Led Zeppelin started as a psychedelic blues band in the last 1960s. It didn’t take long for them to prove they had a soft side with their more delicate work in the folk and country genres. They never shied away from unplugging, and the best acoustic Led Zeppelin songs are some of the finest in their catalog.
Zep’s reputation as a heavy blues band was so ingrained in their image that George Harrison didn’t realize they had a softer side. Founding guitarist Jimmy Page answered the challenge when the famous Beatle complained to drummer John Bonham that Led Zeppelin never wrote ballads. Page came up with “The Rain Song, ” and he subtly referenced the George hit “Something” while doing it.
Though one of their many stellar tunes, you won’t find “The Rain Song” on our list. Nor will you see “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You, ” “Your Time Is Gonna Come, ” “Stairway to Heaven” or “Ramble On.” Those songs incorporate electric guitars into the mix. For our list of the best acoustic Led Zeppelin songs, we limited our selection to songs that feature
Bron Yr Aur
The segue between the mostly (but not fully!) acoustic “Your Time is Gonna Come” and the rocking “Communication Breakdown” on Led Zeppelin’s first album sees Page bring his interest in Indian music to the masses. Tablas sit next to Page’s exquisite acoustic guitar work. He even coaxes his six-string to sound like a sitar at the 1:25 mark.
Became known as the acoustic album. It’s a slight misnomer as the record features a few rockers (such as lead track “Immigrant Song”) and some gentle plugged-in tunes.
For “Friends, ” Page put his guitar into open C tuning, allowing him to easily finger a bouncy melody on the high strings while adding rhythmic depth on the low strings. With some vaguely Middle Eastern string sounds in the background, “Friends” stands out among Led Zeppelin’s best acoustic songs.
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The third Led Zeppelin record might not have the universal acclaim of some of the other albums, but it possesses some amazing musical backstories. “Gallows Pole” contains one of them.
Page proved his skills extended beyond guitar by playing the banjo part on “Gallows Pole.” That despite never having played the instrument before. Led Zeppelin’s take on the traditional folk song sees it build as guitar, mandolin, and Page’s banjo enter the fray.
It’s one of Led Zeppelin’s best acoustic songs and one that proves you can still perform a stirring and electric song even if the instruments are unplugged.
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Remember how we said “Gallows Pole” showed how to write a stirring song with unplugged instruments? Well, “Battle of Evermore” upped the ante. Built around a beautiful mandolin riff, Plant’s epic and poetic lyrics are some of his finest, even though it’s the only Led Zeppelin song where he shares vocal duties.
Included two soaring anthems — “Stairway to Heaven” and “When the Levee Breaks.” Add another epic with “Battle of Evermore, ” one of the best acoustic Led Zeppelin songs.
, situated between the muscular “Four Sticks” and epic closer “When the Levee Breaks.” That doesn’t change the fact it’s one of Led Zeppelin’s best acoustic tracks from their entire catalog.
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Where the other songs on our list feature other instruments and performers, “Bron-Yr-Aur” is just Page on his guitar as he strums a beautiful and intricate melody for nearly two minutes. Don’t miss him playing something of a bass line on the low strings. Impeccable.
’s Side 4, but it’s still one of Led Zeppelin’s acoustic standouts. Sometimes-Rolling Stone Ian Stewart’s piano playing takes center stage, but Page checks in with a fun rockabilly solo amid Bonham’s treated drums and Plant’s Little Richard-esque lyrics.
Led Zeppelin hated singles, but the only fans who heard this song were U.S. Zep-heads who found it on the B-side to “Immigrant Song.”
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Jones lays down an impeccable and essential bass line and plays mandolin, Bonham shows off his restrained side (for the most part), and Page knocks it out of the park on his 12-string. We also get to hear the other members of Led Zeppelin provide harmonies behind Plant’s lyrics toward the end of the song.
“Hey, Hey, What Can I Do” sounds like a back porch jam, but it’s most definitely one of Led Zeppelin’s best acoustic songs.
