"Trampled Under Foot" is a song by English rock group Led Zeppelin. A funk-influenced piece with John Paul Jones on

clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...

, it was included on their 1975 album ''

Physical Graffiti ''Physical Graffiti'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released as a double album on 24 February 1975 by the group's new record label, Swan Song Records. The band wrote and recorded eight new songs for the a ...

''. The song was released as a single in several countries and was frequently performed in concert.

Lyrics

The lyrics were inspired by blues musician Robert Johnson's 1936 song " Terraplane Blues". A Terraplane is a classic car, and the song uses car parts as metaphors for sex—"pump your gas", "rev all night", etc. The themes of these songs however differ; "Terraplane Blues" is about infidelity, while "Trampled Under Foot" is about giving in to sexual temptation.

Composition and recording

The song evolved out of a jam session in 1972 and is credited to

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 ...

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 ...

and John Paul Jones. Much rehearsal went into perfecting the relentless semi-funk riff that dominates this song. John Paul Jones has credited

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

with the inspiration for the beat ("

Superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

", 1972), which he played on a

. Page played through a wah-wah pedal and, as producer, employed

reverse echo Reverse echo and reverse reverb are sound effects created as the result of recording an echo or reverb effect of an audio recording played backwards. The original recording is then played forwards accompanied by the recording of the echoed or rev ...

on the recording.

Reception and charts

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described "Trampled Under Foot" as "the most commercial single ed Zeppelinput together in several years" and as having "a powerful staccatto beat." ''

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 ...

'' called it a "high-powered effort" that "packs a punch that is sure to be felt on top of the charts." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said that "As Zeppelin-sanity begins to reach

Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By ...

cal proportions, the stage is set for the heavy metalmen to take their first single from ''Physical Graffiti'' to the top." Released in April 1975, it reached number 38 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Live performances and other versions

"Trampled Under Foot" became a standard part of Led Zeppelin concerts from 1975 onwards, being played on every tour until 1980. In 2012, the song was performed during the London Olympics opening ceremony as a part of a selected playlist. A rough mix of the track with less overdubbing was titled "'Brandy & Coke' ". It was released on 11 February 2015 (on iTunes), as part of the

remastering Remaster refers to quality enhancement of sound and/or picture of a previously existing recording. Remastering may also refer to: *Software remastering Software remastering is software development that recreates system software and software appl ...

process of all nine albums. The rest of the album was released on 23 February 2015.

Personnel

According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin: *

– vocals *

– electric guitars * John Paul Jones – bass, Clavinet * John Bonham – drums

References

Bibliography

* {{Authority control 1975 singles 1975 songs Funk rock songs Led Zeppelin songs Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page Songs written by Jimmy Page Songs written by John Paul Jones (musician) Songs written by Robert Plant Swan Song Records singles