Since I've Been Loving You by Led Zeppelin

Album: Led Zeppelin III (1970)

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Songfacts®:

A seven-and-a-half minute blues number with some electric piano played by Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones, this was a live favorite for the band. They started working on the song during the sessions for Led Zeppelin II, but was bumped for "Whole Lotta Love." By the time they recorded it for Led Zeppelin III, they had worked out the song in live performances, but according to Jimmy Page, it was still the hardest track to record for the album. The guitarist says they were getting very self-critical around this time.
Before this song was committed to tape, Led Zeppelin performed it at their famous January 9, 1970 concert at Royal Albert Hall in London. The show was filmed and recorded, but the keyboards didn't make it into the mix on this track, so the song was not included on the 2003 DVD Led Zeppelin, which featured footage from the show.
This is a very difficult song to sing, and it showed off Robert Plant's vocal range quite well. He said in a 2003 interview with Mojo: "The musical progression at the end of each verse - the chord choice - is not a natural place to go. And it's that lift up there that's so regal and so emotional. I don't know whether that was born from the loins of JP or JPJ, but I know that when we reached that point in the song you could get a lump in the throat from being in the middle of it."
This was recorded live in the studio with very little overdubbing. If you listen carefully, you can hear the squeak of John Bonham's drum pedal.
Jimmy Page did his guitar solo in one take. Engineer Terry Manning called it "The best rock guitar solo of all time."
Plant used a sample from this on his solo track "White, Clean, and Neat."
Just before their Physical Grafitti tour, Jimmy Page broke the tip of his left ring finger in a door-slamming incident. They went on with the tour but they had to drop this and "Dazed And Confused" from the set lists as he couldn't play them until his finger healed. >>>
Suggestion credit:
julian - Boston, MA
The riff in the beginning is taken from "New York City Blues" by The Yardbirds - Jimmy Page was not a member of that band yet when the group wrote that song.
The track was recorded live (except for the vocals part and a few overdubs) at Island Studios in London. This features John Paul Jones on both bass pedal and organ. Interestingly, Jimmy Page's famous solo was recorded in a studio in Memphis, whereas the whole album was recorded in Headley Grange and in Island Studios. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Bertrand - Paris, France, for above 2

Comments: 84

Bryan from Dallas TxThis has to be my favorite Led Zeppelin tune. Robert Plant's vocals at times sound like a male Janice Joplin. Then you have John Bonham's drums which are a Led Zeppelin signature that really drives it. Then Jimmy Page with his driving guitar solos. I especially like how during the quieter sections you can hear the guitar amp buzzing. You know then something good is about to happen!!
Jules Rose from UsaEpic performance by Plant & Page, JPJ & JB. What makes Led Zep so easy to love is a Blues song like this. Robert & Jimmy are so in synch, the passion in their music comes from their heart & a whole lotta soul! I was already seeing Blues bands live, but all were missing what Zep had. And this was only the start of what became, the Greatest Rock Band of all time. So thankful I saw them play live.
Rick from Albany NyThis is my favorite Led Zep song. Their debut S/T album is my favorite, and I’ve always felt that this song was out of place on LZ III, that it belonged on the first album with their other blues tracks. LZ I is in my Top 3, along with The Doors (also a S/T debut album) and Rubber Soul (US version). As amazing as LZ I is, the addition of Since I’ve Been Loving You would have put it in a class of its own.
Pjyenn from Indonesia, IndonesiaPage's guitar riff in every inch of the song is haunting really!
Thomas from Roswell, NmOne of Page's best solos. I think the Bonham's drumming is the thing that makes this song one of Zeppelin's better songs. Plant's vocals are wonderful too.
Geoff from London, United KingdomActually no. The Moby Grape song "Never" came out in 1968. Moby Grape nicked their song introduction from a 1966 Yardbirds track called "New York City Blues". The Yardbirds predated Moby Grape by two years. The Moby Grape song is not the original.
Ace from Otaki, New ZealandJust before their Physical Grafitti tour, Jimmy Page broke the tip of his left ring finger in a door-slamming incident. They went on with the tour but they had to drop this and "Dazed And Confused" from the set lists as he couldn't play them until his finger healed. This comment doesn't really make sense - if he couldn't play those songs then he couldn't play any other song, so I don't believe this is true.
Ernest from Corpus Christi, TxThe best song from Led Zeppelin, the best guitar solo and best vocals. I will never get tired of hearing this song.
Tammi from Dumont, NjDefinitely one of my favorite songs. Makes me sad that I can never see LZ together again.
Jonesy from Los Angeles, CaI'm not much of a Led Zeppelin fan but this one actually is quite good. I have to admit that I do think that Jimmy Page is a darn good guitarist. (:
Shahrul from Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThis song has been playing inside me forever. It flows in your blood and makes you want to hear it over and over. I am glad that I grew up in the late 60's and early 70's and have the luck to live through the best musical times when bands like Led Zep, Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath ruled the world. Rare that you hear the guitar actually speaks through the song, such as in this one. If there's one song that I'd like to hear before I live this earth, it would be this song.
Chris from Tulsa, OkFor my money, Page is the best all around guitarist there is or ever was... period. He could handle any kind of musical style and make it sound good. Some people might find their niche in this or that style and maybe get a reputation as a virtuoso - but Jimmy could do them all with force and style.
Spags from Saddle Brook, Njmy first threesome was with my girlfriend and this song..... sadly.
Tony from Chicago, IlYou know what explains it all? In the movie when the Indian lady in full dress is smiling and laughing in awe to the incredibleness{New word} of this song during the middle of it!
David from Los Angeles , CaThe performance they did at TSRTS or Madison Square Garden is epic, one of the best performances by Zep.
Craig Dubecki from Kitchener, OnLisa...you said it right...cross between chills and crying, no matter how many times you listen to this!
Craig Dubecki from Kitchener, OnThis is the most under-rated and under-played song of all time. It's a giant that has amazing raw passion to it. Turn the lights off and make sure the room is pitch black and turn the volume up and you'll know what I mean!
Eric from Slo County, CaIs it just me or does this song also get some people "in the mood". The darkest, bluesy song that could ever come from any white boy blues singers. Of course, other than Clapton and Beck.
Tyler from Apple Valley,Hey Rahul, this song does anything but get me relaxed. It makes me feel great though.
Rahul from Chennai, Indiabreathtaking guitar solo..... friggin amazing song...... full of soul...... though kinda different for a bluesy number it still works for me.... gets me relaxed.....
Brad from Lexington, KyUmm...this song isn't soft at all. In fact it's probably one of the heaviest songs on III. This song, along with "Immigrant Song", "Celebration Day", and "Out on the Tiles" are the only electric songs on the album. The rest are mostly acoustic.
Yaniv from Ta, IsraelThis is my favourite song ever. just amazing

