Whole Lotta Love

Album: Led Zeppelin II (1969)
Charted: 21 4
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Songfacts®:

  • This blistering track from Led Zeppelin's second album contains some of Robert Plant's most lascivious lyrics, culled from the blues. It's not poetry, but he gets his point across quite effectively, letting the girl know that he's yearning, and ready to give her all of his love - every inch.
  • Plant's lyrics are based on a 1962 Muddy Waters song written by Willie Dixon called "You Need Love," where Waters sings:

    I ain't foolin', you need schoolin'
    Baby, you know you need coolin'
    Woman, way down inside


    The band reached an agreement with Dixon, who used the settlement money to set up a program providing instruments for schools.

    The 1966 Small Faces song "You Need Loving" also coped from Dixon's song, and those lyrics are more similar to what Plant used. In that one, Steve Marriott sings:

    I ain't foolin', woman you need coolin'
    I'm gonna send you, right back to schoolin'
    Way down inside your heart, woman
    You need lovin'
  • The massive drum sound was the foundation of this track, so Jimmy Page recorded it in the big room at Olympic Studios in London, which had 28-foot ceilings. One of the engineers, George Chkiantz, got the sound by putting the drums on a platform and setting up microphones in unusual places: a stereo boom eight feet above the kit, two distant side microphones, and a AKG D30 placed two feet from the bass drum. "For the song to work as this panoramic audio experience, I needed Bonzo to really stand out, so that every stick stroke sounded clear and you could really feel them," Page said in the Wall Street Journal. "If the drums were recorded just right, we could lay in everything else."
  • Jimmy Page served as Led Zeppelin's producer, and on this song, he let loose in the studio, using all kinds of innovative techniques, particularly in the freeform section about 1:20 in, which was the result of him and engineer Eddie Kramer "twiddling every knob known to man." This part is often referred to as "the freakout."
  • One of the more intriguing sections of this song comes at the 4-minute mark, where the distant voice of Robert Plant sings each line ("Way down inside... woman... you need... love") before his full-throated vocal comes in. This is known as "backward echo," and one of the first uses of the technique, but it happened by accident: A different take of Plant's vocal bled over to his master vocal track, so when Page and engineer Eddie Kramer mixed the song, they couldn't get rid of it. They did what most creative professionals do with a mistake: they accentuated it to make it sound intentional, adding reverb to it so Plant sounded like he was foreshadowing his lines from afar.
  • Led Zeppelin didn't release singles in the UK, where it was considered gauche, and in America, they didn't issue any from their first album. "Whole Lotta Love" was the first song they allowed as a US single, and it became their biggest hit, going to #4 (their only Top 10 entry) despite a 5:33 running time. Many of Zeppelin's most popular songs, including "Stairway To Heaven," were not released as singles.
  • Led Zeppelin used this as the basis for a medley they performed in their later shows. They had lots of songs by then, so they used the medley to play snippets of their popular songs they did not want to play all the way through. They incorporated various blues songs in these medleys as well, notably "Boogie Chillen" by John Lee Hooker, which was often followed by what they called "Boogie Woogie, by Unknown," and "Let's Have A Party" by Wanda Jackson. They would put this in when Robert Plant would yell, "Way Down INSIDE." >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Thomas - Toronto, Canada
  • When this song became a hit in America, the UK division of the band's label, Atlantic Records, pressed copies of a shortened version of the song to release there, but Jimmy Page quashed that idea when he heard the 3:12 truncated edit ("I played it once, hated it and never listened to the short version again," he told the Wall Street Journal). The band issued a press release stating: "Led Zeppelin have no intention of issuing 'Whole Lotta Love' as a single as they feel it was written as part of their concept of the album." The American single is the same version as found on the album.
  • This was recorded on an 8-track tape machine at Olympic Studios, London in April 1968, but Jimmy Page waited to mix it until the band came to New York on tour in August because he wanted Eddie Kramer, who had relocated there, to work on it. To the delight of deconstructionists, Page later released the eight split tracks of Whole Lotta Love, along with the mixdowns, on the Studio Magik - Sessions 1968-1980 CD compilation. These stems reveal an entire middle vocal section that's totally different and the "da da" vocal about two beats behind what was released. In the drum tracks, during the rolls, you can hear John Bonham groaning. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Wayne Mitzen, an engineer who spent lots of time working on tape machines of the era.
  • The line, "Shake for me girl, I wanna be your back door man" is a reference to the "back door man" of blues cliché (popularized in a Willie Dixon song). This guy enters and leaves through the back door to avoid detection, as the lady is using him to cheat on her boyfriend or husband. This adds an illicit edge to the storyline.
  • In the freakout section of this song, Jimmy Page played a theremin, a bizarre electronic instrument he liked to experiment with consisting of a black box and antennae, famously heard on the 1966 Beach Boys song "Good Vibrations." The sound is altered by moving one's hand closer to or farther from the antennae and was used to create the fuzz that alternates back and forth through the speakers. It can be heard to great effect on their Royal Albert Hall footage. Page decided to try theremin after hearing the group Spirit use one.

    After Page started fooling around with the theremin in the studio, it was open season for experimentation on the track; he started messing around with his guitar by detuning it and pulling on the strings, and Plant did his part by going to the extreme high of his vocal range. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Collin - Midland, TX
  • Page, Plant, and John Paul Jones played this at the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary concert in 1988 with Jason Bonham sitting in on drums for his late father. Jason joined the band again in 2007 at a benefit concert for the Ahmet Ertegun education fund, where they played this as the first encore.
  • In 1997, this became the only single Led Zeppelin released in the UK when a 4:50 edit was issued to celebrate the band's 30th anniversary. The singles chart was dominated by acts like the Spice Girls and Puff Daddy, and this release got little attention, reaching just #21.
  • Guitar World noted Page's use of the wah-wah pedal during his famous solo, securing its place at #17 on the magazine's 2015 list of greatest wah solos of all time. Jack White has cited it as the greatest guitar solo ever recorded.
  • Jimmy Page played the loose blues riff for the intro on a Sunburst 1958 Les Paul Standard through a 100W Marshall "Plexi" head amp with distortion from the EL34 output valves.
  • Alexis Korner hit #13 UK and #58 US with his mostly instrumental cover of this song in 1970 with his studio group CCS. King Curtis also did an instrumental version that went to #64 US that year. A vocal cover by The Wonder Band reached #87 US in 1987. Tina Turner recorded it for her 1975 album Acid Queen, and the London Symphony Orchestra also covered it. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France
  • The remaining members of Led Zeppelin played this at their Live Aid reunion in 1985. Along with Tony Thompson, Phil Collins sat in on drums. Collins was the biggest presence at Live Aid. He played a set in London, flew to Philadelphia, played another set, then stayed on when Zeppelin took the stage. Jimmy Page was not happy - he thought Collins butchered it.
  • This song was performed by Leona Lewis and Jimmy Page at the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics during the hand over to the host of the 2012 games, London. Prior to the performance there was some concern about the track's somewhat family unfriendly lyrical content, but Lewis tactfully changed the words from "every inch of my love" to "every bit of my love."

    They appeared alongside English soccer star David Beckham as symbols of British entertainment, both old and new. The performance took place in a magnificent, elaborate setting: Beijing's "Bird's Nest" Olympic Stadium. Lewis and Page appeared out of what had been a London double-decker bus, later transformed into a garden of green hedges. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Arthur - North East, Poland
  • John Paul Jones told Uncut magazine January 2009 that Page began to come into his own as a producer around the time of this song. Said Jones: "The backwards echo stuff. A lot of the microphone techniques were just inspired. Using distance-miking… and small amplifiers. Everybody thinks we go in the studio with huge walls of amplifiers, but he doesn't. He uses a really small amplifier and he just mikes it up really well, so that it fits into a sonic picture."
  • On May 5, 2009, this became the first Led Zeppelin song performed on American Idol when Adam Lambert sang it during Rock Week, with Slash as the guest mentor. The judges loved Lambert's version and he advanced to the next round.
  • In 2010, Mary J. Blige covered "Whole Lotta Love" and "Stairway To Heaven," which were released as downloads and appeared on the UK version of her Stronger With Each Tear album. Musicians contributing to these tracks include Steve Vai, Orianthi, blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Randy Jackson of American Idol fame, who played bass. "Whole Lotta Love" was produced by RedOne and Ron Fair, who is Chairman of Geffen Records. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France
  • The song's guitar riff was voted the greatest of all time by listeners of BBC Radio 2 in a 2014 poll. "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses came second in the listing and "Back In Black" by AC/DC third.

