Jimmy Page says he wrote Led Zeppelin hit after George Harrison said band 'never do ballads' Cult Following
A song written by legendary musician Jimmy Page was done so in response to criticism from The Beatles‘ George Harrison.
Led Zeppelin member Page would take on the challenge set by the so-called quiet one of The Beatles. Harrison would be an accidental influence of sorts on one of Led Zeppelin’s best-known songs, Rain Song. Page would tell biographer Brad Tolinski the All Things Must Pass hitmaker had effectively challenged him to write a “ballad” instead of the usual rock and roll work. Harrison had seemed to know of Page from The Yardbirds, being told of Led Zeppelin’s formation by engineer Glyn Johns. Harrison would ask: “Is he the one that was in The Yardbirds?” It may have been an exciting time on the music scene, but it seems a passing comment from Harrison pushed the band into writing one of their very best tracks.
Page would say: “George was talking to Bonzo one evening and said, ‘The problem with you guys is that you never do ballads,’ I said, ‘I’ll give him a ballad,’ and I wrote Rain Song, which appears Houses of the Holy. In fact, you’ll notice I even quote Something in the song’s first two chords.”
nother song featured on Houses of the Holy, No Quarter, has been hailed as a “perfect” version of the track by fans. Some believe the earlier recording of the song is much superior to the one which would feature on the album.
Fans have speculated that this early version was played and recorded in time to feature on Led Zeppelin IV, but was cut. While there is no confirmation of this, it proves to be a popular theory among fans in the comment section of the early version shared YouTube.
Source: cultfollowing.co.uk/Ewan Gleadow
