Four Sticks

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"Four Sticks"
Rock & Roll45.jpg
German single picture sleeve
Single by Led Zeppelin
from the album Led Zeppelin IV
A-side "Rock and Roll"
Released21 February 1972 (1972-02-21) (US)
Recorded1971
Studio Island, London
Genre
Length4:46
Label Atlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Jimmy Page
Led Zeppelin singles chronology
"Black Dog"
(1971)
"Four Sticks"
(1972)
"Over the Hills and Far Away"
(1973)
Audio sample

"Four Sticks" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin from their untitled fourth album. The title reflects drummer John Bonham's performance with two sets of two drumsticks, totaling four. [3]

Contents

The song was difficult to record, and required more takes than usual. [3] John Paul Jones played a VCS3 synthesizer on the track. [3] The song has an unusual time signature, featuring riffs in a mixture of 5/8 and 6/8.

Only one live performance has been identified – in Copenhagen on their 1971 European tour – and preserved on some bootleg recordings. [3]

Personnel

According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin: [4]

Four Hands

The song was re-recorded by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant with the Bombay Symphony Orchestra in 1972, during their trip to India, along with another song, "Friends" from Led Zeppelin III . [5] This version featured tabla drums and sitars. The recording, titled "Four Hands" was released officially on the 2015 remastering of Coda .

See also

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References

  1. Christman, Ed (January 9, 2019). "Led Zeppelin At 50: Every Zep Song, Ranked By Revenue Generated". Billboard . Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  2. RAMIREZ, AJ (21 November 2011). "Led Zeppelin - "Four Sticks"". PopMatters .
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, ISBN   0-7119-3528-9.
  4. Guesdon & Margotin 2018, p. 278.
  5. Liner notes to Led Zeppelin Boxed Set 2 by David Fricke

Bibliography