    Seven years later readers of Total Guitar and Guitar World magazines also chose Jimmy Page's riff from this song as their #1 riff of all time. "In 1969, the year Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, Jimmy Page launched his own giant leap for mankind," Total Guitar wrote in its July 2021 issue. "'Whole Lotta Love''s guitar figure took just 2.7 seconds to play, but it immediately projected music into another decade. While everyone else was still playing the '60s, Zeppelin were now playing the '70s. It wasn't the first great riff, but it is the defining one. It's why riffs became central to guitar music, the reason bands search for the guitar hook that can propel a whole song — or even a whole career."

    The Total Guitar and Guitar World readers placed Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" in second place, and AC/DC's "Back In Black" again in third.
  • The songwriting credits on this track have been convoluted over the years. The four band members were listed as the writers on the original recording, and later, Willie Dixon was added as part of his settlement. But the ASCAP record shows this, which is often reprinted:

    John Bonham
    John Paul Jones
    Pete Moore
    Jimmy Page
    Sharon Plant

    The best we can tell, these credits come from a 1996 cover of the song by the British group Goldbug, which sampled Pete Moore's song "Asteroid." "Sharon Plant" is apparently a mistake (should be "Robert Plant"). This version of the song was a hit in the UK, reaching #3. At some point, Dixon's credit was omitted in most listings.
  • This song got a mention in the 2014 lawsuit alleging that Jimmy Page stole the intro to "Stairway To Heaven" from a song called "Taurus" by the group Spirit.

    In 1968, Spirit played some shows on the same bill with Zeppelin, and "Taurus," an instrumental written by guitarist Randy California, was in Spirit's set. California died in 1997, but his estate filed the wide-ranging lawsuit, which accused page of nicking an entire sound during this time. It states: "Jimmy Page's use of the Etherwave - Theremin, and other psychedelic-type audio effects which helped give Led Zeppelin its distinctive sound - especially prominent in 'Whole Lotta Love' - was inspired by seeing California effectively use these types of audio-enhancing effects on tour."
  • The CCS version was used as the theme song to the BBC music show Top of the Pops from 1970-1977 and again from 1998-2003. Led Zeppelin never appeared on the program, as they had no interest in lip-synching and weren't a good fit for the TOTP audience.
  • Jack Johnson performed a very laid-back version of this song when he headlined the first night of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2008.
  • Robert Plant played this on his Strange Sensations tour of the UK in 2005. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Iain - Edinburgh, Scotland
  • In Led Zeppelin: The Oral History of the World's Greatest Rock Band, Jack White, one of the most notable rock guitarists of the early 2000s, is quoted saying the guitar solo in "Whole Lotta Love" may be the greatest of all time. He's talking about the part running from 2:22 to 2:39, popularly called the "freakout."
  • Robert Plant got a lot less swarthy and much more spiritual when he became a solo artist, but there is a big exception: His 1990 song "Big Love" is filled with the same kind of audacious phallic innuendo as "Whole Lotta Love."

Comments: 157

  • Melinda from AustraliaWhole Lotta genius. When you hear this song and you can remember the generation who totally tripped out on Led Zeppelin. It makes it all the better.
    Cause they were a unique generation. Crazy, in a good way. Not confined by any boring political correctness like today.
    Led Zepplin changed the course of rock music. There was nothing like them before. Besides their outstanding music....
    the lifestyle of Led Zeppelin was beyond belief for the time. They had a private jet called The Starship, underage groupies, income in millions, sex in excess, dropping Quaaludes, allegedly dabbling in witchcraft, sky-high platform shoes and outrageous glam clothes.

    The movie Almost Famous tries to depict Led Zeppelin specifically I think. And certainly Pennie Lane the groupie did exist. But the movie I don’t think went far enough to explore Led Zeppelin’s evil glamour. And influence.

    Lori Mattix and Pamela Des Barres, former girlfriends/groupies of Jimmy Page’s claim they have nothing but good memories of him and their time with Led Zeppelin in the early 1970’s. And there’s no hint of them feeling exploited. Quite the opposite.

    I mean seriously, would any female in the 1970’s ever feel exploited if they got to sleep with the exceptionally good looking Jimmy Page?. No. Not in a million years.
    Extremely grateful more like.
    A great deal of Led Zeppelin’s songs are about women. In a positive way, that appears in their lyrics, to worship women...Robert Plant is always screaming adoration and longing.
    That’s why I believe women have always responded well to Led Zeppelin. Why else did millions of female fans chase Led Zeppelin all over the world? For the want of a whole lotta love.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 28th 1970, Led Zeppelin appeared in concert at the K.B. Hallen* in Copenhagen, Denmark...
    Due to a threaten lawsuit by the appalled family of the late Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the band was forced to perform under the name of The Nobs...
    At the time the quartet's "Whole Lotta Love" was at #37 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; a little over six weeks earlier on January 25th it had peaked at #4 {for 1 week}...
    * K.B. Hallen was destroyed in a major fire on September 28th, 2011.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 2nd 1969, Led Zeppelin played the first of four nights* at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, California...
    Exactly one year later on January 2nd, 1970 their "Whole Lotta Love" was at #6 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; the following week it began a three week stay at #5, then it moved up to #4 {for 1 week}, and that was its peak position on the Top 100...
    * The opening act for those four nights was Alice Cooper.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn August 17th 1969, Led Zeppelin appeared in concert at the Oakdale Musical Theater* in Wallingford, CT
    Three months later on November 16th, 1969 their biggest hit in the U.S., "Whole Lotta Love", would enter Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart...
    {See the next post below}...
    And one hundred forty-five miles to the west in Bethel, NY the Woodstock Music & Art Fair was in its third and final day...
    * The Oakdale Musical Theater has a capacity 5,000 patrons, there was a few more than that at Yasgur's dairy farm.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn April 26th 1969, Led Zeppelin appeared in concert at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, California...
    They performed an eleven song set and for their encore song they did, for the first time live, "Whole Lotta Love"...
    And a little less than seven months later on November 16th, 1969 "Whole Lotta Love" would enter Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at #91...
    {See next post below}.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn November 16th 1969, "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #91; and on January 25th, 1970 it peaked at #4 {for 1 week} and spent 15 weeks on the Top 100...
    The three weeks prior to peaking at #4 it was at #5 on the Top 100...
    The record's B-side, "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)", also made the Top 100, it reached #65 and stayed on the chart for 5 weeks...
    Between 1969 and 1979 the British quartet had ten Top 100 records; their next biggest hit was "Black Dog", which reached #15 in 1972, but right behind it was "Immigrant Song" at #16 in 1971.
  • Thomas from Roswell, NmAnother masterpiece by Page on the guitar. This riff kicks ass.
  • Jack from Cohasset, MaThese comparisons are silly. You always have to put music in context to really understand it. The Beatles advanced rock and roll music twice incredibly. First when they arrived in 1963/4 or so they blew everyone away. Go look up the Billboard Top 100 in those years and you can see how they blew away the top musicians of the day like Andy Williams, Peter Paul and Mary, Al Martino and Bobby Darin . It was the British Invasion and there were debates as to whether The Beatles, The Rolling Stones or The Dave Clark Five would go further (I'm not making this up). But the Beatles blew us away again with Sgt. Pepper and The Magical Mystery Tour and The White Album where they seemed to transcend music and reinvent the whole social order. You can't imagine how everything changed. And then Led Zeppelin came along and blew our minds again! I can still remember a friend having me back to his house after school to hear "Whole Lotta Love" their first US single. Oh my God! We cranked the volume up all the way and blew the friggin walls off the house. It didn't make the Beatles any less. LZ built on the musical magic that the Beatles and others created because Jimmy Page was a virtuoso guitar player. And none of this happens without people like Muddy Waters, Elvis, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, The Kinks and others who pioneered new sounds, kept raising the bar and helped to create the best generation of music in the history of the world. Rock on music lovers. Rock on.
  • Kunal Somaiya from Mumbai, IndiaZeppelin's Kashmir is the #1 of all time. A near second Stairway to Heaven, which also is an absoloute Delight.
  • P from Lakewood, OhThe Beach Boys never used a theremin on "Good Vibrations". They used a device called a tannerin (named after its inventor Paul Tanner), which you touch like a keyboard to make pitch-controlled sounds. A theremin OTOH is a hands free device. When the Beach Boys played the song live they used a Moog synthesizer.
  • Supermanfriday from Wigan, United KingdomAlways thuoght the riff was pinched off Hey Joe by Hendricks...but no one seems to put the conection..
  • Heather from Los Angeles, CaStop yelling Lisa. Amazing how some people have a nervous breakdown when someone else doesn't like "their" song.
  • Lisa from East Tn. , TnPoor Heather must be on Crack.Zeppelin fan most my life .Want a Zeppelin song played at my Wake and if you really want to go off on weird trip about Edison.TESLA the man not the band blows Edison away.The man was a genius.Do your homework but u try to start a f--ked up rant. THIS IS A ZEPPELIN SONG THREAD NOT A GLUE SNIFFERS CONVI
  • Iain from Calgary, Abwhat band was Thomas Edison in?
  • Kayleigh from Mystic, CtOh wow I totally agree with lisa. Jimmy Page is my first crush!!! Saw him in the Song Remains the Same movie and that's where it all started!!!!
  • Revanth from Hyderabad, IndiaA brilliant riff. I hated the "orgasm" section.
  • Nick from London, United KingdomThe earliest version of this melody/riff was by Memphis-born vocalist and drummer Willie Nix who started out performing as a tap dancer in the Rabbits Foot Minstrel show in the 30's. He released just five singles and all on different labels, notably Baker Shop Boogie for Sun and Just Can't Stay for Sabre. It was recorded in Chicago at Nix's last ever session and is in the one-chord Mississippi drone style that John Lee Hooker and Howling Wolf favoured. The all-star line-up features Sunnyland Slim on piano, Snooky Prior on harmonica and Eddie Taylor playing an insistent guitar. In the same month back in Memphis, Doctor Ross was putting down the first version of his soon-to-become blues classic Cat's Squirrel, a song which shows a marked resemblance to Just Can't Say. Nix never benefitted. It was copyrighted to Willie Dixon in 1962 as You Need Love and acknowledged as such by Led Zeppelin on Whole Lotta Love but not before Dixon dragged them through the courts.
    Nick Duckett
    http://www.rhythmandbluesrecords.co.uk/

