Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin song)
{{short description|1969 song by Led Zeppelin}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Heartbreaker
| cover = Heartbreaker single cover.jpeg
| alt =
| caption = Italian single picture sleeve
| artist = Led Zeppelin
| album = Led Zeppelin II
| released = {{Start date|1969|10|22|df=y}}
| recorded = 21 May 1969; July 1969{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2018|p=126}}
| studio = A&R, New York{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2018|p=126}}
| genre =
- Blues rock{{cite web|title= Led Zeppelin Biography |publisher= Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum |quote= their blues-rock approach on such tracks as "Whole Lotta Love," "Heartbreaker" and "Ramble On." |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160629100259/http://rockhall.com/inductees/led-zeppelin/bio/ |archive-date= 29 June 2016 |access-date= 17 February 2014 |url= http://rockhall.com/inductees/led-zeppelin/bio/}}{{cite book|first= Nigel |last= Williamson |author-link= Nigel Williamson |title= The Rough Guide to Led Zeppelin |year= 2007 |page= [https://archive.org/details/roughguidetoledz0000will/page/164 164] |isbn= 978-1-8435-3841-7 |publisher= Rough Guides UK |url= https://archive.org/details/roughguidetoledz0000will |url-access= registration}}
- hard rock{{cite book|first= Rikky |last= Rooksby |title= Riffs: How to Create and Play Great Guitar Riffs Revised and Updated Edition |year= 2010 |edition= 1st |page= 81 |publisher= Backbeat Books |isbn= 978-1-4768-5547-9 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XWlMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT81}}
| length = 4:15{{Cite AV media notes| year = 1969| title = Led Zeppelin II| type = Album notes| others = Led Zeppelin| location = New York City| publisher = Atlantic Records| id = SD 8236| at = Inside cover}}
| label = Atlantic
| writer =
| producer = Jimmy Page
}}
"Heartbreaker" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1969 album, Led Zeppelin II. It was credited to all four members of the band, recorded at A&R Recording and Atlantic Studios in New York City during the band's second concert tour of North America, and engineered by Eddie Kramer.{{cite magazine|first= Dave |last= Lewis |title= Led Zeppelin: The Story Behind Led Zeppelin II |magazine= Classic Rock |date= 6 December 2016 |access-date= 15 June 2017 |url= http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-12-06/led-zeppelin-the-story-behind-led-zeppelin-ii}}{{cite magazine |title= 100 Greatest Guitar Solos: No. 16 "Heartbreaker" (Jimmy Page) |date= 21 October 2008 |access-date= 15 June 2017 |magazine= Guitar World |url= https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/100-greatest-guitar-solos-no-16-heartbreaker-jimmy-page}}
Composition
"Heartbreaker" has been described as an "unashamed slice of heavy rock," containing "a few very unorthodox touches." It opens the second side of Led Zeppelin II and features a distorted, "swaggering" guitar riff by Jimmy Page. The song's third verse contains three ascending changes in key. Two minutes into the track, Page performs a spontaneous, unaccompanied 46-second guitar solo that utilizes the pull-off technique.{{cite book |last1=Pilkington |first1=Steve |title=On Track: Led Zeppelin |publisher=SonicBond Publishing |pages=28-29}} "Heartbreaker" was ranked number 320 in 2004 by Rolling Stone magazine, in their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time,{{cite magazine|title= The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (1-500) |magazine= Rolling Stone |url= http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/4 |archive-date= August 20, 2006 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060820114526/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/4}} and number 328 in 2010.{{cite magazine|title= 328. Led Zeppelin, 'Heartbreaker' |magazine= Rolling Stone |date= 7 April 2011 |access-date= 4 October 2017 |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/led-zeppelin-heartbreaker-20110526}}
Background and recording
In a 1998 interview with Guitar World, Page commented that the guitar solo was recorded at Atlantic Studios in New York, as opposed to A&R Studios in New York, where the rest of the track was recorded. This gave the solo a different sound than the rest of the song.{{cite magazine|first1= Brad |last1= Tolinski |first2= Greg |last2= Di Bendetto |magazine= Guitar World |title= Light and Shade |date= January 1998}} He claims to have recorded the track using a Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall Stack, adding that this was the first recorded instance of him using this combination. However, others who were present at the recording session contended that the song was recorded using a Rickenbacker amplifier, attributing the distorted tone of Page's guitar work to the disrepair of the appliance.{{cite book |last1=Pilkington |first1=Steve |title=On Track: Led Zeppelin |publisher=SonicBond Publishing |pages=28-29 |quote=The amp used is unclear [...] others present have said it was a Rickenbacker amp which enabled the distortion owing to its poor state of repair}}
Influence and legacy
"Heartbreaker" is one of the songs featured in Nick Hornby's book 31 Songs. Record producer Rick Rubin has remarked, "One of the greatest riffs in rock. It starts, and it's like they don't really know where the 'one' is. Magical in its awkwardness."{{cite magazine|title= Fifty Artists Pick Their Personal Top 10s – Rick Rubin: Led Zeppelin |magazine= Rolling Stone |url= http://rollingstoneextras.com/playlists/view/rick-rubin |archive-date= 11 December 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101211051803/http://rollingstoneextras.com/playlists/view/rick-rubin}} Eddie Van Halen once claimed the "Heartbreaker" solo as the inspiration behind his adoption of the tapping technique he later popularized. In one review with Guitar World, he said: "I think I got the idea of tapping watching Jimmy Page do his "Heartbreaker" solo back in 1971. He was doing a pull-off to an open string, and I thought wait a minute, open string{{nbsp}}... pull off. I can do that, but what if I use my finger as the nut and move it around? I just kind of took it and ran with it.{{cite magazine|first= Joe |last= Bosso |title= Van Halen: VH1 |date= 20 November 2008 |magazine= Guitar World |url= http://www.guitarworld.com/article/van_halen_vh1 |url-status= dead |archive-date= 15 January 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110115053118/http://www.guitarworld.com/article/van_halen_vh1}}
Steve Vai has also commented about it in a September 1998 Guitar World interview: "This one [Heartbreaker] had the biggest impact on me as a youth. It was defiant, bold, and edgier than hell. It really is the definitive rock guitar solo."{{cite book|first1= Jeff |last1= Kitts |first2= Brad |last2= Tolinski |year= 2002 |title= Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time! |publisher= Hal Leonard Corporation |page= 189 |isbn= 978-0-6340-4619-3 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Fg838EcECUwC&pg=PT194}} Brett Milano of uDiscover Music rated the guitar solo as one of the 100 all-time greatest.{{cite web|first= Brett |last= Milano |title= The Best Guitar Solos: 100 Hair-Raising Moments |website= uDiscover Music |date= 11 September 2020 |access-date= 15 September 2020 |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/best-guitar-solos-ever/}}
Personnel
According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin:{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2018|p=126}}
- Robert Plant – vocals
- Jimmy Page – guitars
- John Paul Jones – bass
- John Bohnam – drums
See also
- {{slink|List of cover versions of Led Zeppelin songs#Heartbreaker}}
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{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}}
{{Led Zeppelin}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Atlantic Records singles
Category:The Black Crowes songs
Category:Songs written by Jimmy Page
Category:Songs written by Robert Plant
Category:Songs written by John Paul Jones (musician)