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Black Dog (Led Zeppelin song)

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"Black Dog"
Song
B-side"Misty Mountain Hop"

"Black Dog" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, the opening track on their fourth album (1971). It was released as a single in the US and in Australia with "Misty Mountain Hop" as the B-side, reaching number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 in Australia.

In 2004, the song was first ranked #294 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[3] before being ranked at #300 in 2010.[4] Music sociologist Deena Weinstein calls "Black Dog" "one of the most instantly recognisable [Led] Zeppelin tracks".[5]

Title

The song's title is a reference to a nameless, black Labrador Retriever that wandered around the Headley Grange studios during recording.[6][7] The retriever, despite his advanced age, was still sexually insatiable just like the song's speaker, who constantly refers to his desperate desire for a woman's love and the happiness it provides:

Let me tell you 'bout this poor old dog, because he was a retriever in his early days, and the only thing he could ever find in his late days was his old lady who lived two houses away from where we were recording. And he used to go see an old lady quite regularly, but after he'd "boogied" and everything else he couldn't get back. And we used to carry him back.[8]

The lyric "Eyes that shine burning red" is also reminiscent of the Black dog legend).

Plant's vocals were recorded in two takes.[9]

Writing

John Paul Jones, who is credited with writing the main riff,[10][11] wanted to write a song with a winding riff and complex rhythm changes that people could not "groove" or dance to.

In an interview, he explained the difficulties experienced by the band in writing the song:

I wanted to try an electric blues with a rolling bass part. But it couldn't be too simple. I wanted it to turn back on itself. I showed it to the guys, and we fell into it. We struggled with the turn-around, until [John] Bonham figured out that you just four-time as if there's no turn-around. That was the secret.[6]

Musical structure

Built around a call-and-response dynamic between the vocalist and band, ""Black Dog"'s start and stop a cappella verses were inspired by Fleetwood Mac's 1969 song "Oh Well."[10] (Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes performed "Oh Well" on their 1999 tour, and included it on the album Live at the Greek.)[12]

Although it has an apparently simple drum pattern, the song's complex, shifting time signature was intended to thwart cover bands from playing the song.[citation needed] Jones originally wanted the song recorded in 6/8 time but realised it was too complex to reproduce live.[13] In live performances, John Bonham eliminated the 5/4 variation so that Plant could perform his a cappella vocal interludes and then have the instruments return together synchronised.[14] If the volume is turned up loud enough, Bonham can be heard tapping his sticks together before each riff. Page explained this in an interview with Guitar World magazine in 1993:

He did that to keep time and to signal the band. We tried to eliminate most of them, but muting was much more difficult in those days than it is now.[15]

Page also discussed how he achieved his guitar sound on the track:

We put my Les Paul through a direct box, and from there into a mic channel. We used the mic amp of the mixing board to get distortion. Then we ran it through two Urei 1176 Universal compressors in series. Then each line was triple-tracked. Curiously, I was listening to that track when we were reviewing the tapes and the guitars almost sound like an analog synthesizer.[15]

Page's solo was constructed out of four overdubbed Gibson Les Paul fills.[10] The sounds at the beginning of the song are those of 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.

Live performances

"Black Dog" became a staple and fan favourite of Led Zeppelin's live concert performances. It was first played live at Belfast's Ulster Hall on 5 March 1971, a concert which also featured the first ever live performance of "Stairway to Heaven".[10] It was retained for each subsequent concert tour until 1973. In 1975 it was used as an encore medley with "Whole Lotta Love", but was hardly used on the band's 1977 concert tour of the United States. It was recalled to the set for the Knebworth Festival 1979 and the 1980 Tour of Europe. For these final 1980 performances, Page introduced the song from stage.[10]

When played live, Led Zeppelin often played the first few bars of "Out on the Tiles" as the introduction for "Black Dog", except for the 1973 tour where the riff from "Bring It On Home" introduced the song. Also, the "ah-ah" refrains were sung in call-and-response between Plant and the audience.

Page's guitar playing prowess is well demonstrated in different recorded performances of the song from Madison Square Garden in July 1973, as seen in the group's concert films The Song Remains the Same and Led Zeppelin DVD. The Song Remains the Same version had roughly two minutes cut from the song (from 5:48 to 3:54), going from the first "ah-ah" refrain to the guitar lead, cutting out the third and fourth verse and the second "ah-ah". This short version is also on the 2007 re-release of the soundtrack, but the 2003 Led Zeppelin DVD has the full version.

