Black Dog - Led Zepplin (1971) 6/22/21

In 1971, Led Zepplin released their 4th album, called...well, they never actually gave it a name, but the first single release was named after a Labrador Retriever that was hanging around the studio while they were recording it.

"Black Dog" became a "Great Song of the '70s" for a number of reasons, not the least of which was its unique time signature.

John Paul Jones wrote it in 5/4 time--but although that's rather unusual, it fit the "band/singer" call and response style of the song.

Interestingly, the guys had a problem with it at first--they couldn't time lead singer Robert Plant's responses to fit into the band's 5/4 riffs.

Or, to put it another way, Robert had a hard time singing between the beats. :-)

Finally, drummer John Bonham came up with the solution: Let Robert sing his part no matter how long it took, and the band would come back in at 5/4.

I realize I'm getting a bit technical (I'm also over-simplifying if you're trained musician)...but "Black Dog" wouldn't be a "Great Song" without the irregular beat.

Not to mention the rockin' musicality of the song a a whole.

The song charted all over the world--except in the UK, where Led Zepplin had a policy of NOT releasing singles in their home country.

In the US, "Black Dog" made it to #15 on the Hot 100, and in Canada, it topped out at #11. It might have made it into the Top 10, but some stations thought the song was just a little too "hard rock" to be mainstream.

Their loss.

For the record, Rolling Stone Magazine has it at #300 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." Blender Magazine went even farther and named it one of the "Greatest Songs Ever!"

"Black Dog:" most certainly a "Great Song of the '70s."