How Many More Times

How Many More Times
Appears on	Led Zeppelin
Published by	Superhype Music
Registration	ASCAP 380136049
Release date	12 January 1969
Recorded	October 1968
Genre	Blues rock, Hard rock,
Language	English
Length	8 minutes 28 second
Composer	Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham
Label	Atlantic Records
Producer	Jimmy Page
Engineer	Glyn Johns

"How Many More Times" is the ninth and final track on English rock band Led Zeppelin's 1969 début album Led Zeppelin.

Album version

At eight and a half minutes, "How Many More Times" is the longest song on the album. It consists of several smaller sections held together by a bolero rhythm that pushes the piece along. At the end, the song pans between the left and right channels. This was one of three Led Zeppelin songs on which Page used bowed guitar, the others being "Dazed and Confused" and "In the Light". The song "In the Evening" utilized several tremolo bar drops to mimic the bow sound.

Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham were credited with writing this song. As with all the other tracks on Led Zeppelin's debut album, Robert Plant didn't get a writing credit for this song due to unexpired contractual obligations, but he undoubtedly had a large influence in its construction. The arrangement and adaptation of old blues songs was something Plant had much prior experience at during his time with his former band, Obs-tweedle. The line, "I got another child on the way, that makes eleven" refers to his unborn child, Carmen, who was born a month or two after Led Zeppelin recorded this album.

Though listed at a time of 3:30 on the album sleeve, the correct length of the track is in fact 8:28. The incorrect listing was deliberate as it was intended to help promote radio play. Page knew that radio stations would never play a song over eight minutes long, so he wrote the track time as shorter on the album to trick radio stations into playing it.

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." It has also been reported that the "Rosie" and "Hunter" components of the song came spontaneously to the group on the night of the recording session.

Live performances

On early Led Zeppelin concert tours, "How Many More Times" was often the band's closing number. Plant typically introduced the rest of the band during the opening bassline, as can be seen during the Danish TV appearance on the Led Zeppelin DVD. By late 1969, the intro of the song would be quite extended and the band would incorporate more and more material into the song as a medley. An example of such a performance is included on the same DVD, during the Royal Albert Hall concert. During the "Bolero" section, Plant quotes Neil Young's "Down by the River." After "The Hunter," the band adlibs John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillin'," with lyrics from other sources. The band would then go into "Cumberland Gap" then After "The Lemon Song," the band would play "That's Alright Mama" (which is not on the Led Zeppelin DVD but bootlegs show they did play it. Then they return to "How Many More Times" at the moment where they left off, the conclusion of "The Hunter." The typical medley pattern ("Boogie Chillen" followed by improvisational set of covers and finally a slow blues and a return to the main song) would later be incorporated into "Whole Lotta Love," as demonstrated on BBC Sessions and How the West Was Won.

In 1970, "How Many More Times" was dropped from Led Zeppelin's typical setlist, although they would continue to perform it on occasion until the early stages of their 1975 U.S. tour, when it was re-introduced in full as a result of Jimmy Page's injured finger, which temporarily prevented him from playing "Dazed and Confused". It was also played once in 1973, on January 22nd, while the band was touring the United Kingdom.

The song was used on the soundtrack to the 1970 anti-Vietnam War film Homer. Page and Plant would also play the song on their Walking into Clarksdale tour in 1998, releasing their Shepherd's Bush performance on a CD single.

Personnel

Musicians: Jimmy Page – electric guitar, producer, remastering, digital remastering Robert Plant – vocals John Paul Jones – bass guitar John Bonham - drums, percussion Production: Peter Grant – executive producer Glyn Johns - engineer, mixing Joe Sidore - original CD mastering engineer (mid-1980s) George Marino - remastered CD engineer (1990)