There is also a June 1972 live recording which can be heard on the album How the West Was Won, and another live version on disc two of Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions.

"Black Dog" was performed at the Led Zeppelin's reunion show at the O2 Arena, London on 10 December 2007. A cover version of the song with video was released in 1988 by Newcity Rockers on Critique/Atlantic Records in the US and Mercury Records in Europe. This is the only cover version to achieve US Billboard Hot 100 status peaking at number 65. The song was put into immediate rotation on MTV. In an interview with MTV, Plant stated that he was dropping the song from his current live tour. The song is played a whole step down.

Plant sampled the song on his solo tracks "Tall Cool One" and "Your Ma Said She Cried in Her Sleep Last Night". Page and Plant performed an updated version of this song on their 1995 tour. "Black Dog" was the first song performed by Page and Plant at the American Music Awards, which kicked off their first tour together in almost fifteen years. Plant also played a version of the song during his solo tour in 2005, as is included on the DVD release Soundstage: Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation. Former Deep Purple-singer David Coverdale's band Whitesnake released the song "Still of the Night" in 1987 which has often been cited similar to "Black Dog"; later, when Coverdale toured with Page in 1993, they played both songs together. Plant and Alison Krauss regularly covered "Black Dog" during their tour of US and Europe in April and May 2008.[16] It also features on their appearance on the Country Music Television show CMT Crossroads, recorded in October 2007.[17] Plant recently performed Black Dog at the Sunflower River Blues Festival in Clarksdale, MS.

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Classic Rock United States "The Top Fifty Classic Rock Songs of All Time"[18] 1995 18
The Guitar United States "Riff of the Millennium"[19] 1999 7
Q United Kingdom "1010 Songs You Must Own!"[20] 2004 *
Rolling Stone United States "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[3] 2004 294
Blender United States "The Greatest Songs Ever!"[21] 2005 *
Bruce Pollock United States "The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000"[22] 2005 *
Q United Kingdom "The 20 Greatest Guitar Tracks"[23] 2007 1
Rolling Stone United States "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[4] 2010 300

(*) designates unordered lists.

Formats and tracklistings

1971 7" single (US/Australia: Atlantic 45–2849, Angola/South Africa: Atlantic ATS 568, Argentina: Atlantic 2091175, Austria/Germany: Atlantic ATL 10103, Brazil: Atco 2091175, Canada: Atlantic AT 2849, Cape Verde: Atlantic ATL N 28–118, Ecuador: Atlantic 45-73502, France: Atlantic 10 103, Greece: Atlantic 2091 175, Holland: Atlantic ATL 2091 175, Italy: Atlantic K 10103, Japan: Warner Pioneer P–1101A, Mexico: Atlantic 2207–024, New Zealand: Atlantic ATL 88, Philippines: Atlantic ATR 0033, Portugal: Atlantic N 28118, Singapore: Stereophonic 10103, Spain: Atlantic HS 775, Sweden: Atlantic ATL 10.103, Turkey: Atlantic 72 500)

  • A. "Black Dog" (John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant) — 4:56
  • B. "Misty Mountain Hop" (Jones, Page, Plant) — 4:38

1971 7" radio edit (Japan: Warner Pioneer P–1001A)

  • A. "Black Dog" (Stereo) (Jones, Page, Plant) — 4:56
  • B. "Black Dog" (Mono) (Jones, Page, Plant) — 4:56

1973 7" single (Venezuela: Atlantic 5–011)

  • A. "Black Dog" (Jones, Page, Plant) — 4:56
  • B. "Rock and Roll" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) — 3:40

