George Harrison had several great moments with The Beatles. He played guitar skillfully, wrote some of the Fab Four’s prettiest tunes, and saved the Get Back sessions when they were about to derail completely. We’ll give George credit there, but he was 100% wrong about Led Zeppelin and their ability to write ballads.
George Harrison called out Led Zeppelin for not writing ballads
The Beatles were all but finished when Led Zeppelin burst onto the music scene. Their careers briefly overlapped, but Zep took the torch as the world’s most popular band when the Fab Four split in 1970.
At some point, George crossed paths with Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and lodged a complaint. The former Beatle called out the newer band for not writing any ballads. Led Zeppelin founding guitarist Jimmy Page answered George’s critique by writing “The Rain Song,” the second track from 1973’s Houses of the Holy. Page nodded toward George by using the same two opening chords he used on “Something.”
Page believed George’s comment came from a place of ignorance as he doubted the former Beatle listened to much Zep music. That much was clear because George was 100% wrong about Led Zeppelin’s ability to write ballads.
George was so wrong about Led Zeppelin’s ability to write ballads
Some of George’s best Beatles songs were ballads. “Something” is a straight-up delicate love song. “Here Comes the Sun” is more of a folk-pop song, but it leans toward ballad territory. He had a knack for writing softer songs and called out Led Zeppelin for not making the attempt.
The only problem is that George was completely wrong about Led Zeppelin’s talents for writing ballads.
Yes, Zep put themselves on the map playing heavy psychedelic blues. Many of their signature songs — “Whole Lotta Love,” “Dazed and Confused,” “When the Levee Breaks” — follow that formula.
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Yet if George had listened to any of their albums, he’d know the band never shied away from playing ballads. The first four albums include several soft Led Zeppelin songs that proved they had no trouble tapping into their delicate side. Led Zeppelin II’s “Thank You,” “Tangerine” and “That’s the Way” off Led Zeppelin III, and “Going to California” from Led Zeppelin IV are straight-up ballads. Several other early tunes — “Black Mountain Side,” “Gallows Pole,” and “Battle of Evermore” — weren’t ballads, per se, but their folk leanings stepped outside the psychedelic blues framework fans expected to find them in.
George called out Led Zeppelin for not writing ballads, but he was 100% wrong about their talents to write delicate songs.
Zep continued to include softer songs on later albums
Led Zeppelin wrote ballads long before George weighed in with his completely wrong take. They responded directly with “The Rain Song,” but that wasn’t the last delicate song they wrote.
Though recorded during the Led Zeppelin IV sessions, the (mostly) delicate country-tinged “Down By the Seaside” surfaced on 1975’s Physical Graffiti. The tragic death of singer Robert Plant’s son inspired “All of My Love,” one of the most delicate Led Zeppelin songs and a highlight of In Through the Out Door, the band’s final studio album.
They had a reputation for powerful rock tunes, but George Harrison was wrong about Led Zeppelin not writing ballads. They proved time after time throughout their career for anyone who bothered to listen.
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