  • David from Los Angeles , CaThis song performed at Knebworth '79 is amazing
  • Heather from Los Angeles, Ca"Great" sure is relative. I think this song is utter self-serving crap. And some of ya'll need to learn to spell.
  • Horace from Las Vegas, Nvgreat music has no age limit. when I was 10 I was rock'in to this song, and when I'm 80 I will be.
  • Billy from Nederland , TxI was born in the 90's but I hate crap(or as it's more popularly known rap)LED ZEPPELIN RULES! Many people need to get this through there skull, "Classic rock spits on rap, hip-hop, and pop!"
  • Emmett from Canadian, TxSome dude sang this song on American Idol a couple of days ago and completely butchered it i thought... They also played the solo that comes after the cool noise effects in the middle of the song way to fast! let that be a lesson! DON'T TRY AND SING LED ZEP!!!!
  • Blair from Nowhere, NhThe lead guitar riff is so short, but so absolutely 'blow-you-away'fantastic! LOVE IT!
  • William from Pheonix, Azthat solo is pretty tippy but its AWSOME!
  • Paul from Glan-yr-afon, United KingdomIt's just amazing reading the comments and lots of people saying "I'm 16....etc" - I remember how that felt - I was 16 and it was August 4th 1979 Knebworth, England - Jeez there was a Whole Lotta love going down on that day....
  • Paul from Glan-yr-afon, United KingdomIt's just amazing reading the comments and lots of people saying "I'm 16....etc" - I remember how that felt - I was 16 and it was August 4th 1979 Knebworth, England - Jeez there was a Whole Lotta love going down on that day....
  • Khan from Bangalore, IndiaHi, I'm 18 and discovered what true music is just about may be a year ago and since then i've been glued to led zep. this is surely a fav.
  • Lisa from Blountville , TnOne of sexist guitar sols ever recorded.It sounds as if Jimmy is just boiling over with sex in this one.Just a great sexy song.Jimmy Page,I still have a major crush on you at 42.! :)
  • Oldpink from New Castle, InDefinitely one of the songs that would raise your grandma's eyebrow.
    "Shake for me, girl/I want to be your back door man"
    Still, a good song, and the one that most readily comes to mind that features an extended vocal rendering of an orgasm.
  • Elena from Paradise City, Australia, --I agree with Grant, from Victoria. I'm also 15 and Led Zeppelin is one of my favourite bands, and although for some reason the "popular music" on the radio and TV today is thought to be liked, a lot of kids my age have discovered what real music is. I thank the internet. Sure people download, but people who respect real music will buy it in CD form, so the artists missing out are the ones not producing good music anyway =D People at my school like all types of music, and although overall, a lot of people my age love Led Zeppelin, no one in my school does =[
  • Eric from Lake Orion, MiO.K. Whole Lotta Love has the best guitar solo EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    (close race with stairway)
  • Trey from Kalamazoo, Mtthis song gives me chills when ever I hear it. it's crazy how powerful Robert's voice is.
  • Kiyoto from Vancouver, Canadai absolutely looove the live version of this song from How the West was Won. its just incredible. and as for all the kids listening to zeppelin instead of that mainstream crap they call music now, props to all of you. haha i'm one too...i find it amazing that people only like the huge hits and dont bother listening to anything else, or to listen to music with true meaning liek Led Zeppelin's
  • Heather from Los Angeles, CaI think the Beatles AND Led Zeppelin are overrated. Yes, folks O*V*E*R*R*A*T*E*D!!!!!!!Long Live Thomas Edison who really gave us something in a package! The light bulb....electricity in a piece of glass! Hail to Alexander Graham Bell who recorded the notes on wax for the first time! If you're gonna praise mere men as gods, praise the ones who made recorded music....... possible.
  • Jason from Denver, CoI once heard that, while recording the the mid section of the song, a lady was orally pleasuring Robert Plant. Hence the AH AH AH AH etc.True or not I don't know. Also this song is KILLER through head phones.
  • John from Mendota, InAriana, you can't claim that led zeppelin worked harder than the beatles. The beatles spent 129 days making Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I suck at math, but that works out to be quite a bit more than 30 hours. I think. Second, the reason the Beatles had concerts that were so short is that they couldn't play anything because the screaming of all the teenage girls was too loud. They would try to play, but could not be heard over the sound of the audience and would give up. The Beatles and Led Zeppelin played two very different styles of music and should not be compared, so don't try. you'll only make an ass of yourself.
  • Luke Taylor from Manchester, United KingdomMurdered by the BBC!
  • Laura from London, Englandand I meant to put... As opposed to some one like Britney Spears who is exactly the same sexuality wise, who HASNT moved on from that and yet CAN'T sing! lol
  • Laura from London, EnglandFew points to make. Led zep = AWESOME. But I agree to compare them with the Beatles is silly. The only comparison is that they were both 'big' bands. Zeppelin were a real 'jam' band, rock and roll to the core. The Beatles were pop music at that time and also fantastic at what they did, but you cant compare them, It's silly!

