How Many More Times

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"How Many More Times"

Song by Led Zeppelin
from the album 'Led Zeppelin'
Released	January 12, 1969
Recorded	October 1968
Genre	Blues Rock
Length	8:26
Label	Atlantic Records
Writer(s)	Bonham/Jones/Page
Producer(s)	Jimmy Page
'Led Zeppelin' track listing
"I Can't Quit You Baby" (8)	"How Many More Times" (9)

"How Many More Times" is the last song by English rock band Led Zeppelin on their 1969 debut album Led Zeppelin. At eight and a half minutes, it is the longest song on the album. It consists of several smaller sections held together by a bolero rhythm that pushes the piece along. At the end, the song pans between the left and right channels. Elements of this song are reminiscent of previously-recorded instrumental "Beck's Bolero", on which Jimmy Page had played guitar. The song contains a bowed guitar, also heard on "Dazed and Confused", "In the Light" and "In the Evening".

Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham were credited with writing this song, choosing not to credit some of the blues musicians whose influence on the arrangement is obvious. Most notably, the song incorporated lyrics from Albert King's "The Hunter" and Howlin' Wolf's "How Many More Years". Led Zeppelin's practice of not crediting blues musicians was also evident on other songs, such as "The Lemon Song" (which they adapted from another Howlin' Wolf song). Years later, and after the threat of legal challenge, the band eventually credited Dixon and Wolf for those songs. All new Led Zeppelin releases since 1995 have credited the song as a medley of Led Zeppelin's original song and "The Hunter".

As with all the other tracks on Led Zeppelin's debut album, Robert Plant didn't get a writing credit for this song due to unexpired contractual obligations, but he undoubtedly had a large influence in its construction. The arrangement and adaptation of old blues songs was something he had much prior experience at during his time with his former band, Hobbstweedle. The line, "I got another child on the way, that makes eleven" refers to his unborn child, Carmen, who was born a month or two after Led Zeppelin recorded this album.

Though listed at a time of 3:30 on the album sleeve, the correct length of the track is in fact 8:28. The incorrect listing was deliberate as it was intended to help promote radio play. Page knew that radio stations would never play a song over eight minutes long, so he wrote the track time as shorter on the album to trick radio stations into playing it.

Jimmy Page (left) and John Bonham performing "How Many More Times" at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970

On early Led Zeppelin concert tours, "How Many More Times" was often the band's closing number. Plant typically introduced the rest of the band during the opening bassline, as can be seen during the Danish TV appearance on the Led Zeppelin DVD. By late 1969, the band would incorporate more and more material into the song as a medley. An example of such a performance is included on the same DVD, during the Royal Albert Hall concert. During the "Bolero" section, Plant quotes Neil Young's "On the Way Home" from Buffalo Springfield's Last Time Around (1968). After "The Hunter," the band performs John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen," with lyrics adlibbed from other sources, and "Travelin' Little Mama." After "The Lemon Song," the band would return to "How Many More Times" at the moment where they left off, the conclusion of "The Hunter." The typical medley pattern ("Boogie Chillen" followed by improvisational set of covers and finally a slow blues and a return to the main song) would later be incorporated into "Whole Lotta Love," as demonstrated on Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions and How the West Was Won.

In 1970, "How Many More Times" was dropped from Led Zeppelin's typical setlist. It would be resurrected temporarily in 1975 after Jimmy Page suffered a broken hand, replacing the more difficult "Dazed and Confused." Page and Plant would also play the song on their Walking into Clarksdale tour in 1998, releasing their Shepherd's Bush performance on a CD single.

[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