How Many More Times

"How Many More Times" is the ninth and final track on English rock band Led Zeppelin's 1969 début album Led Zeppelin.

Album version
At eight and a half minutes, "How Many More Times" is the longest song on the album. It consists of several smaller sections held together by a bolero rhythm that pushes the piece along. At the end, the song pans between the left and right channels. This was one of three Led Zeppelin songs on which Page used bowed guitar, the others being "Dazed and Confused" and "In the Light". The song "In the Evening" utilized several tremolo bar drops to mimic the bow sound.

Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham were credited with writing this song. As with all the other tracks on Led Zeppelin's debut album, Robert Plant didn't get a writing credit for this song due to unexpired contractual obligations, but he undoubtedly had a large influence in its construction. The arrangement and adaptation of old blues songs was something Plant had much prior experience at during his time with his former band, Obs-tweedle. The line, "I got another child on the way, that makes eleven" refers to his unborn child, Carmen, who was born a month or two after Led Zeppelin recorded this album.

Though listed at a time of 3:30 on the album sleeve, the correct length of the track is in fact 8:28. The incorrect listing was deliberate as it was intended to help promote radio play. Page knew that radio stations would never play a song over eight minutes long, so he wrote the track time as shorter on the album to trick radio stations into playing it.

In an interview he gave to Guitar World magazine in 1993, Page stated that the song "was made up of little pieces I developed when I was with the Yardbirds, as were other numbers such as "Dazed and Confused". It was played live in the studio with cues and nods." It has also been reported that the "Rosie" and "Hunter" components of the song came spontaneously to the group on the night of the recording session.

Live performances
On early Led Zeppelin concert tours, "How Many More Times" was often the band's closing number. Plant typically introduced the rest of the band during the opening bassline, as can be seen during the Danish TV appearance on the Led Zeppelin DVD. By late 1969, the intro of the song would be quite extended and the band would incorporate more and more material into the song as a medley. An example of such a performance is included on the same DVD, during the Royal Albert Hall concert. During the "Bolero" section, Plant quotes Neil Young's "Down by the River." After "The Hunter," the band adlibs John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillin'," with lyrics from other sources. The band would then go into "Cumberland Gap" then After "The Lemon Song," the band would play "That's Alright Mama" (which is not on the Led Zeppelin DVD but bootlegs show they did play it. Then they return to "How Many More Times" at the moment where they left off, the conclusion of "The Hunter." The typical medley pattern ("Boogie Chillen" followed by improvisational set of covers and finally a slow blues and a return to the main song) would later be incorporated into "Whole Lotta Love," as demonstrated on Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions and How the West Was Won.

In 1970, "How Many More Times" was dropped from Led Zeppelin's typical setlist, although they would continue to perform it on occasion until the early stages of their 1975 U.S. tour, when it was re-introduced in full as a result of Jimmy Page's injured finger, which temporarily prevented him from playing "Dazed and Confused". It was also played once in 1973, on January 22nd, while the band was touring the United Kingdom.

The song was used on the soundtrack to the 1970 anti-Vietnam War film Homer. Page and Plant would also play the song on their Walking into Clarksdale tour in 1998, releasing their Shepherd's Bush performance on a CD single.

Album versions

 * 1987: Gary Farr (One More Chance)
 * 1995: Dread Zeppelin (No Quarter Pounder)
 * 1998: Page and Plant ("Shining in the Light" CD single)
 * 1999: L.A. Guns (Shrinking Violets)
 * 1999: Big Jim Sullivan (Ultimate Rock Guitar)
 * 2004: Loudness (The Soldier's Just Came Back: Live Best)
 * 2004: Flex Progression (Simply Rock Moods)
 * 2006: Pat Travers (P.T. Power Trio 2 )
 * 2009: Liquid Tension Experiment (When the Keyboard Breaks: Live in Chicago [recorded live 25 June 2008])

Live versions

 * 1988-1989: Metallica
 * 1998: Page and Plant
 * 2004-2007: Gomez