| Since I've Been Loving You | |
| Artist: | Led Zeppelin |
| Album: | Led Zeppelin III |
| Recorded: | May–June 1970 (?); 1969 December (?); 5 June 1970; July 1970 (?); August 1970 |
| Studio: | Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, Headley Grange, Hampshire; Olympic Sound Studios, London; Island Studios, London; Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 7:25 |
| Label: | Atlantic |
| Producer: | Jimmy Page |
"Since I've Been Loving You" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in 1970 on the album Led Zeppelin III.
"Since I've Been Loving You" was one of the first songs prepared for the Led Zeppelin III album.[2] The song was recorded live in the studio with very little overdubbing. It was reportedly the hardest to record.[3]
John Paul Jones played Hammond organ on the song, using the bass pedals instead of a bass guitar.[4] John Bonham's preferred drum pedal, the Ludwig Speed King model 201, squeaks during the recording, and has been called the "Squeak King".[5] [6]
The opening and closing lyrics of "Since I've Been Loving You" are nearly identical to the 1968 Moby Grape song "Never".[7] The song is a slow blues in the key of C minor.[8]
According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin:
In a contemporary review of Led Zeppelin III, Lester Bangs of Rolling Stone wrote that the track "represents the obligatory slow and lethally dull seven-minute blues jam."[9] Robert Christgau was more enthusiastic in Newsday; "with John Paul Jones providing a great thick wall of organ behind Plant and Page", he regarded it as "the ultimate power blues".[10]
Years later, guitarist Joe Satriani enthused: "'Since I've Been Loving You' was a perfect example of taking a blues structure but striking out on your own. They were breaking ground, not copying. I love that Page would always just go for it. Some other guitarist might have better technique, but what Page did would always trump it because the spirit was so overwhelming. Whatever he did would turn into a technique."[11] Audio engineer Terry Manning called it "The best rock guitar solo of all time."[12]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sounds | Germany | "The Top 30 Songs of All Time"[13] | 1992 | 16 |
| Mojo | United Kingdom | "100 Great Voices"[14] | 1994 | |
| Guitarist | United Kingdom | "Top 100 Guitar Solos of All-time"[15] | 1998 | 8 |
| Guitar World | United States | "100 Greatest Solos of All-time"[16] | 1998 | 53 |
| Q | United Kingdom | "1010 Songs You Must Own!"[17] | 2004 | |
| (*) designates unordered lists. | ||||