"I Can't Quit You Baby" is

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

song written by

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

and first recorded by

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but is performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of African Americans of the fi ...

artist Otis Rush in 1956. It is a slow

twelve-bar blues The twelve-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly ba ...

ensemble piece, with lyrics about the consequences of an adulterous relationship which is difficult to end. "I Can't Quit You Baby" was Rush's first recording and Cobra Records' debut single. It became a record chart hit as well as a blues standard. Rush updated the song in 1966 with a modified arrangement, which was adapted by

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 ...

for their 1969 debut album.

Original song

According to biographer Mitsutoshi Inaba "the song subject is the consequences of adultery and the feeling that a man cannot give up a relationship": In his autobiography, Willie Dixon explained that "I Can't Quit You Baby" was written about a relationship Rush was preoccupied with at the time; Dixon used this to draw out an impassioned performance by Rush. Despite being solely credited to Dixon, Rush felt that the song's identity is very much his own: Inaba added: "Otis' passionate vocal melody with alternations of natural voice, falsetto, shouts, and growls, is his singing style indeed". The song is notated in the key of

A major A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The A major scale is: Changes needed for the ...

in 12/8 time with a "slow blues" tempo. Rush's original version consists of four twelve-bar vocal sections with lead guitar fills. It was Rush's first recording and took place in Chicago around July 1956. Accompanying Rush on lead guitar and vocal are

Big Walter Horton Walter Horton (April 6, 1921 – December 8, 1981), known as Big Walter (Horton) or Walter "Shakey" Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming, shy man, he is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the hi ...

on harmonica, Red Holloway on tenor sax, Lafayette Leake on piano, Wayne Bennett on second guitar, Dixon on bass, and Al Duncan on drums. "I Can't Quit You Baby" was a vehicle for arranger-producer Dixon to launch Rush and Cobra Records, as it was the first single for both. In this regard, it was a success, reaching number six on ''

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 advertis ...

''s Rhythm & Blues Records chart in 1956. Otis Rush revisited "I Can't Quit You Baby" several times over the years. His 1966 re-recording for the 1966 blues compilation '' Chicago/The Blues/Today! Vol. 2'' uses an altered arrangement with an unusual turnaround (

tonic chord In music, the tonic is the first scale degree () of the diatonic scale (the first note of a scale) and the tonal center or final resolution tone that is commonly used in the final cadence in tonal (musical key-based) classical music, popula ...

followed by a half-step above the tonic chord). Subsequent cover versions usually use the chord substitutions found in Rush's Vanguard rendition.

Led Zeppelin versions

English rock band

recorded "I Can't Quit You Baby" for their 1969 debut album ''

''. According to music journalist

Cub Koda Michael John "Cub" Koda (né Uszniewicz; October 1, 1948 – July 1, 2000) was an Americans, American rock and roll musician, songwriter, and critic. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine considered him best known for writing the song "Smokin' in the Boys ...

, their rendition is "a note-for-note copy of Otis Rush's" 1966 Vanguard version, although with different instrumentation and dynamics. It also incorporates a break during the guitar solo where

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 ...

plays a four-bar unaccompanied set-up before relaunching into the solo. Although biographer Keith Shadwick notes Page's fluff on the turnaround coming out of the solo, he concludes the song "ends up as one of the most successful pieces on the first album, with no flat spots and a perfectly symmetrical form, all within the classic blues tradition". Led Zeppelin regularly performed "I Can't Quit You Baby" in concert from 1968 to early 1970. Two live versions from 1969 are included on the 1997 '' BBC Sessions''. A performance of the song on January 9, 1970, at

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

is included on the 2003 ''

'' DVD (an edited version of this performance was released on the 1982 '' Coda'' album). In 1970, the song was dropped from Led Zeppelin's typical concert lineup as they incorporated material from '' Led Zeppelin III'' into their shows, with "I Can't Quit You Baby" essentially being replaced by "

Since I've Been Loving You "Since I've Been Loving You" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in 1970 on the album '' Led Zeppelin III''. Overview "Since I've Been Loving You" was one of the first songs prepared for the ''Led Zeppelin III'' album. The ...

". It was however revived as part of the "

Whole Lotta Love "Whole Lotta Love" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, '' Led Zeppelin II'', and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no singl ...

" medley during some Led Zeppelin concerts in 1972 and 1973. The song was rehearsed by the surviving members of Led Zeppelin for the May 14, 1988, Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary Celebration, but was not performed during the event. In a contemporary review for the ''Coda'' album,

Kurt Loder Kurt Loder (born May 5, 1945) is an American entertainment critic, author, columnist and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at ''Rolling Stone'', during a tenure that ''Reason'' later called "legendary". He has contributed ...

of ''

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

'' found the ''Coda'' version of "I Can't Quit You Baby", "tossed off a sound check n 1970, "perfectly captures the bluesmania of the period, complete with a classically overwrought guitar solo."

Personnel

According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin: *

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 ...

– vocals *

– 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

Recognition and influence

"I Can't Quit You Baby" is a blues standard that has been recorded by more than 30 artists. Rush's original Cobra single was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1994 that noted "a Willie Dixon production revealing Rush as an extraordinary talent with an impassioned approach."

References

Bibliography

External links

"I Can't Quit You Baby" Partial list of versions
{{authority control 1956 songs 1956 singles Otis Rush songs Led Zeppelin songs Songs written by Willie Dixon Blues songs Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page Cobra Records singles