Babe I'm Gonna Leave You by Led Zeppelin

What would a music blog be without mentioning the great Led Zeppelin!!! Zeppelin is probably my second or third favorite band of all-time. They kind of duke it out with the Beach Boys, right behind the Beatles. I even named my car after Led Zeppelin..LOL!

"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" was released on Led Zeppelin's self titled debut album in January of 1969. The song was written by Anne Bredon (a traditional folk song writer) and was originally recorded by Joan Baez on her 1962 album, Joan Baez in Concert, Part 1. The band was inspired to cover the song after hearing Baez's version. Both guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant were big fans of Baez.

Joan Baez's Recording:



At the 1:43 mark of Led Zeppelin's version of "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", it is possible to hear a very faint trace of Plant singing, "I can hear it calling me" just before he sings the same line in full volume. This "ghost" is the vocal bleed from Plant's scratch vocal, and it appears on the drum tracks, which were recorded live with the full band. The band only played this song live at Led Zeppelin concerts on their 1969 concert tours, but Page and Plant brought it back for their 1998 reunion in a 9-minute version.


Zeppelin's Version:




I can remember the very first time I heard this song. It was in my Grandmother's living room in Lancaster, New York December 2002. It was right after Christmas and I got some Christmas money and decided to go buy a few CD's. I remember buying Led Zeppelin's Greatest Hits "The Early Days" and Van Halen's Greatest Hits. This was the time when I had really started to get into Classic Rock and I wanted to explore the genre. I always felt a sense of "warmth" while listening to this sing and I can't really explain it. It's a beautiful, "haunting" song and it's one of my favorite Zeppelin songs of all-time. I am a big Robert Plant fan and I believe he was the best lead singer/ vocalist of all-time and of course no one can touch Jimmy Page. Zeppelin's music actually helped me to discover more about me...as silly as that sounds! I remember driving to high school and listening to them over and over and thinking how no one really understands how great this band really is... for except me.


Live Version...It's pretty amazing:



Anyways, I hope you will enjoy this fabulous song because I know I will!

Until tomorrow,

Ms. January Black