Nobody's Fault But Mine
Encyclopedia
"Nobody's Fault but Mine" is a traditional blues
song that has been covered by many musicians since the late 1960s. A gospel song under the title "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine" is listed in the 1924 Cleveland Library's Index to Negro Spirituals. The first known recording of this song, under the title "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine", was made by blues-gospel guitarist Blind Willie Johnson
; the sides were recorded over the period 1927–1930. It is unknown if he was the writer of the track, or simply covering a traditional song. Currently Johnson's version is not registered with any copyright association and resides in public domain
. A heavily modified version of the song appears on the album Presence by British hard rock band Led Zeppelin
. A cover of this song was played intermittently by Jerry Garcia with the Grateful Dead throughout their career, sometimes with lyrics, sometimes without, sometimes crediting Blind Willie Johnson.
rock band
Led Zeppelin
, and released in 1976 on their album Presence. The Led Zeppelin song is registered with copyright association ASCAP, with the unique title code 440088148.
-based riff in E minor (and later E major) from Jimmy Page
which is doubled by vocalist Robert Plant
. The solo in E Minor Pentatonic, switches to E Major Pentatonic, back to E Minor Pentatonic, and concludes in E Major Pentatonic. Page triple-tracked his guitar intro; playing one guitar an octave higher than the others.
Drummer
John Bonham
and bassist
John Paul Jones
maintain the rhythm of the song, adding some syncopated
accents during repetitions of the introductory phrase. The first half of the song also features a harmonica
accompaniment by Plant.
Record producer Rick Rubin
has remarked on the song's structure, "A traditional blues, twisted through a trippy, psychedelic filter. They [Led Zeppelin] played with such precision, doing these odd arrangements that sound like loose jams but are really choreographed."
onwards, "Nobody's Fault but Mine" became a vital component of Led Zeppelin concerts
, and was played at virtually every show until the group's final tour of Europe
in 1980. One live version, from Led Zeppelin's performance at Knebworth in 1979
, is featured on disc 2 of the Led Zeppelin DVD. During live performances, Plant often exclaimed, "Oh Jimmy!" right before Page went into his guitar solo.
"Nobody's Fault but Mine" was performed at Led Zeppelin's reunion show
at the O2 Arena
, London
on December 10, 2007.
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
song that has been covered by many musicians since the late 1960s. A gospel song under the title "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine" is listed in the 1924 Cleveland Library's Index to Negro Spirituals. The first known recording of this song, under the title "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine", was made by blues-gospel guitarist Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Willie Johnson
"Blind" Willie Johnson was an American singer and guitarist, whose music straddled the border between blues and spirituals....
; the sides were recorded over the period 1927–1930. It is unknown if he was the writer of the track, or simply covering a traditional song. Currently Johnson's version is not registered with any copyright association and resides in public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
. A heavily modified version of the song appears on the album Presence by British hard rock band Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
. A cover of this song was played intermittently by Jerry Garcia with the Grateful Dead throughout their career, sometimes with lyrics, sometimes without, sometimes crediting Blind Willie Johnson.
Led Zeppelin's version
This arrangement of "Nobody's Fault but Mine" was recorded by EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rock band
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, and released in 1976 on their album Presence. The Led Zeppelin song is registered with copyright association ASCAP, with the unique title code 440088148.
Overview
The Led Zeppelin version contains different lyrics in the song such as "brother he showed me the gong", "I got a monkey on my back" and "Devil he told me to roll", which do not appear in the Johnson version. The Led Zeppelin song structure also includes differences in the arrangements within the verse-chorus. Musically there are changes to the tempo, and the track features a phase-treated, delta bluesDelta blues
The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
-based riff in E minor (and later E major) from Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
which is doubled by vocalist Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
. The solo in E Minor Pentatonic, switches to E Major Pentatonic, back to E Minor Pentatonic, and concludes in E Major Pentatonic. Page triple-tracked his guitar intro; playing one guitar an octave higher than the others.
Drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
and bassist
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (musician)
John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
maintain the rhythm of the song, adding some syncopated
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
accents during repetitions of the introductory phrase. The first half of the song also features a harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
accompaniment by Plant.
Record producer Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
has remarked on the song's structure, "A traditional blues, twisted through a trippy, psychedelic filter. They [Led Zeppelin] played with such precision, doing these odd arrangements that sound like loose jams but are really choreographed."
Live history
From 1977Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1977
Led Zeppelin's 1977 North American Tour was the eleventh and final concert tour of North America by the English rock band. The tour was divided into three legs, with performances commencing on 1 April and concluding on 24 July 1977...
onwards, "Nobody's Fault but Mine" became a vital component of Led Zeppelin concerts
Led Zeppelin concerts
From September 1968 through the summer of 1980, English rock group Led Zeppelin were one of the world's most popular live music attractions, performing hundreds of sold-out concerts around the world.-History:...
