Remember "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" by Led Zeppelin? Well, before Jimmy Page got his hot little hands on the song, it was sung by Joan Baez. Listen to her version and explain to me how Jimmy and the boys created their masterpiece as we know it today:
This sounds like opera to me. Her voice is beautiful, don't get me wrong, but how did Jimmy create Zep's version after hearing that? I'm gobsmacked.
The song was actually written by Anne Bredon, a student at UC-Berkley. She appeared on a live folk-music radio show The Midnight Special on radio station KPFA around 1960, on which she sang "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You". A fellow folk singer developed the song further, which came to the attention of Joan Baez.
In my opinion, the song was always meant to be heard like this:
2 comments:
I agree, Belle. Zeplin's deep into the soul...however, having said that, my husband and I decided to cut thru Vermont after visiting his family in New Hamshire (on our way home to Virginia), saw a sign for a free outdoor concert and decided to drop by. This was in the early Eighties. Joan Baez headlined the concert. She sang Babe...sigh, magnificent...we were all sitting out on the expansive lawn, getting close to dusk...and her voice rang rang out, clear and pure (gives me goose bumps thinking about it)...that evening Babe was perfect...
Wow, Kittie! That's so cool. Her voice is pure, I agree.
I hope to get back to your blog tomorrow. I glanced the other day and saw it was about gambling. I want to be settled in so I can concentrate without distractions. Looks like another good tale! Can't wait to read.
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