"Dancing Days" is a song by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

. It appears on their 1973 album, '' Houses of the Holy'', and was released as a single in the US. It was recorded at

Stargroves Stargroves (also known as Stargrove House) is a manor house and associated estate at East Woodhay in the English county of Hampshire. The house belonged to Mick Jagger during the 1970s and was a recording venue for the Rolling Stones and vari ...

, England in 1972. It was inspired by an Indian tune that

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

and

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

heard while traveling in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. This was the first track from the album to be offered for radio play by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. It was premiered on 24 March 1973 on the

BBC Radio One BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, hi ...

Rosko lunch time show.Dave Lewis (1994), ''The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin'', Omnibus Press, .

Live performances

As with the single's A-side, " Over the Hills and Far Away", "Dancing Days" was introduced by the band in concert well ahead of its commercial release. The earliest live documented reference is in Seattle on 19 June 1972 where the song was performed twice: once during the main set and again as an encore; it was then performed frequently during the rest of this tour, with a version appearing on the live album, '' How the West Was Won''. With the release of ''Houses of the Holy'', however, "Dancing Days" was largely dropped from concerts, although an abridged, acoustic version was occasionally performed during the 1977 U.S. tour. A full electric version was played as an encore on 13 July 1973 at Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan as featured on the "Monsters of Rock" bootleg.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for ''Houses of the Holy'', Gordon Fletcher of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' gave "Dancing Days" a negative review, calling the track nothing but a piece of "filler".

Personnel

According to the ''Houses of the Holy'' liner notes. *

– vocals *

– guitars *

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

– bass, organ *

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove, John Bonh ...

– drums

Stone Temple Pilots version

American rock band

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots, commonly abbreviated as STP, is an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1989. Originally consisting of lead vocalist Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo, and drummer :Songs ...

released an acoustic cover of "Dancing Days" as a

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

from the tribute album '' Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin'' (1995). Their version is a

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

and

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

song, with elements of swing, an example of the DeLeo brother's

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

influences. The song peaked at No. 63 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Airplay chart. The band repurposed the chorus riff on '' Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart", a song and second single from their third studio album, ''Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop'' (1996).

Release

of "Dancing Days", shortened to three minutes and 46 seconds, was released in 1995, with the four minute and two second album version as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. The single was manufactured by WEA Manufacturing, made by Specialty Records, and issued with a black and white printed tray card, but no front insert. While not entering the US Hot 100, the song reached No. 63 on US Hot 100 Airplay, No. 11 on US

Alternative Airplay Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

, No. 3 on US

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

and No. 46 on the Canada Top Singles chart.

Critical reception

Ryan Burleson of ''Magnet'' praised the cover for its faithfulness to the original, opining that the song almost sounded like a Stone Temple Pilots original. According to him, this wasn't surprising, as the band frequently cited Led Zeppelin as an influence, and had the same record label,

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

Legacy

"Dancing Days" was remastered and rereleased on 13 September 2019 as one of 12 bonus tracks on the 25th anniversary remaster of the band's second studio album, ''Purple''. Stone Temple Pilots reused the chorus riff from their version of the song on " Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart", a song and second single from the band's third studio album, ''Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop'', and released on 3 August 1996.

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American broadcaster and media personality. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1 ...

uploaded a video in January 2019 of the band performing the song on ''The Howard Stern Show'', in 1996. The video had never been uploaded to the internet, and only the audio was previously available online. Howard says at the end, "you sons of bitches can really do it, I like it."

Track listing

Charts

References

Bibliography

* {{authority control Led Zeppelin songs Songs written by Jimmy Page Songs written by Robert Plant 1973 singles Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page Stone Temple Pilots songs Atlantic Records singles 1973 songs Songs about dancing

Live performances

Critical reception

Personnel

Stone Temple Pilots version

Release

Critical reception

Legacy

Track listing

Charts

See also

References

Bibliography