    But I would also like to say to everyone going on about Aguilera, fair enough if you don’t like her music, I don't either, Cos I'm a rocker. But to call herself crap is rubbish. I’m a trained singer, all be it a rock singer but I know what I'm talking about in that department. As a singer she has amazing technique and vocal range and ability. Yes the music she sings to is s--te and she may once have been all 'sexual appearance' but she herself, as a singer is not.
  • Ariana from New York City, NyNo offence to anyone...but Led Zeppelin should never be compared to any band, ever. Led Zeppelin has done something that no band will ever be able to do and they have an undying respect that comes along with that. So when you try to compare The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or whoever else you might consider, to Led Zeppelin think again. In my opinion i think Led Zeppelin is better than any band even the Beatles. The reason i think this way is because when i think about it Led Zeppelin offered so much more. For one their concerts never ran for LESS than 2 hours and a half, whereas The Beatles were already done in give or take 30 minutes. Also Led Zeppelin (when you take away the drugs, partying, alcohol, and women) were very hardworking. Their FIRST cd was recorded in 30 hours.

    Whole Lotta Love is an exceptional song, its timeless just like (almost) every other Led Zeppelin song. If you value Led Zeppelin then you value true music.
  • Leah from South Boston, VaThis is the first song I heard of Zeppelin and I fell in love right from the start. This is possibly one of their best songs if you ask me. Great!! :)
  • Michael from Oxford, -Yes, that would explain a lot!
  • Jesse from Sabina, OhI'd just like to express how impressed I am by how many younger people listend to LZ. I'm 27, listenting to LZ since about 10 or 11, and I am disgusted by some of the crap kids listen to these days. Not due to content, that's never bothered me, but due to the complete lack of creativity 'musicians' seem to have these days. I can't remeber the last time I met someone younger than 40-50 who even knows who LZ is. I do come from a small town, so I guess it shouldn't be a BIG suprise.... But... Anyway, thanks for giving me hope for the future of music. YAY!
  • Michael from OxfordBy the way, I'm 16 and I love Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Yes and The Who. Most of my friends have at least heard of all these guys. Except for Yes, which is a shame - still, i've got plans for this Christmas ;-)
    But hey, we're not talking about Yes. The backwards echo thing is incorrect: the same technique can be heard in the psychedelic outro of "You Shook Me" on the debut.
  • Michael from OxfordPeter Griffin, I doubt that. Craig said the only Beatle song he thinks is any good is "Something" which is roughly as far away from rap as you can get. No. I think he's more likely to be a soft-rock lover.
  • Peter Griffin from Quahog, RiBecause of what the song is actually about, plus the solo part, with the "orgasmic" sounds. That could offend somebody.
  • Brandy from Houston, TxI used Led Zeppelins "whole lotta love" as my cell phone ring tone and someone seemed offended by that. Without being critical of that person, does anyone have an actual reason why that song would be offensive?
  • Vicky from Larissa, GreeceI think nowadays teens don't know what real music is... I agree with u guys.. All my friends listen to hip-hop bands and pop singers that I don't even know!! And when I tell em about rock & punk bands I like they ask me: ''who are they?'' I'm 15..
  • Doug from Las Vegas, NvOkay I'm sick of everyone saying led zeppelin rips people off they don't deserve credit. okay they ripped people off it was wrong but compare the number of people who have heard of zep to willie dixon, muddy waters, jake holmes, zep "took" from all of them but somehow theirs became a worldwide hit so they mustve done something different am i right? pages solos and studio genius made them who they are so stop saying this isn't their song yes it is and it rocks as do they and if you don't agree with me you know its true
  • Bill from Topeka, Ksgreat led tune the first zep tune i eever heard
    in a crib my father had it playing in a record player
  • Echo from Normalville, Mai agree with tom. Very good point...
  • Grant from VictoriaThanks Tom, I totally agree with you're opinion, but if us young Zep fans (I'm 15) want to have our thoughts respected and treated seriously, we can't be hostile. Isn't it odd that there are so many teens who have discovered and love Zeppelin? I think that this can be largely attributed to the fat that no good music (at least in in the public eye) is being produced today, and if you want to look back for music, Led Zeppelin is the best around.
  • Bryan from Super Zero, ScLeslie from LA... the backwards echo is found near the end of the song. It occurs before the lines "Way down inside (pause) Woman (pause) You need it". It occurs in those pauses and right before "Way down inside". Listen again, you'll see what I mean.
  • Bryan from Super Zero, ScAmen, Tom, and all you others here who are under 18! I'm only 15, and I sometimes feel like I was born in the wrong generation. People these days...
    instead of talking about great bands like Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, the Who, etc., everyone talks about this manufactured rap crap and how great it is, stupid Britney Spears and Paris Hilton (BOO!), and their favorite show, which is American Idol, of course.
    This makes me very sad. I know what I'm talking about, because at my school, that's what everyone wants to talk about. Why, I agree completely with Danny and Nick. It's not hard to become a popular rapper. All you have to do...is know how to rhyme, speak all about sex, drugs, death, violence, and how great and glorifying they are, and cuss so badly you would make a sailor faint in shock. I could become a rapper without even trying! Just keep those 3 rules with you all the time, and you've got it made. Very, very sad. Oh, and they all die. If you're a rapper, don't make any plans for the future after your 25th birthday.
    Sorry to rant, but this is truly how I feel about this. I am glad there are about 3 other kids in my grade who are avid Led Zeppelin fans and don't like rap. If it weren't for them, I'd be so alone in the school world... That's my rant.
  • Leslie from Los Angeles, Cawhere exactly in the song is there a backwards echo?
  • Hanna from Trondheim, NorwayI agree with Tom too. And I'm 16!
  • Jeff from Detroit, MiIt's a heavily altered version of John Lee Hooker's Boogie Chillun'.
  • Joe from Oakdale, MnI don't really like the studio version of this song, but it kicks a** live. I love that song that they break into right after the little teleflex thingy. That blues song they go into is so awesome. I really wanna find out who does it and get it
  • Joe from Bellingham, WaIf i had a nickel for every time Robert Plant said "baby" I'd have enough money for that Led Zppelin II CD I wanted
  • A from Fdsafds, AustraliaThere are several assumtions here that are incorrect; many of you are young and that's okay. 1st)Not only is there plenty of good music away from the mainstream, radio and MTV, there was PLENTY of crap music in Zeppelin's day. It's inaccurate to compare the BEST music of 1969 to the WORST today. 2nd)Plant wasn't ripping off blues legends, he was paying homage to his favorite records that he grew up with. When he recorded this track he was only 20 years old. In 1969, few of us were familiar with the concept of international copyright law (unlike in the internet age), ESPECIALLY an English kid who dearly loved old blues records.
  • Malcolm from Ibbenbüren, GermanyAll you brits from the 60s must think the same as me when hearing this after a while "Top of the Pops ".If you're not a brit ask one or trust me this was a weekly part of our misspend youth in the 70s.Sorry Tom we can't change our past.
    Andy
  • Jeff from Detroit, MiI'm not a big fan of the studio version of this song (it actually might be my least favorite Zeppelin studio song), but it turns into maybe my favorite song live. I've read several responses here extolling the virtues of the version on How the West Was Won. Yes, certainly a highlight of that album, but I'll tell you about the ultimate version. Cast yourself back to Osaka, Japan on the night of September 29, 1971. It is the final night of Zep's legendary first tour of Japan. After previously playing arguably the ultimate version of Dazed and Confused and an achingly beautiful Going to California, among their other setlist mainstays, Zeppelin set out to tackle their show closer, Whole Lotta Love. This would go down in my mind as the most explosive, energy filled, face-melting ock and roll ever played. Clocking in at a staggering 32 minutes, WLL this evening contained Boogie Chillun', I Gotta Know, Twist and Shout, Fortune Teller, Good Times Bad Times, and You Shook Me. I feel exhausted after it is done. But wait! It is followed by three encores. This orgasm of rock and roll can be found on the wonderful bootleg recording Fatally Wanderer. Please seek it out!
  • Allen from Bethel, AkI like the cough in the beginning!
  • Kevin from Midland, TxI completely agree with you Danny! New "music" is horrible. It is actually just noise though...repeated a billion times until your head explodes and whatnot...
  • Spencer from Mcbride, Canadadave, rap isnt music. Rap is talking to a beat and syths.zeppelin is music. you need to know howto play the instrument and how to acutally sing and you need musical knowledge
  • Barry from Vancouver, WaDoes anyone remember the Uncut 8 track version of "Whole Lotta Love"? They had extra space at the end of the 8 track Album and filled it a few minutes of nonstop Lovemaking noises!!!
    Vancouver, WA.
  • John from Redditch, EnglandEmily from reading unfortunately you are not intelligent and neither is ritchie york. THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED. the 'tour manager' was richard cole. what happened is led zeppelin were staying at a hotel i forget what it is called and you can fish out the window of the hotel their. they caught a red snapper and they stuck the nose up a girls thing. it was richard cole who actually did it bonzo was just in the room.
  • James from Gold Coast, AustraliaUmm george, do you realize that hard rock practically is just riffs, powerchords and pentatonic scales. Get a brain before insulting one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
  • Elaine from Spokane, WaI can't believe Robert Plant did these vocals in one take. It's got to be one of his best vocal performances, along with The Rain Song and Ten Years Gone.

