The only Led Zeppelin songs not written by Jimmy Page
To many fans, Jimmy Page is Led Zeppelin. The band’s founder and creative mastermind, producer and guitarist; the list of what he brought to the quartet is extensive, with him vital to their many successes. Alongside frontman Robert Plant, Page is the author of most of the band’s classic tracks, from ‘Stairway to Heaven’ to ‘Achilles Last Stand’. However, there are two Led Zeppelin songs that Page did not write; instead, they were the brainchildren of Plant and bassist John Paul Jones.
The songs are ‘All My Love’ and ‘South Bound Suarez’, both found on the band’s final album, 1979’s In Through the Out Door. Notably, the former is the most well-known of the two, with it a heartfelt ode to Plant’s late son, Karac, who passed away aged five in 1977 due to a stomach illness. On the other hand, the latter is an energetic piece that is greatly indebted to the rock ‘n’ roll of the 1950s, complete with a busy piano line that harks back to the period.
Jimmy Page and drummer John Bonham are less prominent on the final Led Zeppelin album because of their personal situations at the time. The guitarist was deep in the throes of his longstanding heroin addiction, and Bonham was racked by the alcoholism that ultimately claimed his life in 1980. Understandably then, both musicians weren’t in the best state to perform in the studio. Much of the creative responsibility then fell to Plant and Jones.
Page and Bonham were of the shared opinion that the songs for In Through the Out Door were all “a little soft”. To them, ‘All my Love’ was the most egregious offender. “I was a little worried about the chorus. I could just imagine people doing the wave and all of that. And I thought ‘That is not us. That is not us.” Page still permitted the track to make it onto the album though, expressing, “In its place it was fine, but I would not have wanted to pursue that direction in the future”.
Another problem for Page, and many of the band’s fans, was John Paul Jones’ keyboard on the song. Whilst the man had cemented himself as a legend thanks to his crucial role in elevating the band’s sound, with ‘Black Dog’ a standout example of this, his perceived fire was nowhere to be seen on the track. On ‘All my Love’, the multi-instrumentalist opted for a Baroque sound, which many listeners felt was too nice for the band that usually delivered high-octane moments.
Before all else, though, ‘All my Love’ is a eulogy to Karac, affecting even the most ardent haters of emotions. It didn’t need Page or Bonham to write it, Plant’s feelings were sincere, and Jones did his best to bring them to life. As four ‘South Bound Suarez’, the pair had proceedings on lockdown. Again, their addiction-addled bandmates weren’t required to pen this rollicking good time, which is resoundingly hailed as one of their best latter moments.
The Led Zeppelin songs not written by Jimmy Page:
- ‘All my Love’ – In Through the Out Door (1979)
- ‘South Bound Suarez’ – In Through the Out Door (1979)
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