Song: "Hey Hey What Can I Do"
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Album: "Immigrant Song" single
Year: 1970
Place Of Origin: London, England
Years Active: 1968 - 1980
WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:
"Hey Hey What Can I Do" is a song that appears to be about a man who wants a relationship with a girl he adores, but she's not quite ready to commit. The man values tradition when it comes to a relationship. The woman is all about playing the field and is not about to settle down with anyone. At the end, the man sees that he is not going to have her without sharing her so he decides to move on. How good was Led Zeppelin? "Hey Hey What Can I Do" is a b-side, not making any of their albums!! Most bands would kill to have this song as their biggest hit!! For Zep, a b-side!!
LED ZEPPELIN DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
1969 - Led Zeppelin (Atlantic Records)
1969 - Led Zeppelin II (Atlantic Records)
1970 - Led Zeppelin III (Atlantic Records)
1971 - Led Zeppelin IV (Atlantic Records)
1973 - Houses Of The Holy (Atlantic Records)
1975 - Physical Graffiti (Swan Song Records)
1976 - The Song Remains The Same (Swan Song Records)
1976 - Presence (Swan Song Records)
1979 - In Through The Out Door (Swan Song Records)
1982 - Coda (Swan Song Records)
1997 - BBC Sessions (Atlantic Records)
2003 - How The West Was Won (Atlantic Records)
2012 - Celebration Day (Atlantic Records)
CURRENT STATUS OF LED ZEPPELIN:
Formed in 1968 out of the ashes of The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin signed a deal with Atlantic Records before the label even saw the band play. Atlantic also gave Zeppelin total creative freedom when it came to recording their music. With the release of their debut self-titled album in 1969, Led Zeppelin took blues driven songs, amped them up, and gave them a heavy bottom, thanks to the drumming of John Bonham. In the very same year, Zeppelin released "Led Zeppelin II". Recorded during breaks from touring, "Led Zeppelin II" is an iconic album. From the opening riff of "Whole Lotta Love" to the fiery "Bring It On Home" to close out the album, "Zeppelin II" would mark the first time a Zeppelin record would reach #1 on the Billboard charts. It would not be the last however. In fact, the next six studio albums that Zeppelin would release would hit #1. 1970's "Led Zeppelin III" showed a departure in style and the diversity the band had. This album almost had a folksy feel at times, featuring more acoustic guitars on the majority of songs. Then there was 1971. An album with no title, most often called "Led Zeppelin IV" by fans, exploded on the music scene. This album incorporated heavy songs like the first two albums and some acoustic tracks like "Zeppelin III". Side 1 says it all. "Black Dog", "Rock And Roll", "The Battle Of Evermore" and "Stairway To Heaven"!! Are you shitting me?!! And Side 2 is no slouch either with tracks like "Going To California" and "When The Levee Breaks". This album is closing in on reaching 3X Diamond status!! What does that mean? That's almost 40 million sold!! Zeppelin was officially the king of the hard rock mountain at this time. The band's next two albums, 1973's "Houses Of The Holy" and 1975's "Physical Graffiti" have also achieved Diamond status, over 10 million sold for each. Injuries suffered during a car accident made it virtually impossible for lead singer Robert Plant to tour after "Physical Graffiti" was released so the band put out a video and album titled "The Song Remains The Same", highlighting live performances and behind the scenes footage featuring all the band members. While recording their next album, 1976's "Presence", Plant was still confined to a wheelchair. Jimmy Page, guitarist for the band, was also falling into a heroin addiction at this time as well. You can see it was affecting the band not only on "Presence", but also on their next album "In Through The Out Door". Jimmy Page, who was so actively involved in the songwriting processes of all the albums up to "Presence", was not putting as much into the band as he was before. "In Through The Out Door" is basically a Robert Plant and John Paul Jones (bassist, keyboards) album. While both albums have some great tracks, "Achilles Last Stand" and "Fool In The Rain" to name a few, they both seem to be missing some teeth that their earlier albums had. On September 25, 1980, tragedy struck the band when John Bonham died from choking on his own vomit after a full day of heavy drinking. That was the day that Led Zeppelin ended as the remaining band members refused to replace Bonham out of respect for him as a friend and from the fact that he was basically irreplaceable in that band. Zeppelin released "Coda" in 1982 which basically featured some unreleased tracks mostly recorded earlier in the band's career. Led Zeppelin only reunited on four one-off occasions. 1985's "Live Aid" concert. 1988's Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary show. 1995's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. And probably the biggest event for the band, the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert which featured Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham's son Jason for a full on concert at London's O2 Arena. This show would be captured for a CD/DVD release called "Celebration Day". This unfortunately would mark the last time that Led Zeppelin has performed together. Rumors are that Page, Jones and Jason Bonham wanted to do a full Zeppelin tour and possibly even create new music but for whatever reason, Plant does not want to commit to that. Many say that The Beatles are the most important band in rock and roll and I can agree with that. But when it comes to hard rock? Led Zeppelin is the most important band to that genre. Zeppelin had an edge and a mystery about them. They almost felt dangerous. They took American blues and injected an aggression and a sexual tension into it. They had the ability to change styles from blues, to metal, to hard rock, to folk, to Indian inspired music. Robert Plant is the epitome of a front man. He had crowds eating out of the palm of his hands and he could channel Janis Joplin with his screams. Jimmy Page, one of the most influential guitarists of all time. The riff master!! Bluesy and powerful. One of the most iconic songwriters of all time. John Paul Jones. Underrated. Slick bass player and superb multi-instrumentalist. John Bonham. The backbone. One of, if not the greatest drummer of all time. Heavy on the kit. Ferocious drummer. The albums. Zeppelin's first six albums could be on any "best of all time" list. You talk about front to back, every song is killer, amazing music. I'm gonna list my 10 top songs at the bottom of this blog, but those could change daily really. This band just has so many awesome songs! Simply put, Led Zeppelin is one of the greatest musical artists of all time!
TEN LED ZEPPELIN SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:
1. Immigrant Song
2. Kashmir
3. Whole Lotta Love
4. Travelling Riverside Blues
5. When The Levee Breaks
6. The Battle Of Evermore
7. Going To California
8. What Is And What Should Never Be
9. Over The Hills And Far Away
10. Thank You
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