"Please Read the Letter" is a song originally written and recorded by

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

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 th ...

(as Page and Plant) for their 1998 album '' Walking into Clarksdale''. Plant and

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass- country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed wit ...

later recorded a version of the song for their collaboration album ''

Raising Sand ''Raising Sand'' is a collaborative studio album by rock singer Robert Plant and bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. It was released in October 2007 by Rounder Records. ''Raising Sand'' won Album of the Year at the 2008 Americana Music Hon ...

'' released in October 2007. The song was well received by critics, and won the

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

award at the

2009 Grammy Awards The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 8, 2009, honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the b ...

Music and lyrics

"Please Read the Letter" is in the

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

genre. Plant explained that "Please Read the Letter" is a song about yearning for someone, adding that the lyrics are about "unfinished business".

Release

A music video for the single was released in 2008. It was shot in a 1905-built house in

South Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a ...

. The music video was nominated for Wide Open Country Video of the Year at the 2009 CMT Music Awards.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss version

Chart performance

Plant and Krauss' version of the song initially failed to chart, but after winning the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for

, the song entered the ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart at #20 (the virtual equivalent to #120 on the Hot 100) in 2009.

Reception

The song has been well received by critics. Chris Jones, in his review for the BBC, felt that the version by Plant and Krauss is "completely improved" from the original track. Thom Jurek wrote for

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

: "Slow, plodding, almost crawling, Krauss' harmony vocal takes it to the next step, adds the kind of lonesome depth that makes this a song whispered under a starless sky rather than just another lost love song."

Track listing

2008 US CD single (Rounder RPAK102-R1) #"Please Read the Letter" (Radio Edit) (Jones, Lee, Page, Plant) – 3:47 #"Please Read the Letter" (Jones, Lee, Page, Plant) – 5:55

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Please Read The Letter Songs about letters (message) 1998 songs 2008 singles Robert Plant songs Alison Krauss songs Jimmy Page songs Grammy Award for Record of the Year Songs written by Robert Plant Songs written by Jimmy Page Song recordings produced by T Bone Burnett Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page