:D'yer Mak'er

This song was meant to imitate reggae and its "dub" derivative emerging from Jamaica in the early 1970s. Its genesis is traced to Led Zeppelin's rehearsals at Stargroves in 1972, when drummer John Bonham started with a beat similar to 1950s doo-wop, and then twisted it into a slight off beat tempo, upon which a reggae influence emerged.{{cite book|first= Dave |last= Lewis |year= 1994 |title= The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin |publisher= Omnibus Press |isbn= 0-7119-3528-9}} The distinctive drum sound was created by placing three microphones a good distance away from Bonham's drums.

This track, as well as another song entitled "The Crunge", was initially not taken seriously by many listeners, and some critics reserved their harshest criticism for these two arrangements. In an interview he gave in 1977, Jimmy Page referred to this negative response: "I didn't expect people not to get it. I thought it was pretty obvious. The song itself was a cross between reggae and a '50s number, "Poor Little Fool," Ben E. King's things, stuff like that."{{cite magazine |first= Dave |last= Schulps |title= Interview with Jimmy Page |magazine= Trouser Press |date= October 1977 |access-date= 12 January 2014 |url= http://www.iem.ac.ru/zeppelin/docs/interviews/page_77.trp |archive-date= 20 August 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110820054853/http://www.iem.ac.ru/zeppelin/docs/interviews/page_77.trp |url-status= dead }}

Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones has expressed his distaste for the song, suggesting that it started off as a studio joke and was not thought through carefully enough. Upon the album's release, Robert Plant was keen to issue the track as a single in the United Kingdom. Atlantic Records went so far as to distribute advance promotional copies to DJs (now valuable collectors' items). While it was released in the US, and the single peaked at No. 20 on 29 December 1973, it was never released in the UK.

"D'yer Mak'er" is one of the few Led Zeppelin songs where all four members share the composer credit. The sleeve on the first album pressing also gives tribute to "Rosie and the Originals", a reference to the doo-wop influence in the song's style.

In a 2005 interview, Plant discussed the different interpretations and pronunciations of the name of the song.{{cite AV media|people= Halloran, Mike (DJ) |date= 21 July 2005 |title= Original full-length interview |medium= radio |location= San Diego, California |publisher= FM94.9 |url= http://www.fm949sd.com/audio/RobertPlant_wHalloran.mp3 |archive-date= 28 September 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070928015754/http://www.fm949sd.com/audio/RobertPlant_wHalloran.mp3}} He explained that the title is derived from an old joke, where two friends have the following exchange: "My wife's gone to the West Indies." "Jamaica?" (which in many English accents sounds like "Did you make her?") "No, she wanted to go".{{cite magazine|first= Andy |last= Greene |title= The 10 Wildest Led Zeppelin Legends, Fact-Checked |magazine= Rolling Stone |date= 21 November 2012 |access-date= 24 June 2019 |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-10-wildest-led-zeppelin-legends-fact-checked-153103/the-title-of-dyer-maker-is-based-on-an-old-cockney-joke-about-jamaica-152525/}}

The title, which does not appear in the lyrics, was chosen because it reflects the reggae feel of the song, and as an example of the Led Zeppelin band members' senses of humour.{{cite magazine |first= Dave |last= Schulps |year= 1977 |title= Jimmy Page: The Trouser Press Interview |magazine= Trouser Press |url= http://www.iem.ac.ru/zeppelin/docs/interviews/page_77.trp |access-date= 17 September 2008 |archive-date= 20 August 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110820054853/http://www.iem.ac.ru/zeppelin/docs/interviews/page_77.trp |url-status= dead }} Because of the unfamiliarity of listeners to this back-story, as well as ignoring the apostrophes intentionally placed in the title, American DJs and fans often mispronounce the title as "dire maker". This confusion and mispronunciation was more common in the United States than in Britain, according to Jimmy Page.{{cite magazine|first= Paul |last= Elliott |title= Bonham, Grohl & Led Zeppelin's legacy: An epic Jimmy Page interview |magazine= Classic Rock |date= 22 October 2016 |access-date= 24 June 2019 |url= https://www.loudersound.com/features/bonham-grohl-led-zeppelin-s-legacy-an-epic-jimmy-page-interview}}

