Jimmy Page says he wrote Led Zeppelin hit after George Harrison said band ‘never do ballads’

A song written by legendary musician Jimmy Page was done so in response to criticism from The Beatles‘ George Harrison.

Led Zeppelin member Page would take on the challenge set by the so-called quiet one of The Beatles. Harrison would be an accidental influence of sorts on one of Led Zeppelin’s best-known songs, Rain Song. Page would tell biographer Brad Tolinski the All Things Must Pass hitmaker had effectively challenged him to write a “ballad” instead of the usual rock and roll work. Harrison had seemed to know of Page from The Yardbirds, being told of Led Zeppelin’s formation by engineer Glyn Johns. Harrison would ask: “Is he the one that was in The Yardbirds?” It may have been an exciting time on the music scene, but it seems a passing comment from Harrison pushed the band into writing one of their very best tracks.

Page would say: “George was talking to Bonzo one evening and said, ‘The problem with you guys is that you never do ballads,’ I said, ‘I’ll give him a ballad,’ and I wrote Rain Song, which appears Houses of the Holy. In fact, you’ll notice I even quote Something in the song’s first two chords.”

Another song featured on Houses of the Holy, No Quarter, has been hailed as a “perfect” version of the track by fans. Some believe the earlier recording of the song is much superior to the one which would feature on the album.

Fans have speculated that this early version was played and recorded in time to feature on Led Zeppelin IV, but was cut. While there is no confirmation of this, it proves to be a popular theory among fans in the comment section of the early version shared YouTube.

The “freaking killer” version of the song is seen as a much better rendition than the one featured on the group’s 1973 release, though a few fans have speculated how the “creepy yet beautiful” song evolved in time for the group’s follow-up to their untitled fourth album.

One fan wrote: “The jazzy and Brazilian vibe is amazing! I’m loving this version so much!” Another added: “This is freaking killer! John Bonham baby!” A third shard: “Something about this early track is just so perfect to my ears.”

A listener has since shared their thoughts on how the song became a post-Led Zeppelin masterpiece for the group, suggesting the key change and “down tuning” used by the band is crucial. They wrote: “The secret to the finished studio version of this song is Page recorded the music in the key of D, at normal speed, in standard E tuning.

“Then the wizard slowed the tape down for Plant to sing over the finished song. By slowing the tape down, he dropped the pitch from D to C which made it sound much more heavy and foreboding.

“It’s a similar effect to down-tuning. Like Tony Iommi did in early Black Sabbath. This is why No Quarter sounds so epic, creepy, yet so damn beautiful! One of my top five Led Zeppelin songs ever, because it almost sounds like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath had a baby!”