Four Sticks

"Four Sticks"
German single picture sleeve
Single by Led Zeppelin
from the album Led Zeppelin IV
A-side	"Rock and Roll"
Released	21 February 1972 (1972-02-21) (US)
Recorded	1971
Studio	Island, London
Genre	Hard rock [1] raga rock [2]
Length	4:45
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Jimmy Page Robert Plant
Producer(s)	Jimmy Page
Led Zeppelin singles chronology
"Black Dog" (1971) "Four Sticks" (1972) "Over the Hills and Far Away" (1973)
Audio sample
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"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 drumsticks in each hand, totaling four. ^[3]

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.

Personnel

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

• Robert Plant – vocals
• Jimmy Page – acoustic guitar, electric guitars (six-string and twelve-string)
• John Paul Jones – bass, synthesiser
• John Bonham – drums

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

• List of cover versions of Led Zeppelin songs § Four Sticks

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. 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

• Guesdon, Jean-Michel; Margotin, Philippe (2018). Led Zeppelin All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Running Press. ISBN   978-0-316-448-67-3.