivia
- If the volume is turned up loud enough, Bonham can be heard tapping his sticks together before each riff.
- Songs which sample "Black Dog" include "Trapped in the Drive Thru" by "Weird Al" Yankovic and "Shut Up Already" by NOFX.
- The start and stop a cappella verses were inspired by Fleetwood Mac's 1969 song "Oh Well." Before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac in 1974, they were more of a Blues band led by guitarist Peter Green. Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes performed "Oh Well" on their 1999 tour and included it on the album Live At The Greek.
- John Paul Jones wanted to write a song that people couldn't "groove" or dance to. The clever time signature does just that.
- Robert Plant's vocal was recorded in 2 takes. It was one of his most memorable performances.
- Plant: "Not all my stuff is meant to be scrutinized. Things like 'Black Dog' are blatant, let's-do-it-in-the-bath type things, but they make their point just the same."
- Page and Plant performed an updated version of this on their 1995 tour.
- Plant sampled this on his solo hit "Tall Cool One."
- Led Zeppelin used to play this song live beginning with the intro of "Out on the Tiles", as shown in the versions included on How the West Was Won and the group's BBC Sessions.
- Led Zeppelin cover band Dread Zeppelin did a version of this mixed with Elvis' "Hound Dog" called "You Ain't Nuthin' But A Black Dog." Their lead singer is an Elvis impersonator.
- Missouri metalcore band Coalesce recorded a version of this song for their album There is Nothing New Under the Sun, an album entirely composed of Led Zeppelin covers.
[edit] External links
- Review: All Music Guide
[edit] Sources
- Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, by Chris Welch, ISBN 1-56025-818-7
- The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, by Dave Lewis, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
| Led Zeppelin |
|---|
| Jimmy Page · Robert Plant · John Paul Jones · John Bonham |
| Discography - (Category) |
Studio albums: Led Zeppelin · Led Zeppelin II · Led Zeppelin III ·  (Led Zeppelin IV) · Houses of the Holy · Physical Graffiti · Presence · In Through the Out DoorLive albums: The Song Remains the Same · BBC Sessions · How the West Was Won |
| Films |
| The Song Remains the Same · Led Zeppelin DVD |
| Other |
| Peter Grant · Richard Cole · Swan Song Records · The Yardbirds · XYZ · The Firm · Page and Plant · Strange Sensation · Bootlegs ∙ Concerts ∙ Songs |