    I have to say that I think Led Zeppelin is better than The Beatles. Maybe it's just because I like their music more, but I also think they were more creative and they had great chemistry.
  • Jon from Oakridge, OrOh yeah and sales don't mean anything either. Just because the popular demand is high, come on so were the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears at one point.
  • Jon from Oakridge, OrSorry Bryant, Ottawa, Canada. The Beatles beat out Zeppelin by far. Just because they're more tallented with the instruments doesn't make them better musical artists. It almost totaly comes down to songwriting and style. At which The Beatles are far supperior. See how they did in their solo careers.
  • Fyodor from Denver, CoBought the 45 as a kid having never heard the "free form section" before as it was edited out for AM radio play. Boy was I surprised!! I think the "shake for me girl" was new to me too.
  • Caleb from Coopersburg, PaAlthough the phrase "Shake for me girl, I wanna be your backdoor man" sounds like a sexual act, a "backdoor man" is blues lingo for a man who is involved with a married woman. the husband leaves for work out the front door, and the boyfriend comes in the back.
  • Matt from Chicago, IlThis song is by far the best of any of there previous it just so kool especially in the Song Remains the Same its the best wen it comes to the part in the middle and at the end wen bonham beats on the gong and its on fire itss effing great
  • Rob from Vancouver, CanadaBeatles or Led Zeppelin? Apples and oranges.
  • Elie from The U.k, Englandwhen the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace great saying but is far from happenig in the end the world will be like 1984 with big brother breathing downe our neks
  • Julian from Anaheim, CaWhen I was 15, this song was playing on the radio and I was singing along to it. It was towards the end when Plant says "Shake for me girl, I wanna be your backdoor man" after I said that my dad said "hey don't say that!" I said "But Led Zeppelin said it" He said "I don't care that's bad, you shouldn't know what that means." Even though I knew EXACTLY what it meant I replied "Youre right" It was kinda funny. This song is frickin sweet.
  • Devon from Westerville, OhI love this song it's got a great riff through out the song. The middle drum bit is pretty sweet. I love the line about being the back door man. I think I know what he means.
  • Vishal from Richmond, VaThis is my favorite song. The middle part sounds kinda like what you feel when you're really close to finishing a particularly great session of sex. Sorta like your eyes coud over, your mind reels and you're in limbo.
    Next time you're at a stoplight and the song comes on, try braking to the beats! Sometimes I wonder what the car drivers behind me think.
  • Paul from Cincinnati, OhLed Zeppelin is NOT heavily metal. They probably influenced heavy metal, but they themselves were not a heavy metal band.
  • Victor from Glendora, CtEver since I first heard this song, (in the 70's as a teen) I thought that the middle weird sounding part of this song could be the sounds you hear inside your head during a bad drug trip, lol.
    Or if they had a movie where someone's on a bad drug trip, writhing around on their bed with the room spinning around, that part could be playing in the background.
    BTW I've never been on drugs. :)
  • Vivek from Bangalore, IndiaIm a big fan of both LED ZEPPELIN and "The Beatles". But really... come on... Led zeppelin like towers over the beatles. Led Zeppelin is incomparable. Hands down guys... No point arguing
  • Jeanette from Irvine, Caare you kidding? this song is awesome. and i like their folk rock stuff but come on...this stuff is easily equal or greater value. but led zeppelin lll is good too. i agree. btw their best mellow song is thats the way.
  • Billy from Boston, MaLed Zeppelin Is in my mind without a doubt better than the beatles. Led Zeppelin created heavy metal.Led Zeppelin The Best band in the world's history ended in the 8O's Heavy Metal Created Hair Metal and evnetually formed the world's second Greatest Band- Guns N' Roses
    GNR's influence from Zeppelin is not obvius but Distant. this is my theory of Heavy Metal Evolution.
  • Brandon from Saskatoon, Canadathis song is irritating, it is one of led zeppelin's worst, led zeppelin's best song would have to be either bron-y-aur stomp or tangerine. led zeppelin should have been completely folk rock just like their third album led zeppelin III, but noooooo people didn't like their third album ohhhh led zeppelin III is their best btw
  • Oskar from Bilbao, SpainMusic is not a sport competition! Does anybody really care about which band (Led Zeppelin or The Beatles) was better? ENJOY BOTH OF THEM!
  • Jeanette from Irvine, Cadont worry everyone i shall have six kids and make them my led zeppelin minions to have six more kids each until the whole world likes led zeppelin and hates christina aguilera! bahahahaha! just kidding. but i agree with y'all that zep rocks and christina aguilera and company suck.
  • George from Poopville, IaI said Led Zeppelin had a bigger Record, I didn't say they were better. Led Zeppelin was my favorite band for quite a while and I wrote stupid songs with cool guitar riffs, but then I started listening to more of the Beatles and it inspired me more and It gave me more of an Idea of what to write about. So to me, "Musically Talented" goes to both. Like, Led Zeppelin did break some beatles records, like the record of like how many people came to their concerts, but The Beatles only toured for 2 years and Led Zeppelin toured for almost 12. The Beatles did that in those two years while it took Led Zeppelin about 5 years to break that record, and in 1976 towards 1977 Led Zeppelin was almost dead. All these new bands started coming out like Heart (Who by the way totally ripped Zeppelin's Achilles Last Stand off with their song Barracuda). Punk Rock also took over, which I think is a joke because Punk Rock blows. But this shows you the same thing, that everything dies and you have to forget, but then sometimes everything is rediscovered, Like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. Also, in 1970, when Led Zeppelin III came out not very many people liked it because it wasn't the Zeppelin they were used to, so Zeppelin couldn't experiment. But the Bealtes never stopped experimenting and every album got better and better. So you can't compare, because there are good things in both bands. By the way, this song is about Butt Sex.
  • Dan from Lee, NhThis song is really creative and original. It has a great riff on Jimmy Page's best riff album. How ever I don't think the vocals in this are wholely original and Willie Dixon has a right to sue, but none of that takes a way from the quality of this song.
  • Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, Sc"When the power of love overcomes, the love of power, the world will know peace." That's a great quote!
  • Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, Scbryant one thing about the Beatles is they always had great harmonies. and each one sang lead on some of the tracks. what i'm trying to say is, the Beatles didn't have only one lead singer. But I don't think you can really compare the Beatles and Led Zeppelin because their music is so different. And btw give Ringo a break. he's a pretty good drummer. Sure he's not as good as Bonzo was, but listen to abby Road. the next to last song on there has a pretty good drum solo on it.
  • Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, Sc'When the power of love overcomes, the love of power, the world will know peace." That's a great quote!
  • Auðurv. from Reykjavik, IcelandLed Zeppelin and the Beatles are two bands you can´t compare. They are both brilliant, in their own ways. Led Zeppelin ROCK HARD!! but that doesn´t make the Beatles soft!! Far from it. They were also lyrical and musical geniuses. And I must say that I agree with people who say that modern music SUCKS!!! In the "good ol´days" they had no stylists or whatever and if people ever told them what to to, they would do the opposide!!!! Then it was all about ROCK & ROLL MAN!!! Now it´s just one big factory, with money-makin´ schemes. All the girls dress like whores and if they DON´T!! they just dead-boring songs on piano! No-one can come close to Patti Smith, Grace Slick (soo cool) and Janis J. And the "rockers" (it´s such a shame) all say they´re such badasses with the chains and tattoos (Good Charlotte, Blink 182, Green Day) but inside they´re just crying little mama´s boys who like Michael Jackson!!! I AM ANGRY AT THE MODERN MUSIC!! They have nooo attitude (think Jim Morrison, Plant and John Lennon). Oh...and I´m soon turning 15 and people and often surprised and sometimes laugh when I tell them about my music taste. And I also recognise that there are alot of people out there who say they loove led Z. and the doors, Beatles and all that stuff, but they can only name songs like stairway to heaven, light my fire and yesterday!!!!. And if you play them the brilliant music they say they "love" so much, they just get moody and ask if I can put Avril "poser bitch" Lavigne on!!! C´MON PEOPLE!!