, and was played at virtually every show until the group's final tour of Europe
Tour Over Europe 1980
Tour Over Europe 1980 was the last concert tour by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. The tour commenced on June 17 and concluded on July 7, 1980...
in 1980. One live version, from Led Zeppelin's performance at Knebworth in 1979
Knebworth Festival 1979
The Knebworth Festival 1979 consisted of two concerts performed by the English rock band Led Zeppelin and other artists at Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, England, in August 1979.-History:...
, is featured on disc 2 of the Led Zeppelin DVD. During live performances, Plant often exclaimed, "Oh Jimmy!" right before Page went into his guitar solo.
"Nobody's Fault but Mine" was performed at Led Zeppelin's reunion show
Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert
The Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert was a benefit concert held in memory of music executive Ahmet Ertegün at The O2 in London on December 10, 2007. The headline act was the English rock band, Led Zeppelin, who performed their first full-length concert since the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980,...
at the O2 Arena
The O2 arena (London)
The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on December 10, 2007.
Personnel
- Robert PlantRobert PlantRobert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes... - Jimmy PageJimmy PageJames Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s - John Paul JonesJohn Paul Jones (musician)John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
– 8-string bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - John BonhamJohn BonhamJohn Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Cover versions
(With credits to Page/Plant)- 1991: Dread ZeppelinDread ZeppelinDread Zeppelin is an American band best known for performing the songs of Led Zeppelin in a reggae style as sung by a 300 pound Vegas Elvis impersonator. Over the years they would also perform songs originally by Elvis Presley, Bob Marley and The Yardbirds. The group toured extensively around the...
(5,000,0005,000,0005,000,000 is Dread Zeppelin's second full-length album. Recorded in early fall 1990, it was conceived and recorded during a three-week break from touring to support the surprisingly successful Un-Led-Ed. Produced by Jah Paul Jo and Rasta Li-Mon, the album once again featured their patented...
) - 1994: Page and PlantPage and PlantJimmy Page and Robert Plant, both formerly of English hard rock band Led Zeppelin, recorded and toured in the mid-1990s under the title Page and Plant. The pair re-united in 1994 and, after recording a highly successful first album, they embarked on a world tour. They then recorded a second album,...
(No Quarter: Jimmy Page & Robert Plant Unledded) - 1994: The 77sThe 77sThe 77s are an American rock band consisting of Michael Roe on vocals/guitar, Mark Harmon on bass, and Bruce Spencer on drums.-Scratch Band:...
(Drowning with Land in SightDrowning with Land in SightDrowning With Land In Sight is the title of The 77s' seventh album, released in 1994 on the Myrrh Records label. The music, their heaviest up to that point, ranged from the opening note-for-note Led Zeppelin cover to the straightforward Rolling Stones homage "Cold Cold Night" to Roy...
) - 1994: Cinnamon (Cinnamon III)
- 1995: Page and PlantPage and PlantJimmy Page and Robert Plant, both formerly of English hard rock band Led Zeppelin, recorded and toured in the mid-1990s under the title Page and Plant. The pair re-united in 1994 and, after recording a highly successful first album, they embarked on a world tour. They then recorded a second album,...
(Untitled single) - 1995: Michael White & The WhiteMichael White & The WhiteMichael White & The White is an American hard rock combo and occasional Led Zeppelin cover band, formed around singer Michael White.Michael White started his career in 1973...
(Plays the Music of Led Zeppelin) - 1999: John CorabiJohn CorabiJohn Corabi is a heavy metal singer and guitarist who has worked with such bands as Angora, The Scream, Mötley Crüe, Union and ESP , Ratt , Twenty 4 Seven , Zen Lunatic, Brides of Destruction, and Angel City Outlaws John Corabi (born on April 26, 1959 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a heavy...
(A Tribute to Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains Remixed) - 2000: Jimmy Page & The Black CrowesThe Black CrowesThe Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...
(Live at the GreekLive at the GreekLive at the Greek: Excess All Areas is a double live album by Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes, released by musicmaker.com on 29 February 2000 and later by TVT Records on 4 July 2000. In October 1999, Page teamed up with The Black Crowes for a two-night performance of material from the Led Zeppelin...
) - 2000: Orange Moon (Dead Zeppelin: A Metal Tribute to Led Zeppelin)
- 2000: Never Never (Never Never Tribute)
- 2003: Various artists (Pickin' on Led Zeppelin, Vol. 1-2Pickin' on Led Zeppelin, Vol. 1-2Pickin' on Led Zeppelin, Vol. 1-2 is a 2003 two-volume tribute album to Led Zeppelin consisting of twenty-one of their songs replayed in a bluegrass style, as well as an original composition by David West entitled Jed Zeppelin.-Disc one:...
) - 2004: Paul GilbertPaul GilbertPaul Brandon Gilbert is an American guitarist. He is well known for his technical guitar work with Racer X and Mr...
with John Paul JonesJohn Paul Jones (musician)John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
(Guitar Wars) - 2007: Various artists (A Tribute to Led Zeppelin: The Essential Collection)
- 2007: Led Zepagain (Led Zepagain II: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin)
- 2009: Andrew Winton (Surface Tension)
Sources
- Lewis, Dave (2004) The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
- Welch, Chris (1998) Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, ISBN 1-56025-818-7