"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" is a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

song written by

Anne Bredon Anne Leonard Bredon (born Anne Loeb; September 7, 1930 – November 9, 2019) was an American folk singer, best known for composing the song " Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" while she was a student at University of California, Berkeley in the late 1950s ...

in the late 1950s.

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

, who learned the song from a student at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

, recorded the first published version for her 1962 album ''

Joan Baez in Concert ''Joan Baez in Concert'' (later reissued as ''Joan Baez in Concert, Part 1'') is a live album taken from Joan Baez's 1962 concert tours. It peaked at No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Albums chart. History It was Baez's version of " Babe, I'm Gon ...

'' and a variety of musicians subsequently adapted it to a variety of styles, including

the Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from Los Angeles, California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' charts (including "Windy (The Association song), Windy" ...

(1965),

Quicksilver Messenger Service Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco. The band achieved wide popularity in the San Francisco Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe, ...

(1968), and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

(1969). Following the credit on Baez's 1962 release as "traditional, arranged by Baez", subsequent releases did not name Bredon until 1990 when, following Bredon's approach to Led Zeppelin, she received credit and royalties.

Joan Baez rendition

In 1960, Anne Bredon appeared on a live folk-music show on radio station

KPFA KPFA (94.1 FM) is a public, listener-funded talk radio and music radio station located in Berkeley, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KPFA airs public news, public affairs, talk, and music programming. The station signed o ...

in Berkeley, California, where she performed "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You". Janet Smith heard the performance and later Joan Baez learned the song from Smith at

. The 1962 album ''

'' includes a solo performance with her vocal and acoustic guitar picking.

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

co-owner/producer Maynard Solomon commented in the album liner notes: "The strange quality nd powerof the song is that the narrator inwardly desires exactly the opposite of what he will do, and is torn by the prospect of his self-imposed departure." He also describes the song as a "white blues", but does not identify the songwriter. When CD versions of Baez' album were later issued, Anne L. Bredon appears as the sole songwriter. Due to the popularity of her album, Baez' rendition was adapted by the Plebs (with members of

the Nashville Teens The Nashville Teens are an English rock band, formed in Surrey in 1962. They are best known for their 1964 hit single " Tobacco Road", a Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom and Canada, and a Top 20 hit in the United States. Career While playing ...

) (1964 single),

(1965 single),

Mark Wynter Mark Wynter (born Terence Sidney Lewis; 29 January 1943) is an English singer and actor, who had four Top 20 singles in the 1960s, including "Venus in Blue Jeans" and " Go Away Little Girl". He enjoyed a lengthy career from 1960 to 1968 as a p ...

(1965 single),

(1968 ''

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

'' soundtrack), and Led Zeppelin (1969 ''

''). The songwriters originally listed for these early versions include " Dennis", Anne H. Bredon, Janet Smith, Paul Bennett,

Erik Darling Erik Darling (September 25, 1933 – August 3, 2008) was an American singer-songwriter and a folk music artist. He was an important influence on the folk scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Darling was born in Baltimore, Maryland ...

, and "Traditional arr. by

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

Led Zeppelin version

Guitarist

heard Baez' version and began developing "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" early in his career as a session guitarist. He played the song for singer

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

during their first meeting at Page's riverside home at

Pangbourne Pangbourne is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in the West Berkshire unitary area of the county of Berkshire, England. Pangbourne has shops, churches, schools and a village hall. Outside its nucleated village, grouped developed are ...

in late July 1968. In his book ''Stairway to Heaven'', Zeppelin tour manager

Richard Cole Richard Cole (2 January 1946 – 2 December 2021) was an English music manager, who was involved in the rock music business from the mid-1960s to 2003. He is most known for having been the tour manager of English rock band Led Zeppelin from 19 ...

claims that the arrangement evolved when Plant played Page the guitar part that eventually appeared on the album; however, this has been refuted by Page. In an interview, Page commented, "I used to do the song in the days of sitting in the darkness playing my six-string behind

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single " As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female art ...

." Although based on the Baez version, Led Zeppelin came up with a very different approach. They incorporate

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

sections with electric guitar that are performed by the whole group, thus more than doubling the length of Baez' original. When the recording appeared on their 1969 debut album, the credit read "Traditional, arr. by Jimmy Page" following the unspecified (at the time) authorship of the track on Baez's album. In the 1980s, Bredon was made aware of Led Zeppelin's version of the song; since 1990, the Led Zeppelin version has been credited to Anne Bredon, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant. Bredon received a substantial back-payment of royalties. The band played this song at

Led Zeppelin concerts From September 1968 until the summer of 1980, English rock band Led Zeppelin were one of the world's most popular live music acts, performing hundreds of sold-out concerts around the world. History Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, Led Zeppeli ...

on its 1969

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...

s; a filmed performance at ''

Danmarks Radio DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enter ...

'',

Gladsaxe Gladsaxe Municipality () is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') near Copenhagen in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a total population of 70,958 (2025). ...

, Denmark, on March 17, 1969, is included on the ''

Led Zeppelin DVD ''Led Zeppelin DVD/VHS'' is a double DVD (or VHS) set by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2003, and the United States on 27 May 2003. It contains live concert footage of the band spanning the years 1969 ...

'' (2003). For their 1994-98 project,

Page and Plant Page and Plant (also known as Jimmy Page & Robert Plant) were an English rock band active between 1994 and 1998. The group consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant (both formerly of English rock band Led Zeppelin), accompanie ...

performed a 9-minute version of the song, which included the opening notes of

Stairway to Heaven "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 8 November 1971 on the band's untitled fourth studio album (commonly known as ''Led Zeppelin IV''), by Atlantic Records. Composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy ...

in the outro. Plant has performed the song as a solo artist and with his bands

Strange Sensation Strange may refer to: Fiction * Strange (comic book), a comic book limited series by Marvel Comics * Strange (Marvel Comics), one of a pair of Marvel Comics characters known as The Strangers * Adam Strange, a DC Comics superhero * The title cha ...

and the Sensational Space Shifters. As of 2002, the 1969 promotional EP using the song as the A-side track and " Dazed and Confused" as B-side had been one of the top ten Led Zeppelin music collectibles, selling for around –500 each.

Personnel

According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin: *

– vocals *

– acoustic and electric guitars *

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

– bass *

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove, John Bonh ...

– drums

References

Bibliography

External links