    Whoever controls the media, controls the mind -Jim Morrison

    When the power of love overcomes the lov
  • Scott Moore from Boston, Maled Zep are my favorite band and this was the first song i heard when i was six. imagine a six year old zep fan. im 42 now and play guitar (23 yrs now) not a day goes by where i dont play a zep song.
  • Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, ScLed Zeppelin better than the Beatles? O please! They're so different. They're both great though. I tried to compare them and even poste a comment on the Led Zeppelin artistfacts on artistfacts.com, but at the end of the day you really can't compare them. If you want to read my comments, by all means go ahead, and post some yourselves.
  • Bryant from Ottawa, CanadaGeorge, IA... Are you saying that Zeppelin wasn't bigger than the beatles? I am a fan of both bands, but I have to say that overall Zeppelin were better musicians than the beatles. They made about the same amount of money and had as much if not more success in record sales and radio play. But most of all they rock harder... They are far more passionate about music and the fans than the beatles ever were. George Harrison said himself after a Zeppelin concert that they were never as good with the fans as Zeppelin was. I know I am probably going to get a few angry comments about my "better musicians" comment, so let me open that up a bit more.
    *Keyboards- Paul may have had more talent than Jonsey, but J-P Jones was much more creative, Using synthesizers and FX to their potential. I give this one to Jones.
    *Bass- Once again McCartney vs Jones. Both very skilled bass players. This is a toss up in my mind. McCartney is a great technical bass player, but I can't get over the perfect sound and timing of Jones's bass on every note he has ever played. Neither has a flaw you could point out.
    *Drums- Hands down no comparison without a doubt almost want to harm myself for comparing the two. Bonzo is the best drummer of all time, Ringo is a joke. Zeppelin gets like 4 million points over the Beatles right here.
    *Guitar- Jimmy is the undisputed best guiarist in the world in my mind. In the best 25 guitarist lists, Clapton and Page are always first and second. For more on clapton, see my "CLAPTON IS A HACK" piece under the layla zone. George is great, Jimmy's better.
    *Vocals- The beatles used more backup vocals, but when Zeppelin used backup it was utterly amazing (listen to "The Ocean"on houses of the holy). As for lead vocals. I can't decide between Lennon and PLant... Their styles are very different, and they are both very good.
  • Danny from Chester, EnglandToday's music is complete plastic manufactured crap pop, supremely irritating dance with a single note repeated over and over until you want to break something (like the "DJ"s neck) or rap by people who think they're gansters because they drive stolen cars, wear fake jewellry and carry around guns because they think it compensates for their complete lack of talent. People like Christina Aguilera REALLY piss me off becaust they're famous for being sluts (even though i dont personally find her remotely attractive) and people think its perfectly acceptable to mime to a song you haven't written and probably havent even heard before as long as you dress like a prostitue and do 'sexy' dance moves.
  • George from Poopville, Ia"AND ZEPPELIN WAS BIGGER THAN THE BEATLES!- nick, baton rouge, LA"

    In 1969 the Beatles were pretty much broken up and Abbey Road was out for a few months and Led Zeppelin II came out and knocked Abbey Road off the Charts, Zep had a bigger Record than the Beatles, and Abbey Road was the #1 album from practically the Day it came out until Led Zeppelin II came out, I dont think Beatles Records stay on the Charts Forever. Thats like saying that Pink Floyd was Bigger than Led Zeppelin because Dark Side of the Moon was bigger than Houses of the Holy at the time.
  • Mike from Harrison, Nyi can't understand how you can "appreciate" today's rap music. it's all a bunch of bs. theres no artistic ability involved there. the songs aren't even songs its just a bunch of guns goin off and the rappers talking/(talking quickly??) plus the lyrics can be some of the stupidist stuff i've ever heard.

    im 16 and i was raised to appreciate REAL music.
    classic rock all the way. Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, AC/DC, The Who, Pink Floyd, Van Morrison, OMG!!!! don't feel like listing more cuz u get the point.
  • Dave from Toronto, CanadaMan, these are some of the dumbest comments about rap that I've ever seen. But I guess y'all are still pretty young. I used to "hate rap" when I was a teenager; I thought I had to hate rap and disco because I liked 70's rock. As if you have to choose! (Like you can't like both Spiderman and Batman?) But I've come to appreciate rap (or hip hop, as the genre's more generally known) and disco (or dance music, which is a less dated term) now that I've mellowed out about that crap. Still don't really get classical music, though. Or opera. But then, maybe that will come in another 10 or 15 years.

    Anyway, I've been listening to the old Led Zeppelin albums lately and really appreciating how much of their music comes out of old blues. I never realized how much blues was in that early 'heavy metal' music: Black Sabbath was also playing some kind of 'Brittish Blues', and the Rolling Stones have got a heavy dose of it too.

    So, I guess my point is, if hip hop music is taking riffs from Zeppelin and other 'classic' rock music, that's cool. It's a kind of tribute - or at least it's just another step in a history of rock taking riffs out of blues songs (usually without credit.) In fact, I bet Plant and Page would be happy to know that their music is influencing a new generation of musicians (yes, even "rap" musicians.)

    - Dave (Toronto, Canada)
  • Kendall from Thomasville, GaDude, Nick, from Baton Rouge, that is the best description of rap I have ever heard in my entire life. Also like everyone else here I love Led Zep, they are different and Fan-Freakin'-Tastic!!! And this is what I have to say about modern music... as much as it is the same old crap over and over again (typical song today: a little singing at the beginning pretty softcore playing, then sreaming whith load noises blaring in the back.... all soft again... screaming... again... crappy lyrics... blah blah blah.... dah dah dah... you get the picture) our generation (i'm 14 years) is going through another shift in music taste... just like the last. Blues and Folk become Rock, R'n'B and Jazz becomes Disco. Rock splits apart and becomes Alternative Rock and Punk... both are about making money not music, and Disco mixed with Not having talent thus becomes Rap.
  • Mike from San Fransisco, CaI hate rap... I really do. Led Zeppelin is awesome. They owned the 70's. As the Beatles owned the 60's. I like how this song starts on how the west was won.
  • Nick from Baton Rouge, Laand the beatles WERE bigger than jesus... AND ZEPPELIN WAS BIGGER THAN THE BEATLES!
  • Nick from Baton Rouge, Lanah, it all sucks.... but AT LEAST, they actually have talent... but rap.... if you can sing a nursury rhyme, and have moderate knowledge of drugs and firearms, you can rap... its pathedic, in concert they just jump around like monkeys, and talk...TALK, not even sing.. they have no talent, none of them can play a guitar, or do anything.. they are all gonna burn... and the zeppelin fly again!
  • Shawn from Winnipeg, CanadaOkay, I'm 15 and a huge Zeppelin fan but arent you guys being a little harsh on the new stuff? I'll give you that all this rap, pop and emo crap is getting out of hand but there is plenty of good new rock bands out there as well. Velvet Revolver, Therory Of a Deadman, Jack Johnson, and the Foo Fighters just to name a few. Just an opinion though...Whole lotta love is probably my favourite zeppelin song.
  • Jena from Bonner Springs, KsListen to the lyrics, and every line tells you what was on their mind....

