Whole Lotta Love

Led Zeppelin, 1969. Solo by Jimmy Page.

A short, snarling solo in a riff monster; the theremin freak-out in the middle is Page too.

After the long psychedelic breakdown, full of theremin swoops and detuned strings that are also Page, the band crashes back in and he fires off a brief, stinging lead of roughly seventeen seconds, coloured by wah. It works less as a showcase than as a release valve, a burst of bent, vocal-like phrases that launches the final verses. The famous riff gets its thick sound from Page playing two strings together and bending one, with John Paul Jones shadowing it an octave lower. Page produced the track himself, and the whole song feels built around contrasts of texture. Listen for how short the solo is; its job is to break the tension of the breakdown, and it does exactly that before stepping aside.

Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin is ranked #34 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Jimmy Page and the song was released in 1969. It appears on 16 lists, placing as high as #6 (SiriusXM (countdown transcribed on PRS Guitars forum)).

The story of Whole Lotta Love

"Whole Lotta Love" kicks off Led Zeppelin's second album, and its riff dates back to the summer of 1968, when Jimmy Page worked it out at his houseboat on the Thames at Pangbourne in Berkshire. John Paul Jones later floated the idea that the figure grew out of the band's onstage improvisations around "Dazed and Confused", but Page has always maintained that he arrived with the riff already formed and the band built the song around it.

The lyric leaned heavily on Willie Dixon's "You Need Love", which Muddy Waters cut in 1962 and which the Small Faces had reworked as "You Need Loving" in 1966. Steve Marriott later said Page and Plant had watched Small Faces shows and shown interest in that arrangement. Dixon's side sued in 1985; the case was settled privately, and his name has appeared in the writing credits of every release since then.

The track was cut in April 1969 at Olympic Studios in London, with further work at A&M in Hollywood while the band toured America. Page and engineer Eddie Kramer turned the song's middle into a wild sound collage, using theremin, backwards echo and aggressive panning. During mixing, Kramer noticed faint traces of Plant's voice leaking through and chose to drench them in echo rather than erase them, an accident Page liked enough to keep.

Atlantic released the track as a US single in November 1969, with an edited radio version trimming it to around three minutes. It climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, still Led Zeppelin's only American top-ten single, and topped the charts in Australia and West Germany. Manager Peter Grant blocked a planned British single, so the song did not appear as a UK 45 until a 1997 reissue.

The solo

Jimmy Page is the only guitarist on the track, and he produced it himself with Eddie Kramer at the desk. The famous riff gets its thick, doubled sound because Page plays two strings together and bends one of them, while John Paul Jones shadows the figure an octave below on bass using the same bend. After the long psychedelic breakdown, in which Page coaxes swooping noises from a theremin and detuned strings, the band crashes back in and Page fires off a brief, stinging lead of roughly seventeen seconds, colored by his wah-wah pedal. It works less as a showcase than as a release valve: a burst of bent, vocal-like phrases that launches the final verses. Page reportedly tracked his guitar through a solid-state amplifier, and Guitar World later counted the passage among the greatest wah solos ever recorded.

Legacy

The song became Led Zeppelin's biggest US hit and a cornerstone of hard rock. Rolling Stone ranked it No. 75 on its 2004 list of the 500 greatest songs and No. 11 on its 2008 list of the 100 greatest guitar songs, while Q put it third among the greatest guitar tracks in 2005. In 2014 BBC Radio 2 listeners voted its opening figure the greatest guitar riff ever, and the recording entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. CCS's instrumental cover also gave it a second life as the Top of the Pops theme for years.

Top 10 facts about Whole Lotta Love

Page came up with the riff in the summer of 1968 while staying on his houseboat on the River Thames at Pangbourne, Berkshire.
Wikipedia
The ghostly second vocal heard in the mix was long blamed on tape bleed-through, but engineer J.J. Blair later concluded it came from microphonic pickup of Plant's voice through a guitar pickup.
Wikipedia
Willie Dixon was added to the songwriting credits after a 1985 lawsuit over similarities to his song "You Need Love" was settled out of court.
Wikipedia
Peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, it remains the only Led Zeppelin single to reach the US top ten.
Wikipedia
Page got the idea of using a theremin after seeing the band Spirit use one, and he played it during the song's freakout section.
Songfacts
Guitar World placed the song's wah-inflected solo at No. 17 on a 2015 list of the greatest wah solos.
Songfacts
BBC Radio 2 listeners voted the song's opening figure the greatest guitar riff of all time in 2014.
Wikipedia
CCS's flute-led instrumental version reached No. 13 in the UK in 1970 and served as the Top of the Pops theme through much of the 1970s and again from 1998 to 2003.
Songfacts
At the Beijing Olympics closing ceremony in 2008, Page performed a reworked version with Leona Lewis during the London 2012 handover segment, with some lyrics changed for a female singer.
Wikipedia
The medley version on How the West Was Won, recorded at the L.A. Forum on June 25, 1972, runs over 23 minutes.
Wikipedia

Live versions

BBC Sessions (Paris Theatre, London) (1971) Recorded April 1, 1971 for BBC radio; an extended medley released officially in 1997.
How the West Was Won (L.A. Forum) (1972) A 23-minute medley folding in blues and rock-and-roll standards, from the band's 1972 US tour.
The Song Remains the Same (Madison Square Garden) (1973) Featured in the 1976 concert film and soundtrack album.
Live Aid (JFK Stadium, Philadelphia) (1985) Reunion set with Phil Collins and Tony Thompson sharing drum duties.
Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert (O2 Arena, London) (2007) Full reunion with Jason Bonham on drums on December 10, 2007.

Notable covers

CCS (1970) Brassy, flute-led instrumental; UK No. 13 and long-time Top of the Pops theme.
King Curtis and the Kingpins (1971) Saxophone-led instrumental that reached the US Hot 100 and R&B chart.
Tina Turner (1975) Soul-rock reading on her album Acid Queen.
Goldbug (1996) Mashed up with Pearl & Dean cinema music; reached No. 3 in the UK.
Mary J. Blige (2010) Recorded with Steve Vai, Orianthi and Travis Barker.

In our lists

The Most-Taught Solos — #40
The Road Trip 50 — #6
The 25 Greatest Hard Rock Guitar Solos — #5
The Pioneers: 1950s & 60s — #9
Solos in Hit Singles — #6
Best of Jimmy Page — #4
Played on a Les Paul — #10

Sources

Who played the guitar solo on Whole Lotta Love?

Jimmy Page played the solo on Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love (1969).

What guitar was used on the Whole Lotta Love solo?

A gibson les paul through a Marshall amp, with theremin, according to widely reported accounts.

Where does Whole Lotta Love rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#34 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 16 of them.

Who wrote "Whole Lotta Love"?

It is credited to all four members of Led Zeppelin plus Willie Dixon, whose name was added after a 1985 settlement over his song "You Need Love".

What album is "Whole Lotta Love" on?

It is the opening track of Led Zeppelin II, released in 1969.

What is the strange noise in the middle of "Whole Lotta Love"?

It is a studio-built freakout featuring Jimmy Page on theremin, backwards echo and heavy stereo panning, created with engineer Eddie Kramer.

How did Jimmy Page get the riff's thick sound?

He played two strings at once and bent one of them, while John Paul Jones doubled the line an octave lower on bass.

How high did "Whole Lotta Love" chart?

It reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in Australia and West Germany.