Black Dog (Led Zeppelin song)

"Black Dog" is built around a call and response dynamic between the vocalist and band, with its start and stop a cappella verses inspired by Fleetwood Mac's 1969 song "Oh Well", according to biographer Dave Lewis.[6] The title is a reference to a nameless black Labrador Retriever that wandered around the Headley Grange studios during the recording of the album.[7] The song was recorded with recording engineer Andy Johns at Island Studios on Basing Street in London.[8]

Bassist John Paul Jones, who is credited with writing the main riff, was inspired by Muddy Waters' controversial 1968 album Electric Mud.[9] He added a winding riff and complex rhythm changes,[7] that biographer Keith Shadwick describes as a "clever pattern that turns back on itself more than once, crossing between time signatures as it does."[9] The group had a difficult time with the turnaround, but drummer John Bonham's solution was to play it straight through as if there was no turnaround.[7] In live performances, Bonham eliminated the ⁵
₄ variation so that Robert Plant could perform his a cappella vocal interludes and then have the instruments return at the proper time.[10] For his guitar parts, Jimmy Page used a Gibson Les Paul to record multiple overdubs.[11]

The song was released as a single in the United States on 2 December 1971,[12] in continental Europe (the United Kingdom did not receive the single release),[13] and in Australia with "Misty Mountain Hop" as the B-side.[13]

Record World said it has "incredible sounds with Robert Plant vocal to match."[14]

"Black Dog" became a staple of Led Zeppelin's live concert performances. It was first played live at Belfast's Ulster Hall on 5 March 1971, a concert which also featured the first ever live performance of "Stairway to Heaven".[11] It was retained for each subsequent concert tour until 1973. In 1975 it was used as an encore medley with "Whole Lotta Love", but was hardly used on the band's 1977 US concert tour. It was recalled to the set for the Knebworth Festival 1979 and the 1980 Tour of Europe. For these final 1980 performances, Page introduced the song from stage.[11] "Black Dog" was performed for the final time at the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in 2007, during Led Zeppelin's headline set.

In 2004, the song was first ranked number 294 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[15] before being ranked at number 300 in 2010.[16] Music sociologist Deena Weinstein calls "Black Dog" "one of the most instantly recognisable [Led] Zeppelin tracks".[17]

* designates unordered lists.

• List of cover versions of Led Zeppelin songs
• List of Led Zeppelin songs written or inspired by others
• Black Shuck

Citations

References

• Bream, Jon (2010). Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin: The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of All Time. Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-3955-8.
• Crowe, Cameron (1993). The Complete Studio Recordings (Boxed set booklet). Led Zeppelin. New York City: Atlantic Records. OCLC 29660775. 82526-2.
• Fast, Susan (2001). In the Houses of the Holy: Led Zeppelin and the Power of Rock Music. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-511756-1.
• Gracyk, Theodore (2007). Listening to Popular Music, Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Led Zeppelin. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-06983-5.
• Lewis, Dave (1994). Led Zeppelin: The Complete Guide to Their Music. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.
• Shadwick, Keith (2005). Led Zeppelin: The Story of a Band and Their Music 1968–1980 (1st ed.). San Francisco: Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-871-0.
• Schuman, Michael A. (2009). Led Zeppelin: Legendary Rock Band. Enslow Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7660-3026-8.
• Weinstein, Deena (1991). "Listener's Guide to Heavy Metal". Heavy Metal: A Cultural Sociology. New York City: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-669-21837-5.

• "Black Dog" (Remastered audio) on YouTube