How Many More Times
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| “How Many More Times” | |||||
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| Song by Led Zeppelin | |||||
| Album | Led Zeppelin | ||||
| Released | January 12, 1969 | ||||
| Recorded | October 1968 | ||||
| Genre | Blues rock, Hard rock | ||||
| Length | 8:28 | ||||
| Label | Atlantic Records | ||||
| Writer | Bonham/Jones/Page | ||||
| Producer | Jimmy Page | ||||
| Led Zeppelin track listing | |||||
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"How Many More Times" is the last song by English rock band Led Zeppelin on their 1969 debut album Led Zeppelin.
Contents |
[edit] Album version
At eight and a half minutes, "How Many More Times" 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 faintly reminiscent of previously-recorded instrumental "Beck's Bolero", on which Jimmy Page had played guitar. This was one of three Led Zeppelin songs on which Page used bowed guitar,[1] the others being "Dazed and Confused" and "In the Light". The song "In the Evening" utilized several tremolo bar drops to mimic the bow sound.
Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham were credited with writing this song. Howlin' Wolf had recorded a song called "How Many More Years" in 1951, and all new Led Zeppelin releases since 1993 have co-credited the song with Chester Burnett via arrangement with his publishing company, ARC Music. Cover versions by many artists, such as the LA Guns 1999 version on the album Shrinking Violet, however, are not credited to Burnett.
The song borrows lyrically from several other songs, most noticeably Albert King's 1967 song "The Hunter." [1]
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.
In an interview he gave to Guitar World magazine in 1993, Page stated that the song "was made up of little pieces I developed when I was with the Yardbirds, as were other numbers such as "Dazed and Confused". It was played live in the studio with cues and nods."[2]
It has also been reported that the "Rosie" and "Hunter" components of the song came spontaneously to the group on the night of the recording session.[1]
[edit] Live performances
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 intro of the song would be quite extended and 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 Chillin'," with lyrics ad-libbed from other sources, and "Travelin' Little Mama." The band would then go into "Cumberland Gap" then After "The Lemon Song," the band would play "That's Alright Mama" (which is not the Led Zeppelin DVD but bootlegs show they did play it. Then they 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, although they would continue to perform it on occasion until the early stages of their 1975 U.S. tour, when it was re-introduced in full as a result of Jimmy Page's injured finger, which temporarily prevented him from playing "Dazed and Confused".[1] It was also played once in 1973, on January 22nd, while the band was touring the United Kingdom.
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] Cover versions
Led Zeppelin parody cover band Dread Zeppelin recorded a version of this song on their album No Quarter Pounder.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
- ^ Interview with Jimmy Page, Guitar World magazine, 1993
[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
[edit] External links
- Review: All Music Guide
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