Led Zeppelin has an impressive discography from the 12 years they made music together, but there’s one song that guitarist and lyricist Jimmy Page didn’t like to play live. Before the band retired after the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980, Page refused to play the song “Livin’ Loving Maid” in concert.
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“Livin’ Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman)” appears on the 1969 album Led Zeppelin II. It’s paired on the album with the song “Heartbreaker,” and at the time the two songs were often played in succession on the radio. Vocalist Robert Plant would perform the song live after the band’s retirement when touring as a solo artist. Page, however, refused during the band’s heyday and after.
Since Plant and Page wrote the song in the late 1960s, it smacks of a particular type of misogyny and machismo. Allegedly, it was about a young woman who stalked the band early in their career, and the descriptions of her edge into a certain kind of hateful territory. It comes out in lines like Alimony, alimony paying your bills / Living, loving, she’s just a woman / When your conscience hits, you knock it back with pills / Living, loving, she’s just a woman. However, this apparently wasn’t the reason for Jimmy Page’s dislike.
Why Didn’t Jimmy Page Like the Led Zeppelin Song “Livin’ Loving Woman”?
While Jimmy Page hasn’t openly discussed the true reason behind his dislike of “Livin’ Loving Woman,” fans have drawn conclusions of their own. Many believe the song was too much of a “pop” tune for Page. Others have surmised that the entire band hated it because it was a “throwaway song” to even out the runtime of the album.
Still, others posit that it’s possible the hatred has to do with the fact that “Livin’ Loving Woman” is always linked to “Heartbreaker.” This seems to be more of a fan issue than a Jimmy Page issue. However, it’s possible that radio DJs traditionally playing the songs as if they were one track became an annoyance for the band.
Further speculation reveals the possibility that the song’s pop-ness, combined with its expendable nature and last-minute composition, could be the reason for Page’s dislike. Overall, it seems that this particular Led Zeppelin song just didn’t meet his standards.
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