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LED ZEPPELIN released their single “Black Dog” which was the opening track on the band’s untitled fourth album (1971). The song was released as a single and reached the charts in several countries; however, as is their practice, it is not issued in Great Britain. The song is included in Rolling Stone’s “the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” (USA) and was ranked No. 1 on Q magazine’s “20 Greatest Guitar Tracks” (UK).
“Black Dog” is built around a “call and response” dynamic between vocalist and band, with the start and stop of an a cappella verse inspired by Fleetwood Mac’s 1969 song “Oh Well”, according to biographer Dave Lewis. The title refers to an unnamed black Labrador Retriever who wandered around the Headley Grange studio during the recording of the album. The song was recorded with recording engineer Andy Johns at Island Studios on Basing Street in London.
John Paul Jones, who is credited with writing the main riff, was inspired by Muddy Waters’ controversial 1968 album Electric Mud. He added twisty riffs and intricate rhythm changes, which biographer Keith Shadwick describes as “a clever pattern that loops back on itself more than once, criss-crossing between time signatures as it happens.” The group had a hard time with turnarounds, but drummer John Bonham’s solution was to play them live as if there were no turnarounds.
In live performances, Bonham eliminated the 5/4 variation so that Robert Plant could perform an a cappella vocal interlude and then return the instruments at the appropriate time. For the guitar parts, Jimmy Page used a Gibson Les Paul to record some of the overdubs. The song was released as a single in the United States on 2 December 1971, in continental Europe (the United Kingdom did not receive a single release), and in Australia with “Misty Mountain Hop” as the B-side.
“Black Dog” became a staple of Led Zeppelin’s live concert performances. It was first played live at Ulster Hall in Belfast on 5 March 1971, a concert which also saw the first live performance of “Stairway to Heaven”. It was retained for every subsequent concert tour until 1973. In 1975 the song was used as an encore medley with “Whole Lotta Love”, but was hardly used on the band’s 1977 US concert tour. The song was reused on the set of the 1979 Knebworth Festival and the 1980 European Tour. For this final 1980 show, Page introduced the song from the stage.
In 2004, the song peaked at number 294 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time before ranking number 300 in 2010. Music sociologist Deena Weinstein called “Black Dog” “one of (Led)’s own songs.” The most recognizable zeppelin”. [sources/photo special]
