MAGE MUSIC: On This Day 24 August

Monday, August 24, 2015

On This Day 24 August

Any requests?

2008 24 August Jimmy Page with Leona Lewis - Beijing, China Summer Olympics closing ceremony

1967 The Yardbirds - Nantasket Beach Hull, MA at The Surf Club
1969 Led Zeppelin - Jacksonville, FL at Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum
1971 Led Zeppelin - Dallas, TX at Dallas Memorial Coliseum
1994 Page & Plant – London, England at London Television Centre for band rehearsals with cameras in studio
2008 Jimmy Page with Leona Lewis - Beijing, China Summer Olympics closing ceremony

Whole lotta history
Led Zeppelin began using Whole Lotta Love in their setlists before the official release of the song on their second album, Led Zeppelin II, in October 1969. It was performed by the band and by Led Zeppelin's surviving members after John Bonham's death hundreds of times, and no wonder: The magick had been brewing in Jimmy Page's head before the members of Led Zeppelin stepped on the stage together for the first time.

I came up with the guitar riff for “Whole Lotta Love” in the summer of ’68, on my houseboat along the Thames in Pangbourne, England. I suppose my early love for big intros by rockabilly guitarists was an inspiration, but as soon as I developed the riff, I knew it was strong enough to drive the entire song, not just open it. When I played the riff for the band in my living room several weeks later during rehearsals for our first album, the excitement was immediate and collective. We felt the riff was addictive, like a forbidden thing.
~ Jimmy Page, interview by Mark Myers for The Wall Street Journal, May 29, 2014

Like Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love was the subject of a lawsuit for music theft from Willie Dixon. The claim lies in the lyrics, though, not the guitar riffs. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 1985.

“Page’s riff was Page’s riff. It was there before anything else. I just thought, ‘well, what am I going to sing?’ That was it, a nick. Now happily paid for. At the time, there was a lot of conversation about what to do. It was decided that it was so far away in time and influence that… well, you only get caught when you’re successful. That’s the game.”
~ Robert Plant, as quoted by Charles M. Young, "Robert Plant's manic persona". Musician (Amordian Press) 1990

At the 2008 Olympic performance, lyrics were changed from "every inch of my love" to "every bit of my love," which makes sense for a female singer and a mixed audience venue, even if the new words don't quite measure up to the power of the song.