"You Shook Me"

The third track from Led Zeppelin I, "You Shook Me" is a cover of Willie Dixon song featuring Muddy Waters on vocals that was released in 1962. "You Shook Me" is a call and response blues song with Jimmy even playing slide guitar. How did the great Muddy Waters feel about being covered by Led Zeppelin? "I feel good, sure I like it. I love it. I wish someone would call my name fifty million times a day, The more you call, the more people gonna hear. That don't bother me." The song was played live and often at Led Zeppelin's shows from 1968 to 1973 when it was dropped in order to accommodate newer material.

Jimmy, as the acting producer of the first album, decided to add some reverse echo to Robert Plant's vocals near the end of the track. Reverse echo was a technique he had employed earlier on the Yardbirds tune "Ten Little Indians", however when he tried to use it on "You Shook Me" he met some resistance from engineer, Glyn Johns.

Jimmy in an interview with Guitar Magazine:  "I told the engineer, Glyn Johns, that I wanted to use backwards echo on the end. He said, 'Jimmy, it can't be done.' I said 'Yes, it can. I've already done it.' Then he began arguing, so I said, 'Look, I'm the producer. I'm going to tell you what to do, and just do it.' So he grudgingly did everything I told him to, and when we were finished he started refusing to push the fader up so I could hear the result. Finally, I had to scream, 'Push the bloody fader up!' And lo and behold, the effect worked perfectly.

Glyn Johns; "Push the bloody faders up!!!"

One of the controversies about the first Led Zeppelin album stems from this song. Jimmy's former band-mate and long-time friend Jeff Beck had just released his first album with his new band "The Jeff Beck Group" and included on the album was a cover of the song "You Shook Me".

Jimmy Page commented on the Snafu in 1977: "[Beck] had the same sort of taste in music as I did. That's why you'll find on the early LPs we both did a song like "You Shook Me." It was the type of thing we'd both played in bands. Someone told me he'd already recorded it after we'd already put it down on the first Zeppelin album. I thought, "Oh dear, it's going to be identical," but it was nothing like it, fortunately. I just had no idea he'd done it. It was on Truth but I first heard it when I was in Miami after we'd recorded our version. It's a classic example of coming from the same area musically, of having a similar taste."

Jeff Beck had a different take:  "He [Jimmy Page] said, "Listen to this. Listen to Bonzo, this guy called John Bonham that I've got." And so I said I would, and my heart just sank when I heard "You Shook Me". I looked at him and said "Jim, what?" and the tears were coming out with anger. I thought "This is a piss-take, it's got to be." I mean, there's Truth still spinning on everybody's turntable, and this turkey's come out with another version. Oh boy ... then I realised it was serious, and he did have this heavyweight drummer, and I thought "Here we go again" - pipped at the post kind of thing."

Fortunately, whatever sort of animosity existed between the two men was forgotten over time and the two remain close friends to this day.

Jimmy Page & Jeff Beck at the R&R Hall of Fame

So that's the background, how about we play the thing! On this song, I used my Fender Telecaster (naturally) through my Marshall Haze 40. For effects pedals, I used my Dunlop JH-1B Jimi Hendrix Signature Wah Pedal, and an Ibanez Tube Screamer.

Intro:
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1st verse 

       You  Know You Shook Me...       You shook me all night long...
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                              You know you shook me baby
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    You shook me all night long                                          
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    You shook me so hard baby      Baby, baby  please      come home
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E-|-----------------------|
B-|-----------------------|   Repeat this for the 2nd verse
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    I have a bird  won't do nothin'    AAAAAHHH  (Lets see him do that now)
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                    Buy a diamond ring yeah!
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         Here we have an organ solo, harmonica solo, and a guitar solo.
         Here are the basic chords played during all three. 

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A-|-7-5-7-7-9-9-7-7-5-7-3-7-9-9-7-3-7-3-2-2-2-4-4-2-5-5-2-2-2-4-4-2-2-2-3-7-9-
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E-|-7---------------------5--5-7----------------5-5-3-3-2-2-0-0---------------| 

 Here is the guitar solo:

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E|--------------------------|------------------17--16|
B|--------------------------|------15----17----------|
G|1413------13--------131413|16----------------------|
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E|-------------------------------19--21191817------------|
B|201920192019211917--17--171921---17--------2019171917--|
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E|---------19----------------------------------|
B|17--1721---1921--20192019201917--171917191719|
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E|-------------------------------------------------|
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 3rd  verse, more of the same, here's the variations... 

 You   shook   me   soo         hard   baby
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        Babe....               Ah Ahh...              Ah Ahhhh...
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    Ah Ahhhhh...              Ah Ahhhh...       Ah Ahhh...
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    Coda:
                  You shook me all night long...
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