Hey Hey What Can I Do
September 20, 2010
Hey Hey What Can I Do~Led Zeppelin
MARKETTE Unplugged w/ Nick Cox Of 7th heaven LIVE 9-15-2010 at John BarleycornRob Farina bass, Paul Accurso Jr gtr, Nick Cox gtr & Darryl Markette Music…†††vocals. A Big Thanks To Bob Jozwiak of 7Th Heaven for this killer audio from his sound board.
“Hey, Hey What Can I Do”
Single by Led Zeppelin
A-side “Immigrant Song”
Released November 5, 1970 (1970-11-05)
Format 7″
Recorded Island Studios, London 1970
Genre Folk rock
Length 3:55
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) Robert Plant
Jimmy Page
John Paul Jones
John Bonham
Producer Jimmy Page
Led Zeppelin singles chronology
“Whole Lotta Love” / “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman)”
(1969) “Immigrant Song” / “Hey Hey What Can I Do”
(1970) “Black Dog” / “Misty Mountain Hop”
(1971)
“Hey, Hey What Can I Do” is a song by English rock group Led Zeppelin released in 1970 as the B-side of “Immigrant Song” outside the United Kingdom. It is Led Zeppelin’s only non-album track released during the band’s existence. It did however appear on the Atlantic Records UK various artists LP, The New Age of Atlantic, released in 1972. The song was first released on CD in October 1990 on the 4CD Led Zeppelin box set collection. In 1992, “Immigrant Song”/”Hey Hey What Can I Do” was released as a “vinyl replica” CD single. In 1993, “Hey Hey What Can I Do” was included on The Complete Studio Recordings 10 CD boxed set, as one of four bonus tracks on the Coda disc. The song is not included on the individual version of Coda. In 2007 Led Zeppelin released the track online along with the rest of their back catalogue. The song was also released as the B-side of the “Stairway To Heaven” 7″ 45 RPM picture disc.
The lyrics tell of a man’s love for a woman who ‘won’t be true.’ The first verse is a declaration of his love and his desire to tell her that she is the only one for him. The second verse describes her infidelity and his jealousy and frustration. In the third verse he comes to the conclusion that he must leave her ‘where the guitars play,’ a sentiment reinforced by the vamp in which the lead singer, Robert Plant, is backed by the rest of the band repeating the two lines ‘Hey hey what can I do’ and ‘Oh no what can I say.’
Several bands have covered Led Zeppelin’s song or played it live:
A live version of the song was performed and recorded by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes during their 2000 tour, and is featured on the album Live at the Greek.
The Hold Steady covered the song on a two song 7″.
Hootie & the Blowfish recorded a version for the 1995 Led Zeppelin tribute album Encomium. This version also appears on their covers album Scattered Smothered and Covered. The song has become a regular concert staple for the band.
A Dread Zeppelin cover appeared on the band’s first single, appropriately enough as a B-side to a cover of “Immigrant Song.”
The song is one of the handful of Led Zeppelin covers which Robert Plant sang on his live shows in USA and Europe with Alison Krauss during April and May 2008, and it was usually greeted with a very enthusastic audience response. The song was dropped from the setlist later in the tour.
