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| 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 historyLed 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 Led Zeppelin 199 times, plus once more at the O2 in 2007 for an even 200. It's no surprise: 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.
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| 2008 Jimmy Page - Beijing, China Summer Olympics closing ceremony |
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| 2008 Jimmy Page with Leona Lewis - Beijing, China Summer Olympics closing ceremony |
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| 2008 David Beckham, Leona Lewis and Jimmy Page - Beijing, China Summer Olympics |
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| 2008 Jimmy Page - Beijing, China Summer Olympics (Ross Halfin Photo |
