How Many More Times-The Daily Ledger

"How Many More Times" is the ninth and final track on English rock band Led Zeppelin's 1969 debut album Led Zeppelin. The song is credited in the album liner to Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham, but Robert Plant was later added to the ASCAP credits.

Composition

At eight and a half minutes, "How Many More Times" is the longest song on the album. It is one of three Led Zeppelin songs on which Page used bowed guitar.

How Many More Times

In an interview he gave to Guitar World magazine in 1993, Page stated that the song "was made up of little pieces I developed when I was with the Yardbirds, as were other numbers such as 'Dazed and Confused'. It was played live in the studio with cues and nods."

How Many More Times

The "Rosie" and "Hunter" components of the song came spontaneously to the group on the night of the recording session. "The Hunter" was recorded by bluesman Albert King with Booker T & the MGs and was written by Carl Wells and the members of Booker T. & the M.G.'s (Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Al Jackson, and Booker T. Jones).

How Many More Times

The title and Plant's vocals reference Howlin' Wolf's "How Many More Years" (1951), as well as other songs by blues musicians he admired at the time of recording.

Live performances

In 1970, "How Many More Times" was dropped from Led Zeppelin's typical setlist, although they continued to perform it on occasion until the early stages of their 1975 North American tour, when it was re-introduced in full as a result of Jimmy Page's injured finger, which temporarily prevented him from playing the more challenging "Dazed and Confused".

Reception

In a contemporary review for Led Zeppelin on release, John Mendelsohn of Rolling Stone called "How Many More Times" the album's "most representative cut". Mendelsohn complimented Page's guitar solo and Bonham's drumming but criticized Plant's vocals, calling them "strained and unconvincing".