ROCK AND ROLL

Written by: Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham Run time: 3 minutes 40 seconds Recorded at: Headley Grange, Hampshire, 1971 In a nutshell: The party tune. The product of a spontaneous jam session, according to Page, this turbo-charged Chuck Berry romp is the Zeppelin track most guitarists will learn at some point – with varying degrees of success. Easy on the ear and the most ‘commercial’ thing on Led Zep IV, it’s the track you’re most likely to dance to. Noted cover versions by: Stevie Nicks (2007), Great White (1987), Susan Tedeschi (2005), Van Halen (2004).

“It was the riffs. It was the singing. It was all of that… but there was something mysterious and dark, and that’s what really drew me in [to Led Zeppelin]. “I was definitely a Page man. The first Zeppelin song I learnt on guitar was Rock And Roll. And I remember it well, because there was a guitar magazine in the grocery store with a transcription. I took it home and it was so empowering. There was this one key lick at the end of the solo – learning that was a big thing. But it’s a challenging song, because that opening drum riff kinda throws you off. I can’t tell you how many bands I’ve played in that had a hard time with that! But that’s what makes it so cool, it’s unpredictable.

“I never had the opportunity to see Zeppelin live. I wish I’d seen the reunion. The only thing I did see was when Robert Plant and Jimmy Page reunited in the nineties. But working with them [in 2008] felt surreal. Jimmy played the Les Paul, and just being in the room with that guitar would have been enough for me. But standing next to him as he’s playing these iconic riffs and the hairs on the back of my neck are standing up… it was like living in some alternative universe”