btw album is much better then BBC
Garrett from Pittsburgh, PaYes, Bonzo's pedal is known well for squaeking in this song especially. If you are looking for "secret sounds" per say, check out The Ocean for a ringing phone and a very subdle sqeak in his bass pedal.
Rachita from Delhi, Indiai agree with lisa..Page deserves so much more respect than he gets..
Led Zeppelin is the greatest band there ever will be..
Lisa from Blountville , TnThe BBC Session version is far superior to the studio,of course what Zeppelin did a bad day 85% of most bands wish they could do everyday the opening guitar solo foem Pagey is so amazing I have a cross between chills down my spine and tears in my eyes.Page never got the credit he deserves for being the gifted musican he is and how Plant hit that note towards the end,hats off to ya for that one.
Sam from Concord, OhWhoever doesn't feel something during this song...well, they probably have no soul, really.

On a side note, I love the little things on LZ's albums that many people never notice - the squeak of the drum's bass pedal, for instance :D
Oldpink from New Castle, InBack when I was in the Navy, a good friend highly recommended Zeppelin III, largely on the strength of this song, as the next addition to my then small selection of Zep's studio albums.
He knew I was (and am) a huge fan of the bluesier styles of music.
Boy, was he right!
Killer intro, standard old style blues lyrics, and one fantastic solo from Page.
Oh, and JPJ's keyboards are perfect.
Sarah from Melbourne, Australiai listen to this song all the time!! don't diss the squeeky pedal it's on of the things i love about letting out the led you know what your getting and it's always real it's part of the song it woul'nt be as good without. of all the led zep albums this one (led zeppelin 3) and in through the out door are my faveroit.
Mike from Tampa, Flat the 1973 live version at madison square garden, Page plays a crazy intro to this song, the only way I can describe it is it's almost like blues shredding
Peter Griffin from Quahog, RiI think this song replaced "You Shook Me" in Zeppelin's live catalog, because once they introduced this song live (which was considerably before III was released), they never played "You Shook Me" again.
Chinegra from Grand Rapids, MiI love plants voice at 3:16,so dope
Jim from Edmonds Wa, WaThis song shows why Jimmy Page needed to control everything in the studio.
Alina from Karlstad, SwedenThis song lead me into the world of zep. it's absolutely gorgeous, can't get enough of it!
Longlivezep from Baltimore, MdI have a live version of this on my iPod. Amazing. This song is one of my favorites.
Joe from Dublinthis is my favourite song to drum to. my mates don't understand why, but they would if they played the drums
Joe from Dublin"Music is like candy...you throw away the rappers." hahahaha love it, erin
Peter Griffin from Quahog, RiThe later Zeppelin song Tea For One sounds very similar to this one.
Hendrixlover from Does It Matter?, Cai dont think that led zep ruled the blues but they were hella good at it. no doubt one of the best rock bands ever.
Justin from Georgetown, Injust relistening to this song.. the squeaking is almsot acceptable.. everyone knew.. zeppelin left a lot of flaws in their song. if you listen to this song at like 1.15 it sounds like bonham is saying nine".. it sounds really drawn out but you can hear it clearly
Jacob from Fresno, CaHow could anybody say that Zeppelin was trying too hard in their later albums?... not that it's relevant to this song... but honestly... Physical Graffiti is probably one of the best albums of all time- far better than LZIV-

