4 Led Zeppelin Songs That Not Every Fan Knows (But Every Fan Should)

Led Zeppelin has so many albums and so many songs that it can be easy to get lost and even overwhelmed by the rock band’s discography. Here are a few songs you might’ve missed that deserve another spin.

“That’s The Way”

This song, from the Led Zeppelin III album, is about two things. First, “That’s The Way” references how the band was treated on early American tours because of how they looked. They had that long-haired rocker thing going for them, and people got really aggressive about it. Second, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote the song while staying at a remote cottage in Wales, and it uses a lot of nature imagery.

“Royal Orleans”

“Royal Orleans” appears on Presence, which has a pretty divided consensus among Zeppelin fans. However, there’s no denying that this one has a pretty interesting story attached to it, at least. Apparently, this song was inspired by one band member bringing a drag queen back to the New Orleans Hotel where they were staying. This might explain certain lyrics, like this “New Orleans queens” line.

“New Orleans queens / Sure know how to schmooze it / Maybe for some that seems alright / When I step out, strut down with my sugar / She’d best not talk like Barry White!”

“Four Sticks”

There’s a lot going on in this quirky song, which appears on Led Zeppelin IV. “Four Sticks” not only switches time signatures and was so challenging it had to be done in two takes or less, but it also features the crème de la crème of wacky songs. Zeppelin drummer John Bonham played it using four drumsticks, two in each hand. This one flies under the radar in the Led Zeppelin discography, probably because it is such an interesting piece. However, it’s also worth noting that “Four Sticks” wasn’t played live very often. In fact, there’s only one live recording of the song, from a 1973 concert in Copenhagen.

“Tea For One”

“Tea For One” is another track from the album Presence. However, you’ll notice it’s a lot more laid back than a lot of other Zeppelin songs. That’s because the group was going for a chill, bluesy song with this one.

As Jimmy Page explained in an interview with Trouser Press, he wanted to feature a blues solo on the track, but he was careful not to do anything too alarming.

“…I was really a bit frightened of it.” He admitted, “I thought, ‘What’s to be done?’ I didn’t want to blast out the solo like a locomotive or something, because it wasn’t conducive to the vibe of the rest of the track. I was extremely aware that you had to do something different than just some B.B. King licks.”

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