Whole Lotta Love
Artists: CCS
Original artists: Led Zeppelin
The 1969 original of “Whole Lotta Love” achieved great critical acclaim but, somehow,
didn’t quite match it in terms of chart success. That verdict may be a little harsh, but it
only made No 1 in Australia and West Germany. That’s not to say it was a flop. It wasn’t.
The track gained Top 10 success in a whole host of countries, including America. It
didn’t chart in the band’s home territory, the UK, for the simple reason that it wasn’t
released as a single there, perhaps in a bid to ensure high album sales.
However, let’s look at the critical acclaim. In 2003, it ranked 75 th in ‘Rolling Stone’
magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Listeners to the UK’s Radio 2 station said it
had the No 1 Greatest Guitar Riff. The UK’s ‘Q’ magazine ranked it No 3 in the Greatest
Guitar Tracks Ever. In 2007, it entered the Grammy Hall of Fame. And the list just goes
on and on.
The track would gain success again when in the year following its release an outfit
mainly comprising session musicians called CCS (Collective Consciousness Society)
released an instrumental version which reached No 13 in the UK. The number will be
familiar to UK readers as it featured as the opening track to the “Top of the Pops” TV
programme for many years. Though it should be pointed out that this was a reworking of
the CCS version by the BBC. Several members of CCS were involved (they were
session musicians, after all) but it would be an over-simplification to say that “Top of the
Pops” opened with a CCS track.
CCS had a few other hits. But the one that sticks out in my mind is “Tap Turns on the
Water”. It had a lyric which, in these days of wokery, it might be best if I do not repeat it.
However, if you are intrigued, it appears early in the video below.
