Finally, after 60-some pages of build-up, my good friend Barney Hoskyns finally came forward with the goods on Zeppelin IV, that after which his 170-page tome is named.

Did you know that Rock and Roll was created in about 15 minutes? According to the story, the band was at Headley Grange working on various cuts, struggling to get Four Sticks on tape. When frustration finally came to a head, John Bonham (always good for some outrageous behavior), guzzled down a oil can full of lager and started pounding out the famous opening riff from Little Richard’s Keep A-Knockin‘. From there, Jimmy Page jumped in and 15 minutes later a rock and roll classic was born.

On the other hand, Stairway To Heaven was the product of months (and maybe even years) of work by Jimmy Page. Aiming to build a great epic, hours at Headley were spent on the tune. I didn’t realize that the flute-like solo at :14 was actually John Paul Jones playing three different recorders, each one overdubbbed over the previous track. According to the book, Jones played soprano, alto and bass recorders, overdubbed with playback speakers in the room (rather than headphones, as was customary). I always thought it was some sort of electronics.

Yeah, you can’t swing a dead AOR radio station in any direction without hearing both of these songs. Yeah, they’re overplayed. But, last night as I was drifting off, I gave Zeppelin IV a new listen. And this morning, I woke up with an original (and very Zeppeliny) song in my head.

Led Zeppelin – Rock And Roll

Led Zeppelin – Stairway To Heaven

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