    I wanna give you every inch of my love.....

    I wanna be your back-door man....

    Filthy, filthy minds....LOL.....
  • Susy from New York, NyA BIG KISS AND A HUG to all you great kids out there
    (under 20, even though you can be a kid at any age),
    who appreciate great music!!!!
    I grew up with it and I'm really grateful. Sorry for
    you guys who live in a time where there's so much junk around, you really have to dig around for good stuff. Write me if you want suggestions...
    there's a WHOLE WORLD of great music out there but
    unfortunately it's mostly old. Thank goodness you can still find things if you know what to look for.
    Love and peace, gatmina@libero.it
  • Jonesy from Hot 'lanta, GaWell to be completely honest, zep is the greatest band to ever walk this crazy mixed up world in which we live in. with all the tribute crap out there for zeppelin... i dont see wat they are trying to do.. but anyway this is my favorite song because Jimmy Page who knew what he was doing asked the engineer to try his idea of reverse echo. the engineer said it would not work.. Jimmy a little upset said it would work and did it, which is why i love him, he can do his own stuff and hes the producer of all the albums.. and hes amazing,, its no wonder they call him "god"
  • Mike from Alpharetta, GaThis song is literally perfected on "How the West Was Won". From Plant's singing to Jimmy's solos and using that theremin, and JPJ's amazing bass lines that most people care to notice, and Bonzo's unbelievable ability to play those drums.I love how they mix up all the little songs into one huge one.Boogey Chillen is my favorite part.But once Plant goes back into it at the very end I love how the audience just freaks.The band i'm in plays this song and our lead guitarist plays the theremin like Page and it sounds amazing.But nothing comes close to anything but the original creators.Probably one of my famorite songs on How the West Was Won.
  • Mike from Kitchener, CanadaThis song along with Dazed and Confused, Blackdog, Rock and Roll, and Over the Hill and Far Far away are my fav Zeppelin songs. I love this one for the solo and the amazing guitar work. Jimmy RULES!
  • Emily from Reading, Englandhi its emily again,id jus like to clear this octopus thing up,i can tell you for a fact that what actually happened was that one of zep's tour managers (along with john bonham)were in a hotel room with a groupie and for some strange reason they decided to go down to some river by the hotel and caught a red snapper shark,and ended up sticking the sharks nose up this groupies ...well you know what i mean! its really gross but i found this out in the book for all true zep fans,the biography by richie yorke " led zeppelin,the definative biography",it was the best christmas present i EVER got! and jus to say,about the stairway to heaven issue,noone recognises legendary songs such as When the levee breaks, babe im gonna leave you and dazed and confused either!
  • Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, ScI agree with you Nelle from Peru. Robert Plant's as sexy as hell! "Whole lotta Love" is a sexy song too!
  • Miguel from Olympia, WaI think this is BS, but i've heard that the band payed a whore to bathe with a octopus, now if you have a dirty mind, you can understand why they called the song a whole lotta love. I don't know if it's true cuz I think it's BS.
  • Deadzeppelin from San Francisco, Caafter the long strange sounding bow solo by page is the most amazing drum and guitar solo ever. especially in a car with subs. it is truly awesome.
  • Nelle from Lima, PeruThe song is sexy. Robert Plant is sexy. Led Zeppelin is sexy.
  • Nick from Baton Rouge, LaAHAHAAH i hate when people do that
    "say man, do you like led zeppelin?"
    "i like some of HIS work"
    *idiot*
    this song will never get old, it sounds literally like thunder, on "how the west was won"
  • Juan from Miami, FlLed Zeppelin was blessed by God. God send them as a resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Beatles as Lennon said, are better than Jesus. Plant, Page, Bonham, Jones (Mc Cartney is better than Jones)are better than the Beatles.
  • Juan from Miami, Flthe Orgasm sounds make me laugh sometimes. It a great hit and one of the greatest guitar solos. Page has a voice that matchs with Page's guitar strikes. Bonham and Jones are the best at what they do. whole lotta good stuff
  • Adriana from St. Louis, Mosometimes when im talking about led zep, inevitably, some stupid girl will say, "oh i love led zeppelin. he's so hot." to this i usually reply: "yea pink floyd's a cutie too."
  • Tom from New York, Nyit is a shame that a band as great as Zeppelin did not properly credit writers of their songs. I question whether it was for money or for ego. It would not have tarnished their reputation one bit if they gave proper credit to songwriters. For great coverage of this read a very interesting article by Will Shade about how Led Zeppelin "borrowed" alot of their work without giving proper credit to its original writers. The article can be accessed on line.
  • Claude from Sudbury, CanadaYes it is a sad fact that today's music is just a pre-digested and pre-packaged formula art!

    with the ownership of radio station being ever tightly controlled by fewer and fewer so that you hear only what they want to sell you...

    I suggest you look for independant and alternative media such as www.klodradio.com
    So i am preaching for my own parish!!!

    But I play what my listeners want to hear!

    I must congratulate the people behind this site
    for their hard work at keeping us informed about
    the greatest songs of all time!

    This goes a long way to keep real music alive!
  • Taylor from Austin, TxI will also join the growing number of people who say that Tom is right. Anyway, awsome song and Tom is completely right.
  • Lunaticsonthegrass from Montreal, CanadaI'm 13.I't a real shame some of you guys don't have rock radio stations. Here in Montreal there's chom 97.7, a station dedicated to CLASSIC ROCK 24/7!!! It really rocks dudes!
  • Evert from To, CanadaTOTP?
  • Jim from North Billerica, MaActually that "Backwards echo" at the end is really a mistake. I read that the effect you hear is really a "Bleed through" effect from the master tape being wound too tight and left that way for an extended period of time. The magnetic imprint of the tape will actually imprint itself on the part of the tape against it
  • Tom from Jersey, EnglandThe lyrics to this song were acually pinched from a song by Muddy Waters called You Need Love. http://www.harptab.com/lyrics/ly4636.shtml find the lyrics there
  • Stephanie from Apache Junction, AzThis song has been covered many times by Tori Amos and I highly recommend listening to it just to hear the amazing piano. Here are some quotes by Tori Amos about the song:
    "Well, Thank You is a wonderful song. I covered it a while back. I think Robert wrote it for his partner, and I remember thinking, I wish I could write something like that. My favorite has to be Whole Lotta Love, though. When I first met my husband {recording engineer Mark Hawley}, that song took on a new significance. Suddenly it was Oreo cookies again. Whole Lotta Love is an aphrodisiac, and it makes you want to put on your kitten-heel boots.
    -- Tori; Mojo Magazine, October 2001

    "My dad's a minister. and I went to church twice a Sunday. maybe three times, depending on uhh what he had cooking that day. and he'd come from church and my mother would always be picking chicken. she'd always be sitting there. my mother still... she makes great chicken. but uhh sunday was always a bit spooky for me. because um i walked around extra....what is it? my legs were crossed really tight on sundays. and my friend Linda Young always came over the house. i thank god for Linda Young - i don't know what i'd be like to this day without this girl. she brought these records over. like 10 or something high. and uhh went downstairs...put this band (Led Zeppelin) on...and listen to this guy sing. and my little thing went (squeaking noises)! (crowd laughs) It was the greatest thing that's ever happened to me." (begins playing song).
    -- Tori; in-concert 1992
  • Dean from York, Englandoasis played the intro to this at the end of 'cigerettes and alcohol' when they played wembley in 2000.noel gallagher pointed to the audience and said "thats rock n roll mister..thats rock n roll..them three notes!"
    dean. york. england
  • Ryan from Los Angeles, CaTom you are totally right. The music industry these days is so bad! All these people listening to rap and Britney Spears...whatever happened to good old rock and roll? yesterday i convinced my girlfriend that Led Zeppelin is the best band ever by playing her this song and a few others lol. she felt really dumb for owning all of her rap cd's and pop and stuff and not having a single rock cd. she didn't even know who the king of rock and roll is!!! Anyway great point Tom and great song!!!
  • Matt from Prior Lake, MnYea I guess I agree with bob but that's because that's a really famous song, i still love all their other songs like heartbtreaker, over the hills and far away, communication brakedown, the ocean, etc
  • Charlie from Thomaston, Cti love the line: shake for me girl, i wanna be your backdoor man!
  • Dale from Newcastle, Englandim 16 and currently doing music at collage and i can honestly say that the whole dancing and mimeing to songs totaly goes against music!!! after the first album zep went to morroco where they stubled upon a funeral and there was a crowd around the body and a bunch of muscions playing the opening riff over again and thats where pagey got the idea for the riff!!!! strange but true lol.
  • Loren(zo) from Carnation, WaWell all I have to say is that it really sickens me that people can even say that the music sceneof today is even legal. I would bet on it that the majority or todays top-sellers are lip-syncers! Not that lip-syncing is all that bad (i mean KISS did it) but thats only if you can sing!
    All this crap today is bodies and dance moves with added digitally enhanced faces and voices.