this song, however, is quite amazing and as far as blues rock goes there isn't much that can touch it.
Matt from Raleigh, NcSo dynamic!!! It hushes then wails and everything in between, by all members. Emotionally, the best Zep song ever. Give them their bluesy roots and they'll make you bow to them.
Echo from Normalville, Maled zep ruled the blues as they did rock
Guy from Benson, NcThis is Zep's best song EVER. The chord changes they use are incredible(The song is a blues in a minor key). I really think Zep 3 is their best album.
Erin from Edm, United StatesLed Zeppelin runs in my family. Classic rock is the best kind of music you'll ever hear. Music is like candy...you throw away the rappers.
Matt from Sydney, AustraliaHey yeah one of my favourite Led Zeppelin tracks. "open my front door hear my backdoor slam" Yeah so a lot of Zeppelin comes from old blues. so what? It's been twisted seven ways from sunday. If there's anyone who can make a guitar sound like an orgasm it's Jimmy. Transcends all genre.
Derek from Sarnia, CanadaIf this song was on Led Zeppelin II instead of 'Whole Lotta Love' I think that would have been the best Zep album of them all...it might be the best anyway...the solo in this song is phenomenal and Plant is at his best...pure magic
Michael from Charlestown, RiFreaking awesome song by the greatest band ever. One of their most awesome and powerful songs, along with
Achilles Last Stand.
Jamal from Delhi, IndiaOne of my favourite songs, its intensity is breathtaking. It is remarkable similar to 'Double Trouble', by Otis Rush, and is probably heavily "inspired" by it . While many people hold that sort of thing against the band, listening to these two songs for me just highlights the brilliance of Led Zeppelin: Double Trouble is not bad, but not a song I would give a second listen to, whereas Since I've Been Loving You is something else altogether. In that sense you could say that Led Zeppelin achieved what the alchemists of old sought to do... they succeeded in turning lead into gold.
Dhani from Casselberry, FlOne of my favorites, just makes me kinda depressed...
Rob from Vancouver, CanadaStairway is no where near the top of my fave-zep
list....this is though
Bill from Lakewood, Cai can listen to this song over and over, the solo is in my opinion the best ever
Stefanie from Rock Hill, ScThe squeaky peddle starts pretty much when the drums bgin in the song.
Jo-c from Lima, PeruThis song doesn't sound at all like November Rain. Great solo, live is even better.
Jordan from Shokan, Nycan anyone let me know if one of jimmys riffs in the song sounds kinda like the end riff for guns n' roses november rain?
Matthew from Sarasota, FlGreat cover song to do , powerfull and it realy works guitar skills.
Ryan from Havasu, Azi hear the squeaky bass drum pedal. my life is over. once you hear it, you can't undo it, and you hear it all the time. makes me sad.
Jeanette from Irvine, Caum...led zeppelin didn't even like stairway so why would they try to make another one in later albums?
Phil from Swansea, WalesMy favourite song ever! I saw Deborah Bonham (Bonzo's sister) sing an awsome rendition of this in a tent in my hometown accompanied by Uli Jon Roth, Don Airey amongst others! A real gut-wrencher
Matt from St Louis, MoZeppelin is great.
But remember who really wrote a lot of their songs. Leadbelly, Willy Dixon, Robert Johnson, and many more. Listen to some of these great Delta Bluesmen.
Nick from Richmond Hill, CanadaThis song makes me cry, air guitar, and shiver EVERY time I've ever listened to it. Like was said beforÃ«, they don't make songs liek this anymore.
Pooter from Sumner, WaThis is a BEAUTIFUL song man, I cant get enough of it
Nick from Richmond Hill, CanadaEveryone criticizes Zeppelin for trying too hard in their later albums to make another stairway. Whether they did it or not isn't up to me alone to decide, but they sure had some equals in the earlier albums, this particularly.
Kona from Colorado Springs, CoOne of my favorite Zeppelin tunes of all time! The original from Zepp III and the live version from Plant and Page's No Quarter has so much raw emotion that to this day this song makes me shiver. They don't make them like that used too.
Bryan from Brunswick, GaThis has always been my Fave Zep tune. You get the raw sexuality of both Page and Plant and the The true Hammer of the Gods from all of them on this. A true musical Triumph. For me, This song along with Tea For One and Ten Years Gone are the Epitome of Rock from the greatest band of All time. Rock On and Rock Hard.