Cash Box described the song as being "unique for the group, but a real charmer."{{cite magazine|title= Singles Reviews > Picks of the Week |magazine= Cash Box |volume= XXXV |issue= 16 |page= 26 |date= 6 October 1973 |access-date= 11 December 2021 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1973/Cash-Box-1973-10-06.pdf}} Record World called it "a rocker with a '50s flavor to it" and said that the "reggae-style beat fills the hit prescription."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=October 6, 1973|accessdate=2023-03-21|title=Hits of the Week|page=1|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/73/RW-1973-10-06.pdf}}

In a contemporary review for Houses of the Holy, Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone gave "D'yer Mak'er" a negative review, calling it a "naked imitation", along with "The Crunge", as well as "easily" one of the worst things the band has ever attempted.{{cite magazine|first= Gordon |last= Fletcher |title= Led Zeppelin: Houses of the Holy |magazine= Rolling Stone |date= 7 June 1973 |access-date= 14 August 2017 |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/houses-of-the-holy-19730607}} Fletcher further wrote the track is a "pathetic stab at reggae that would probably get the Zep laughed off the island if they bothered playing it in Jamaica." Fletcher ended by writing the track is "obnoxiously heavy-handed and totally devoid of the native form's sensibilities."

Axl Rose cited it as a song that meant a lot to him as a teenager: "That got me into heavy rock."{{cite magazine|first= Mick |last= Wall |author-link= Mick Wall |title= Eve of destruction |magazine= Classic Rock |issue= 36 |date= January 2002 |page= 95}} It is included on the Radio Caroline "Top 500 Tracks" of 1999 at number 453.{{cite web|title= THE CHART ROOM – Radio Caroline Top 500 Tracks 1999 |publisher= Radio Caroline |url= http://www.radiowaves.org.uk/charts/caroline99.htm |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150518122012/http://www.radiowaves.org.uk/charts/caroline99.htm |archive-date= 18 May 2015}} In 2019, Rolling Stone ranked the song number 20 on its list of the 40 greatest Led Zeppelin songs.{{cite magazine|title= The 40 Greatest Led Zeppelin Songs of All Time |magazine= Rolling Stone |date= 13 January 2019 |access-date= 13 February 2022 |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-40-greatest-led-zeppelin-songs-of-all-time-154694/dyer-maker-1973-167216/}}

According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin:{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2018|p=336}}

• Robert Plant – vocals
• Jimmy Page – electric guitars
• John Paul Jones – bass, piano
• John Bonham – drums, percussion (?)

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{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Led Zeppelin|title=D'yer Mak'er|award=Gold|relyear=1973|access-date=December 16, 2024|certyear=2024|certref={{cite web|url=https://www.radioscope.co.nz/2024/00/00/single-cert-search/|title=New Zealand single certifications – Led Zeppelin – D'yer Mak'er|publisher=Recorded Music NZ|access-date=December 16, 2024}}}}

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• {{slink|List of cover versions of Led Zeppelin songs#D'yer Mak'er}}

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• {{cite book|first1=Jean-Michel|last1=Guesdon|first2=Philippe|last2=Margotin|year=2018|title=Led Zeppelin All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track|publisher=Running Press|isbn=978-0-316-448-67-3}}

{{Led Zeppelin songs}}

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Category:1972 songs

Category:1973 singles

Category:Led Zeppelin songs

Category:Atlantic Records singles

Category:Reggae rock songs

Category:Songs written by Jimmy Page

Category:Songs written by John Bonham

Category:Songs written by John Paul Jones (musician)

Category:Songs written by Robert Plant

Category:Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page