Whole Lotta Love

You need coolin, baby, I'm not foolin,
I'm gonna send you back to schoolin,
Way down inside honey, you need it,
I'm gonna give you my love,
I'm gonna give you my love.

Wanna whole lotta love [X4]

You've been learnin, baby, I been learnin,
All them good times, baby, baby, I've been yearnin,
Way, way down inside honey, you need it,
I'm gonna give you my love... I'm gonna give you my love.

Wanna whole lotta love [X4]

You've been coolin, baby, I've been droolin,
All the good times I've been misusin',
Way, way down inside, I'm gonna give you my love,
I'm gonna give you every inch of my love,
Gonna give you my love.

Wanna whole lotta love [X4]

Way down inside... woman... you need... love.

Shake for me, girl. I wanna be your backdoor man.
Keep it coolin, baby.



- Released October 22, 1969

- This was Led Zeppelin's first US single. The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on 22 November 1969. It remained on the chart for 15 weeks, peaking at #4 and becoming the band's only top 10 single in the US.

- In 1962, Muddy Waters recorded "You Need Love" written for him by peer Willie Dixon. In 1966 British mod band the Small Faces recorded the song as "You Need Loving". Some of the lyrics of Led Zeppelin's version were borrowed from the Willie Dixon song, a favorite of Robert Plant's. Plant's phrasing is particularly similar to that of Steve Marriott's in the Small Faces' version. Similarities with "You Need Love" would lead to a lawsuit against Led Zeppelin, settled out of court in favour of Dixon in 1985. Strangely, the Small Faces were never sued by Dixon, even though "You Need Loving" still only credits Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott. Reference

Muddy Waters "You Need Love"



Small Faces "You Need Loving"



- "Whole Lotta Love" was the last song Led Zeppelin ever played live in their original lineup.

- The song includes a sound effect called "Reverse Echo" or "Backward Echo" Jimmy Page lays claim to the invention of this effect, stating that he originally developed the method when recording the single "Ten Little Indians" with The Yardbirds in 1967. He later used it on a number of Led Zeppelin tracks, including "You Shook Me" and "Whole Lotta Love"

The Yardbirds "Ten Little Indians"



Led Zeppelin "You Shook Me"



- In 2004, "Whole Lotta Love" was ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and in March 2005, Q magazine placed "Whole Lotta Love" at number three in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. It was placed 11 on a similar list by Rolling Stone. In 2009 it was named the third greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.

- Jimmy Page played the loose blues riff for the intro, on a Sunburst 1958 Les Paul Standard through a 100W Marshall "Plexi" head amp with distortion from the EL34 output valves, which ascends into the first chorus. Then, beginning at 1:24 (and lasting until 3:02) the song dissolves to a free jazz-like break involving a theremin solo and a drum solo and the moans of Robert Plant (sometimes called the "orgasm section".

- Robert Plant did this song in one take.