Jordyn from West Richland, WaI love this song so much. It doesn't matter if I listen to it once or a hundred times, it gives me goosebumps every single time. Its like you can FEEl the very meaning of the song through the amazing guitar work by Mr. Page. The version on the 2 disk DVD set is simply amazing. One of the top 5 zep songs for me for sure.
Morgan from Newcastle, Englandhard to believe the solo was done in one take. you don't get that anymore. people play tiny segments and tape it together. no-one has the skill of Page and in fact the whole of zeppelin now
Lane from Billings, MtI hate to be like everyone else but this song is absolutely perfect. It brings the mighty Stairway to its knees.
Princess J from Toronto, CanadaThe epitome of fusing blues with rock. No one since has even come close to matching this.
Page started the band with the thought of using concepts he had devloped during his stay with the yardbirds.
The opening seqience is so strong, the lonesome wail of the guitar with the drum coming in off tempo creates immediate tension. The emotion of the music and Plants voice bring more to the table in terms of pain and desire than any blues song I've ever heard.
John from Barnsley, EnglandAn astonishing 'tour de force' and definately my favourite all time track. The opening few notes are identical to the Yardbirds 'New York City Blues'. Anyone know if this was deliberate?
Colin K from Sndy Creek, Ohthis song is the one you'll hear when your walking into the light...just thank god he shared it with us
Ryan from Los Angeles, Cawhat is this song about? i think its about robert plant divorcing his wife.
Si from Birmingham, CanadaThis is my all time air guitar track.
What an incredible solo from Pagey. Arpeggios and runs that seem to use all of the fretboard at once
and double bending that would snap other guitarists fingers. Not forgetting Roberts astonishing wailing which blasts the emotion of the lyrics right into yer dizzybits. All this on top of Bonzo & JPJs amazing rhythm track. Some sly and subtle Hammond playing (fab bass pedal work too) and of course squeaky bass drum pedal. Powerful, moving, evocative. One of Led Zeppelins finest musical statements.
Matthew from Boca Raton, Flthis is by far the greatest blues/rock n roll song ever written
Tara from Boston, MaI can't get enough of this song. the squeaky chair thing is hilarious
Matt from Toronto, CanadaAfter having listened to this song at least once a day for probably the past year I always thought the squeaking was my chair. haha
Helene from Orlando, FlWow it's great to have found this site and be able to just shout about incredible songs like this one. Since I've Been Loving You and The Rain Song are, in my opinion, two of the most moving, multi-faceted pieces out of the Zeppelin catalog.
Sal from Ny, Nythis song is so incredibly moving, and zeppelin is one of the few bands that actually has the capability to literaly move people with only music, this could do it with giberish for lyrics! and that guitar solo.... oh...
Janelle from New York City, Nyso great ! robert did a great performance of this on the Song remaining the same movie that they released a while back. excellent!
Jango from Chennai, IndiaAblolutely brilliant......got so much emotion i start crying every time i hear this.
Don from Philadelphia, PaTotally great guitar and drum work. Great blues song and it also has a great sexual feeling to it. I love this song.
Harry from Seaville, NjThis song is one of led zeppelin's best. Great guitar work and drum work.
Sam from Nanaimo, CanadaI agree with Kevin, tons of emotion captured in this track. Solo is not that complicated but fits the song perfectly and is easily one of my top three of Jimmy's solos. Love when the solo breaks in and Plant I believe says "watch out".. Definately one of the best Zeppelin moments.
Adrian from Wilmington, DeThe best blues song Zep ever did and quite possibly their best song overall. Plant howls like Janis Joplin and Page's solo is definitely one of the best in rock history. He must have been feeling particularly good that day.
Kevin from Gulf, MsSo much emotion, such great instumental work- easily one of my favorite zep tunes

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