We're Gonna Groove
| "We're Gonna Groove" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"We're Gonna Groove" is a song written by soul artist Ben E. King and his songwriting partner James Bethea with the original title "Groovin'".
The song was covered by Manfred Mann in their 1964 EP release Groovin' with Manfred Mann.[1] Led Zeppelin performed it as the opening number during their 1970 UK and European tours.[2]
"We're Gonna Groove" was scheduled to appear on Led Zeppelin II, but like "Since I've Been Loving You", "We're Gonna Groove" didn't make the line-up of the second Led Zeppelin album. It belatedly appeared, in a version Jimmy Page made at his Sol Studios, for Coda, after the group had split following the death of drummer John Bonham.[2]
Recording
The credits for the 1982 album Coda note that the song was recorded at Morgan Studios, London, on 25 June 1969. However, this was later changed to the Royal Albert Hall on 9 January 1970, with several edits and the guitar parts overdubbed. The original concert performance, including the original guitar part can be heard on the 2003 Led Zeppelin DVD where the entire first disc is devoted to the 1970 concert and the song forms the opening number of the performance. The second song of the concert – "I Can't Quit You Baby" – was similarly adapted for the Coda album.
Reception
In a contemporary review of Coda, Kurt Loder of Rolling Stone described "We're Gonna Groove" as "definitive 1969 raunch."[3] Loder wrote "the essential elements of Zeppelin's sound are already firmly in place: Page's propulsive guitar playing, Robert Plant's pealing vocal, John Paul Jones' duty-bound bass, and the late John Bonham's creature with - the - atom - brain drumming."[3]
References
- ^ Manfred Mann, Groovin’ with Manfred Mann, His Master’s Voice, The Gramophone Record Company Limited, Dum Dum, India 1964
- ^ a b Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.
- ^ a b Loder, Kurt (20 January 1983). "Coda". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
Sources
- Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, by Chris Welch, ISBN 1-56025-818-7
- The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, by Dave Lewis, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
