music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Black Dog" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, 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 was their practice, it was not issued in the United Kingdom. The song was included in Rolling Stone's (US) "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" and ranked No. 1 in Q magazine's (UK) "20 Greatest Guitar Tracks".

"Black Dog"
Picture sleeve for French vinyl single
Single by Led Zeppelin
from the album Led Zeppelin IV
B-side	"Misty Mountain Hop"
Released	2 December 1971 (1971-12-02) (US)
Recorded	1971
Studio	Island Studios (London)[1]
Genre	Hard rock[2][3][4] blues rock[5]
Length	4:55
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	John Paul Jones Jimmy Page Robert Plant
Producer(s)	Jimmy Page
Led Zeppelin singles chronology
"Immigrant Song" (1970) "Black Dog" (1971) "Rock and Roll" (1972)

Composition

"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]

Release

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]

Live performances

"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]

Reception

In 2004, the song was first ranked number 294 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[14] before being ranked at number 300 in 2010.[15] Music sociologist Deena Weinstein calls "Black Dog" "one of the most instantly recognisable [Led] Zeppelin tracks".[16]

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Classic Rock	United States	"The Top Fifty Classic Rock Songs of All Time"[17]	1995	18
The Guitar	United States	"Riff of the Millennium"[18]	1999	7
Q	United Kingdom	"1010 Songs You Must Own!"[19]	2004	*
Rolling Stone	United States	"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[14]	2004	294
Blender	United States	"The Greatest Songs Ever!"[20]	2005	*
Bruce Pollock	United States	"The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944–2000"[21]	2005	*
Q	United Kingdom	"The 20 Greatest Guitar Tracks"[22]	2007	1
Rolling Stone	United States	"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[15]	2010	300

* designates unordered lists.

Charts and certifications

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[39]	Silver	200,000
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

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

Notes

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.

External links

• "Black Dog" (Remastered audio) on YouTube

На других языках

---

- [en] Black Dog (Led Zeppelin song)

---

[es] Black Dog (canción)

«Black Dog» es uno de los temas de la banda Led Zeppelin publicada en el álbum de Led Zeppelin IV (1971). Fue editado como sencillo con «Misty Mountain Hop» en la cara B. Fue el primer sencillo de Led Zeppelin IV y llegó al puesto 15 de las listas americanas.[cita requerida]

---

[ru] Black Dog

Black Dog — первый трек альбома Led Zeppelin IV английской хард-рок-группы Led Zeppelin. Композиция «Black Dog» выпускалась синглом (с «Misty Mountain Hop» на обороте): в США она поднялась до #15, в Австралии — до #11. В 2004 году песня оказалась на #294 в списке журнала Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[1]

---

---