How a Comment From a Beatle Helped Led Zeppelin Create One of Their Biggest Songs in 1973

There is a convention about Led Zeppelin‘s music. Even fans have a pervasive idea about what a song from the band will feel and sound like. But conventions rarely dictate the entirety of something, and that’s certainly true of Zeppelin.

Their most convention-breaking song is “The Rain Song”. This soft ballad wouldn’t be what many people would assume a Zeppelin song would sound like on paper. Nevertheless, the band pulled off this plaintive track. But, they wouldn’t have had the chance to flex their diversity if it weren’t for a comment from a Beatle.

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The Comment from a Beatle That Inspired Led Zeppelin to Create One of Their Most Unexpected Songs

“It is the summer of my smiles / Flee from me, keepers of the gloom / Speak to me only with your eyes / It is to you, I give this tune,” the lyrics to “The Rain Song” read. Led Zeppelin songs aren’t typically tender or lovelorn. This song is the exception. The band gets all mushy gushy on this hit, breaking from the norm.

But what inspired the band to create such a different song? Well, according to Jimmy Page, it was a comment from a Beatle that turned the tide. George Harrison was a professed fan of Led Zeppelin, so we have to assume his comments weren’t as sharp as they may seem. But he reportedly once told the band they had a ballad problem.

George Harrison’s Sharp Advice to Led Zeppelin About Their Sound

“George was talking to [John Bonham] one evening and said, ‘The problem with you guys is that you never do ballads,’” Page once said.

The band, being fans of The Beatles, decided to take Harrison’s words to heart. “I said, ‘I’ll give him a ballad,’ and I wrote ‘Rain Song’,” he added. “In fact, you’ll notice I even quote ‘Something’ in the song’s first two chords.”

The guitarist delivered a lick reminiscent of the one Harrison penned for the Beatles song, paying homage to the source. And we do have a lot to thank the late Beatle for. “The Rain Song” is one of Zeppelin’s greatest efforts. Sometimes the best songs are born out of a desire to innovate, whether by your own accord or someone else’s. That was the case for this rock classic. Revisit “The Rain Song” above.

(Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)