White Summer
| White Summer | |
|---|---|
| Appears on | Led Zeppelin |
| Published by | Superhype Music |
| Registration | ASCAP 530149787 |
| Release date | 7 September 1990 |
| Recorded | 27 June 1969 |
| Genre | Folk rock |
| Language | English |
| Length | 8 min 1 sec |
| Composer | Jimmy Page |
| Label | Atlantic Records |
| Producer | Jimmy Page, Jeff Griffin |
| Engineer | Tony Wilson |
"White Summer" is a guitar instrumental by English rock guitarist Jimmy Page, recorded with Led Zeppelin, and released on the 1990 Led Zeppelin box set.
Overview
A folk song to bookend live medleys of "Black Mountain Side", when playing and recording the song, Page specifically used a Danelectro guitar.[1] Middle Eastern, Egyptian and Indian raga styles are incorporated into the song, which is played in the DADGAD tuning. In an interview he gave in 1977, he commented:
| “ | I used a special tuning for [the song]; the low string down to D, then A, D, G, A and D. It’s like a modal tuning, a sitar tuning, in fact.[2] | ” |
A version was recorded at a BBC broadcast made from the Playhouse Theatre performance on 27 June 1969, for the pilot of Radio One's In Concert series, which took place during the band's U.K. Tour of Summer 1969.[3] As with most of the live versions of this song, Page dove-tailed the end of it straight into the instrumental "Black Mountain Side", which was a track from Led Zeppelin's first album. The recording remained shelved for many years, but was eventually included on the 1990 Led Zeppelin box set under the combined title "White Summer/Black Mountain Side". The piece was later included as a bonus track on the 1993 boxed set The Complete Studio Recordings.
Live versions
Jimmy Page often performed "White Summer/Black Mountain Side" at Led Zeppelin concerts as part of the standard set list during 1968-1970 and again on the 1977, 1979 and 1980 tours, segueing it with "Kashmir". He used his Danelectro guitar to play this piece, as shown on the Led Zeppelin DVD which includes his performance of the song at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970.
On 26 April 1970, Page performed the piece on the Julie Felix Show. Page would also play versions of this song when he was with The Firm, and again during his Outrider tour, seguing into "White Summer/Black Mountain Side" in the solo section for "Midnight Moonlight".
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Notes
- ↑ Steven Rosen, 1977 Jimmy Page Interview, Modern Guitars, 25 May 2007 (originally published in the July 1977, issue of Guitar Player magazine).
- ↑ Steven Rosen, 1977 Jimmy Page Interview, Modern Guitars, 25 May 2007 (originally published in the July 1977, issue of Guitar Player magazine).
- ↑ Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.