Chart positions

Personnel

Cover versions

Main article: List of cover versions of Led Zeppelin songs

References

  1. ^
    • Fast, Susan (2001). In the Houses of the Holy : Led Zeppelin and the Power of Rock Music. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1951-1756-1. "Black Dog" (...) represents a defining moment in the genre of hard rock
    • Floman, Scott. "Led Zeppelin". Retrieved 2 July 2013. "Black Dog" is best known for Plant's horny a capella vocals (inspired by Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well") that lead into memorable riff-based hard rock
    • "Led Zeppelin Biography". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved 2 February 2014. "Black Dog" was a piledriving hard-rock number cut from the same cloth as "Whole Lotta Love."
    • Huey, Steve. "Black Dog – Song Review". Allmusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2 July 2013. "Black Dog" [is] a convincing demonstration of why Led Zeppelin was arguably the greatest hard rock band of all time.
    • Schuman, Michael A. (2009). Led Zeppelin: Legendary Rock Band. Enslow Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7660-3026-8. The fourth album also has its share of hard rock tracks. Three that received a lot of radio airplay are "Black Dog," "Misty Mountain Hop," and the appropriately named "Rock and Roll."
  2. ^ Bream, Jon (2010). Voyageur Press (ed.). Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin: The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of All Time. ISBN 978-07-6033-955-8. [Led Zeppelin IV] balances the blues-rock grind of "Black Dog" against the sun-dappled utopianism of "Going To California"
  3. ^ a b "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (1–500)". Rolling Stone. RealNetworks. Archived from the original on 20 August 2006. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  4. ^ a b "500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Led Zeppelin, 'Black Dog'". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  5. ^ Weinstein, Deena (1991). "Listener's Guide to Heavy Metal". Heavy Metal: A Cultural Sociology. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 278. ISBN 0-669-21837-5.
  6. ^ a b Liner notes by Cameron Crowe for The Complete Studio Recordings
  7. ^ "Triple J Music Specials – Led Zeppelin". Triple J. ABC Online. 7 December 2000 (first broadcast 12 July 2000). Retrieved 2 February 2014. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Over the Hills and Far Away", Burn Like a Candle (CD), Smoking Pig, 25 June 1972, event occurs at 5:26
  9. ^ "Led Zeppelin Database – An online guide to bootleg recordings". Argenteumastrum.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  10. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Dave (1994). The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.
  11. ^ Schulps, Dave (October 1977). "Interview with Jimmy Page". Trouser Press. Iem.ac.ru. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  12. ^ "Black Dog by Led Zeppelin". Songfacts. ToneMedia. Retrieved 20 April 2007.
  13. ^ Lewis, Dave (1991). "The Making of Led Zep IV". Led Zeppelin: A Celebration II. Omnibus Press. p. 22. ISBN 1-84449-056-4.
  14. ^ Gracyk, Theodore (2007). Listening to Popular Music, Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Led Zeppelin. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. p. 166. ISBN 0-472-06983-7.
  15. ^ a b Schulps, Dave (1993). "Interview with Jimmy Page". Guitar World. Iem.ac.ru. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  16. ^ McComb, Richard (6 May 2008). "Robert Plant and Alison Krauss at the Birmingham NIA". The Birmingham Post. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  17. ^ "CMT Crossroads " Ep. 29". CMT. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  18. ^ "The Top Fifty Classic Rock Songs Of All Time – 1995". Classic Rock. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  19. ^ "Riff of the Millennium – December 1999". The Guitar. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  20. ^ "1010 Songs You Must Own! – Celebrity Choices – September 2004". Q. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  21. ^ "Standout Tracks from the 500 CDs You Must Own – January 2005". Blender. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  22. ^ "Led Zeppelin – Black Dog". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  23. ^ "Q: The 20 Greatest Guitar Tracks – September 2007". Q. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  24. ^ "Go-Set Australian charts – 1 April 1972". Poparchives.com.au. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  25. ^ BeansterBarnes. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  26. ^ Template:Nl "Black Dog – LED ZEPPELIN". VRT. Top30-2.radio2.be. Retrieved 2 February 2014. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 29
  27. ^ "CHART NUMBER 786 – Saturday, February 12, 1972". CHUM. Archived from the original on 11 February 2006. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  28. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7509." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  29. ^ Template:Fr "InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste". Dominic DURAND / InfoDisc. InfoDisc.fr. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013. Select "Led Zeppelin" from the artist drop-down menu
  30. ^ Template:Ja "Top 100 Singles – 1 January 1972". Oricon. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  31. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Led Zeppelin - Black Dog" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  32. ^ "Led Zeppelin – Black Dog" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  33. ^ Scapolo, Dean (2007). "Top 50 Singles – April 1972". The Complete New Zealand Music Charts (1st ed.). Wellington: Transpress. ISBN 978-1-877443-00-8.
  34. ^ "Led Zeppelin – Black Dog". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  35. ^ "Led Zeppelin IV – Awards". Allmusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  36. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending FEBRUARY 19, 1972". Cash Box magazine. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  37. ^ "RECORD WORLD 1972". Geocities.com. Record World. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  38. ^ "Hot Digital Singles – 1 December 2007". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 17 January 2009. [dead link‍]
  39. ^ "Led Zeppelin Songs – Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Musicvf.com. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
  40. ^ "December 1, 2007 – Rdio". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
Bibliography
  • Lewis, Dave (2004) The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
  • Welch, Chris (1998) Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, ISBN 1-56025-818-7

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