Thank You (Led Zeppelin song)
"Thank You" | |
---|---|
Song |
"Thank You" is a song written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page that was recorded by English rock band Led Zeppelin for the 1969 album Led Zeppelin II.
Contents
Overview
"Thank You" signalled a deeper involvement in songwriting by singer Robert Plant: it was the first Led Zeppelin song for which he wrote all the lyrics. According to various Led Zeppelin biographies, this is also the song that made Jimmy Page realise that Plant could now handle writing the majority of the lyrics for the band's songs. Plant wrote the song as a tribute to his then-wife Maureen.
The song features Hammond organ playing by John Paul Jones, which fades into a false ending before concluding with a crescendo roughly ten seconds later. This has created a problem for radio stations wishing to play the track, which must decide whether to accept the dead air or cut it off. Some stations run an edited version with the silence eliminated.[citation needed] For the recording of this track, Page played on a Vox 12-string guitar.[1] It was also one of the few Led Zeppelin songs on which Page sang backing vocals.[citation needed]
Live history
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. When "Thank You" was performed at Led Zeppelin concerts,[citation needed] it featured Jones' extended keyboard solo (either on the Hammond organ or on some 1972-73 versions, the Mellotron) as an introduction to the song.[citation needed] The piece was eventually dropped from the band's standard live setlist following the 1973 tour of the United States, when it was only occasionally used as an encore, for example, at the tour's final concert in Madison Square Garden.[citation needed]
Recognition and legacy
In November 2010, "Thank You" topped Gibson's list of "Top 10 Thanksgiving Songs".[2][3] Record producer Rick Rubin has remarked on the song's structure, "The delicacy of the vocals is incredible; the acoustic guitar and the organ work together to create an otherworldly presence."[4] The song was recorded by Page and Plant for the No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded album. It was released as a single and reached number eight on Billboard magazine's Album Rock Tracks chart in 1995. For recordings by other artists, see List of cover versions of Led Zeppelin songs.
Appearances in other media
- "Thank You" was the name of an episode of True Blood called "Thank You" (Season 7, episode 10), the series finale of the TV Show. [5] The song was also used as the outro during the closing credits.
- That '70s Show named "Thank You" as the title for the fifth season finale.
Personnel
- Robert Plant – vocals
- Jimmy Page – electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
- John Paul Jones – Hammond organ, bass guitar
- John Bonham – drums
References
- ↑ Interview with Jimmy Page, Guitar World magazine, 1993
- ↑ Led Zeppelin and ZZ Top Make Top Thanksgiving Songs List. Antimusic.com.
- ↑ Russell Hall. 10 Great Songs that Give Thanks. Gibson. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ↑ The Playlist Special: Fifty Artists Pick Their Personal Top 10s. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3500630/combined
Sources
- Lewis, Dave (2004) The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
- Welch, Chris (1998) Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, ISBN 1-56025-818-7
- Use British English from June 2012
- Use dmy dates from June 2012
- Articles which use infobox templates with no data rows
- Pages using infobox song with unknown parameters
- Articles with unsourced statements from April 2012
- Articles with unsourced statements from November 2013
- Articles with unsourced statements from September 2013
- Led Zeppelin songs
- 1969 songs
- Songs written by Jimmy Page
- Songs written by Robert Plant
- Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page
- Rock ballads
- Folk rock songs