"D'yer Mak'er" () is a song by the English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

, from their 1973 album ''

Houses of the Holy ''Houses of the Holy'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on 28 March 1973 by Atlantic Records. The album benefited from two band members installing studios at home, which allowed them to develop mor ...

''. The title is a play on the word "

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

" when spoken in an

English accent Spoken English shows great variation across regions where it is the predominant language. For example, the United Kingdom has the largest variation of accents of any country in the world, and therefore no single "British accent" exists. This ar ...

Overview

This song was meant to imitate

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and its " dub" derivative emerging from Jamaica in the early 1970s. Its genesis is traced to Led Zeppelin's rehearsals at

Stargroves Stargroves (also known as Stargrove House) is a manor house and associated estate at East Woodhay in the English county of Hampshire. The house belonged to Mick Jagger during the 1970s and was a recording venue for the Rolling Stones and variou ...

in 1972, when drummer

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

started with a beat similar to 1950s

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

, and then twisted it into a slight off beat tempo, upon which a reggae influence emerged. 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 "The Crunge" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1973 album ''Houses of the Holy''. The song is a takeoff on James Brown's style of funk similar to the group's attempt at reggae with " D'yer Mak'er". It was also released as ...

", 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 James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

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 Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later i ...

's things, stuff like that." Led Zeppelin bassist

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

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 Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

was keen to issue the track as a single in the United Kingdom.

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

went so far as to distribute advance promotional copies to

DJs A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

(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 Rosie and the Originals were an American 1960s musical group best known for their single " Angel Baby." Fronted by lead singer Rosie Hamlin, the group produced two singles (including "Angel Baby") for Highland Records and, like many other mus ...

", a reference to the doo-wop influence in the song's style.

Pronunciation of song title

In a 2005 interview, Plant discussed the different interpretations and pronunciations of the name of the song. 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 The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

." "Jamaica?" (which in an English accent sounds like "Did you make her?") "No, she wanted to go". 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. Because of the unfamiliarity of listeners to this back-story, as well as ignoring the

apostrophe The apostrophe ( or ) is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. In English, the apostrophe is used for two basic purposes: * The marking of the omission of one o ...

s intentionally placed in the title, DJs and fans often mispronounce the title as "dire maker". This confusion and mispronunciation was more common in the US than in Britain, according to Jimmy Page.

Reception and legacy

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described the song as being "unique for the group, but a real charmer." In a contemporary review for ''Houses of the Holy'', Gordon Fletcher of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' gave "D'yer Mak'er" a negative review, calling it a "naked imitation", along with "

", as well as "easily" one of the worst things the band has ever attempted. 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 W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February 6, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its incep ...

cited it as a song that meant a lot to him as a teenager: "That got me into heavy rock." It is included on the

Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. ...

"Top 500 Tracks" of 1999 at number 453. In 2019, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the song number 20 on its list of the 40 greatest Led Zeppelin songs.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year–end charts

References

{{authority control 1972 songs 1973 singles 1995 singles Atlantic Records singles Led Zeppelin songs Reggae rock songs Sheryl Crow songs Songs written by Jimmy Page Songs written by John Bonham Songs written by John Paul Jones (musician) Songs written by Robert Plant Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page