I'm frequently inspired and impressed by how musicians can tell gripping and emotional stories in just a few minutes. Their songs soundtrack much of my life. When I'm not writing, you can find me cooking or dropping Led Zeppelin and The Beatles into my kids' Raffi playlist.Led Zeppelin can easily be considered the best rock and roll band in history. Throughout the years, they were able to write iconic songs such as Black Dog, Since I’ve Been Loving you, and, of course, Stairway to Heaven.
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Jimmy Page is also one of the most legendary guitar players and his skills helped immensely to create such rock and roll anthems, both acoustic and electric. Let’s take a look at their best songs:
This song comes from Led Zeppelin’s self-titled debut album and is one of their most recognized acoustic songs. However, this song is not an original composition.
Babe I’m Gonna Leave You is a folk song written in the 1950s by American folk singer Anne Bredon. Later in 1962, American songwriter Joan Baez recorded a solo rendition that inspired Jimmy Page to begin working on his own version. He would later show it to Robert Plant, and together they created their unique, rock n’ roll version.
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This song is in the key of Am and features an acoustic guitar that focuses on arpeggiating chords. It also features a constant moving bassline that gives life to the guitar riff. Finally, it is important to mention that Jimmy Page uses a fingerstyle picking technique for this song while coming back to a guitar pick on the hard rock sections.
Going to California is another acoustic ballad from Led Zeppelin’s untitled fourth album. This song is also one of their most esteemed songs, as Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #11 on their “40 greatest Led Zeppelin songs of all time” list.
This song talks about a romantic failure and a desire to move to California, where the grass is said to be greener. In an interview, Plant recognized he was a bit embarrassed about the lyrics, but they did reflect a tumultuous time in his life.
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Going to California is in the key of D major and plays around with some harmonic modulation. The tuning Jimmy Page uses on his acoustic guitar is known as Double Drop-D Tuning. It goes as follows: D-A-D-G-B-D. Essentially, the top and bottom E strings on standard tuning are tuned down a whole step to D. The tablature for this one is a mix of the acoustic guitars and the mandolin heard on the song.
Black Mountain Side is another song found on their debut album Led Zeppelin. It is a solo instrumental piece recorded in 1968 where we can hear Jimmy Page’s great abilities on an acoustic guitar.
The first thing to notice with this song is the tuning of the guitar. Page recorded this song on the classic Gibson model, the SJ-200, using what is called the DADGAD tuning. You can also hear the instrument named tabla, used to enhance the Indian vibe in the song.
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This one is a quite challenging song in the key of D Dorian. There are several live versions of Jimmy Page performing this song on its own, or in a mashup with a former song he had written in DADGAD, White Summer. These live performances are also a great tool to find some other licks he uses on the acoustic guitar.
The Battle of Evermore is track number 3 on their fourth album (which is untitled but commonly referred to as Led Zeppelin IV). It is a folk duet sung by Robert Plant and English singer-songwriter Sandy Deany. This song features an acoustic guitar and mandolin.
This song was written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, who later explained that we had just picked John Paul Jones’ mandolin and started playing with it until he wrote the song in one sitting. This song, like others from the group, makes references to The Lord of the Rings.
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The Battle of Evermore is in the key of Am and features open chords throughout the song. The one interesting thing harmonically is a descending bass line found on the guitar that goes Am/E to Am/D# to Am/D, which creates an interesting movement.
Gallows Pole is an arrangement of an old folk song, The Maid Freed from the Gallows. This song talks about a condemned maiden pleading for someone to buy her freedom before being executed at the gallows.
It is important to note that Led Zeppelin III, the album where this song resides, marks an important shift in Led Zeppelin’s musical influences. Thanks to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant’s sudden interest in northern folk music, they began experimenting with more music material to balance out their full rock and roll vibe. Funnily enough, this was not well received by the critics.
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Gallows Pole is in the key of
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