    May the true rockers be remembered throughout history! They are the most influential and powerful artists of all time and should never be forgotten. I sure hope they arent in our lifetime...
  • Zach from ..., PaI'm 12 and I also agree with Tom. I, too, think that radio stations should stop playing all of the rap/pop/whatever crap and start playing real music, such as Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard, U2 (not including Vertigo, but back to the days of The Joshua Tree and War), Pink Floyd, (insert more older bands' names here), et cetera.
  • Mike from Richmond, VaI'm 17. This is the truest thing that has ever been said since Lennon said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus.
  • Helen from Newie, AustraliaI'm 16 too, and agree too!

    Fancy that :)
  • Charlie from Thomaston, Dcim 16 too! and i agree too!
  • David from Cooltown, MiTom, I'm 16, and I couldn't agree with you more!
  • Sal from Ny, Nythat's for sure tom! nobody knows decent music anymore, and i know i sound like a freekin old lady, but gimme a break! everything is like computers, and rap, and rap is like the most uncraetive thing to come along for a while, and even while i love this song, for the music and all, it doedsn't have as much meaning as the othe led zep songs but it's great anyway, it's amazing how they do that huh?
  • Edward from Virginia Beach, VaWell Played Tom, Zeppelin is the Greatest Band of all times. Jimmy Page, though sometimes sloppy, is an amazing poet and possibly the finest guitarist of our times.
  • Steven from Chicago, IlI agree with Tom. I'm 15 and Led Zeppelin is my favorite band. Most people at my high school DO listen to Led Zeppelin, but we're special. Today in the American music industry, one can make the most money with the least talent which is sad.
  • Mike from Ontario, Canada"Well as far as my end of it goes, I always tried to bring something fresh to anything that I used. I always tried to come up with some variation.....So most of the comparisons rest on the lyrics. Robert was supposed to change the lyrics, and he didn't always so that." Jimmy Page, Guitar Legends

    Page also sites that bluesmen always borrow from one another and that he is only a product of his influences. Therefore it could be argued that he was merely continuing a blues tadition.

    James is also right, it's supposed to be about the music, not a frick'n popularity contest of songs. Older generations seem more facinated that their music still lives on rather then annoyed to see another teenager play the first 30 seconds of an overplayed lic. Waynes World "Stairway" jokes are true and funny, but also pathetic at the same time. In some cases it almost seems pointless for teenagers to explore further into classic bands like Zeppelin when they get responses full of rolling eyes from the moment they begin to practise Whole Lotta Love or Stairway. This is very sad when you think about it, because these classic hits could easily be great stepping stones into learning blues or jazz hits as well and maybe eventually leading to more complex songs on the radio again.
  • Ac from Winnipeg, Canadathis song is soooo sexy...and i have never thought that about a song before
  • Pants from Calgary, CanadaThe first recorded use of backwards echo was on the Yarbirds "Ten Little Indians" and was an was an attempt by Page to salvage a terrible song. The instument heard on "Good Vibrations" is not a theremin, as used in the middle section of "Whole Lotta Love", but an "electro-theremin" invented by Paul Tanner, sometimes called a "tannerin". The descending sound in "WLL" is not the bow or Page scraping his pick down the strings as RANDY RHODES did on "Crazy Train", but a metal slide with backwards echo. Copies of "Stairway" were given to radio stations to play, but the song was never released as a single for the public to buy. And i believe Plant was just coughing/clearing his throat at the beginning - only he really knows, i guess.
  • James from San Francisco, Ca"Manager Peter Grant discouraged TV appearances"

    Jimmy Page appeared on the Julie Felix show in 1970, playing a fantastic acoustic version of "White Summer". The entire group played on Danish TV in 1969, in Staines, I think.

    One thing that pisses ME off is when teenagers shove it in people's faces that they are huge Zeppelin fans. Bro, who cares--it's about the music. We don't care if you're seventy or seven, just like what you like. There's no need to put somebody down if they like modern music, or they only know a few zeppelin songs.

    "wanna whole lotta love, then page using a bow to play his guitar"

    Although the music video shows pictures of Page using a Bow on his guitar, he didn't in fact use a bow during Whole Lotta Love--ever. Jimmy Page used a bow during Dazed and Confused, How Many More Times, and his own Star Spangled Banner--but never during Whole Lotta Love. The noises that you think are the bow solo are really just him sliding his pick down his strings--similair to that thing Ozzy does in the beginning of Crazy Train. Live, he'd use the Theremin, which people assume is a bow solo, but it's not.

    As far as Stairway never being released as a single, that's not true. When I worked as a disc jockey in Chicago, I stole one of the US copies of Stairway given out to radio stations.

  • Jake from Milwaukee, Withis was covered by ben harper on his Live From Mars album...he begins to play a song faded, which turns into whole lotta love.
  • Adrian from Wilmington, DeActually, that mumbling person at the beginning of the song is Robert Plant nervously chuckling.
  • Peter from Montrose, DcHey Will Jimmy didn't use the bow on Whole Lotta Love it was the theremin, but Zeppelin does rock though.
  • Louise from Bayside, NyI love this song! It has all the powerful emotion of a locomotive at full throttle...
  • Janie from Kemps Creek, AustraliaI agree with Chris, that most 16 year olds don't know what real rock is, especially if radio stations all around the world don't play the classic rock so that young children can hear them.
  • Will from Mcallen , Txwanna whole lotta love, then page using a bow to play his guitar. plants orgasmic sounds, then pages solo. this song hits you from all anglesit makes you sway swoon and headbang. there is nothing today that can do that. LED ZEPPELIN ROCKS!!!!
  • Eddie from Lachine, MiYou can hear Robert laugh at the begininng of the song.
  • Bob from Levittown, PaI agree full-heartedly with Tom. Another problem- if you say Led Zeppelin to any teenager, then he immediately thinks/ says "Stairway to Heaven." Though the song is good, it's not Zeppelin's only friggin' song. Being 15 and a huge fan of Led Zeppelin, it pisses me off to hear my peers disrespect Zeppelin by only thinking of Stairway to Heaven. Haven't they ever heard Fool in the Rain, Black Dog, Ten Years Gone, The Rain Song, or Communication Breakdown? They are classics, too...but no one cares about them.
  • David from Chatham, CanadaBefore the song starts you can hear someone mumblin something
  • Matt from Chicago, IlGreat point tom
  • Tom from Trowbridge, EnglandThis runs to 23.08 on 'How the West was Won'. It's used as part of a medley with 'Boogie Chillun', 'Let's have a party', 'Hello Marylou' and 'Going down slow'.
  • Tom from Trowbridge, EnglandI'm 16 and I think it's sad that most people my age only recognise this as the TOTP theme tune. They should learn to like real music(like Led Zeppelin) instead of all this manufactured pop crap like Justin Timberlake, Avril Lavigne and Christina 'I'm a filthy slut' Aguilera!
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