Fats Domino tribute released with two Robert Plant tracks

On a new two-CD collection produced both as a tribute to 79-year-old singer/songwriter Fats Domino and also to benefit the music culture in New Orleans, Robert Plant lends his vocals to two cover songs.

Domino, a New Orleans native who lost his home to Hurricane Katrina two years ago, has been recording since the late 1940s. He earned his first pop hit in the United States and England in 1955 with "Ain't That a Shame." John Lennon's cover version of the song, originally released 20 years later, now exists as the appropriate choice to open the tribute album released tomorrow in the United States.

As for Plant's involvement in the project, New York Times reporter Nate Chinen tells the story in an article published on Saturday: Plant had first agreed to contribute only one song for the compilation, a version of Domino's 1961 single "It Keeps Rainin'." However, one was not enough; he chose to record another, engaging in an impromptu recording session with a large vocal ensemble dropping in from another continent.

In April recording sessions attended in person by Domino, Plant committed both songs to tape during a three-day visit to New Orleans. For "It Keeps Rainin'," he was assisted by the Cajun sounds of the accordion-wielding Lil' Band O' Gold, a swamp-pop group from the southern Louisiana town of Lafayette. Plant and the band laid down their rendition on Thursday, April 19, according to Scott Jordan in a blurb for Lafayette's Independent Weekly and Keith Spera in a blog entry for The Times-Picayune.

Spera adds that following the recording session, Plant stopped by three New Orleans concert venues to take in some live performances. One of the acts he watched was Lil' Band O' Gold member Steve Riley's other band, the Mamou Playboys, performing at the Mid-City Lanes Rock 'n Bowl. Plant also listened to local mainstays The Trio at the Maple Leaf.

At Tipitina's, the top-billed act was not an area group but the 26-member Soweto Gospel Choir from South Africa. During their stay, they were ushered into a recording studio with Plant to record an impromptu cover of "Valley of Tears." In the original version, released 1957, Fats Domino was assisted by a pop choir and saxophone solo. However, the only musical accompaniment in the new recording of that song comes from some light percussion. Plant provides two verses of restrained vocals in this track, which stretches just barely over two minutes in length.

While it might be construed as an atypical combination of forces to outsiders, at least one person familiar with the New Orleans music scene was quoted in the New York Times piece as declaring Plant's recording session with the Soweto Gospel Choir was commonplace. “So you have the Led Zeppelin guy with a South African gospel choir doing a Fats Domino song,” said Bill Taylor, executive director of the Tipitina's Foundation and executive producer of the double album. “It’s an example of what happens here musically every day.”

Plant and Domino met again in the afternoon on Saturday, April 21, before the British singer joined the Lil' Band of Gold onstage for a half hour at Tipitina's. They were reported to have played both "It Keeps Rainin'" and "Valley of Tears," in addition to a few Elvis Presley songs, the blues song "Hoochie Coochie Man" made famous by Muddy Waters, and snippets of Led Zeppelin songs.

Led Zeppelin fans may best know Domino as the author of the song "Blueberry Hill," famous for a performance as an encore at a single Zep show 37 years ago this month. An unsanctioned recording of the concert by an audience member was released in the 1970s without authorization of the band, making it one of the very earliest bootlegs of a rock concert ever produced.

The double album, Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino, is to be released Sept. 25 by Vanguard Records. It is not the first musical release for which proceeds benefit the Tipitina's Foundation. It is preceded by Domino's independently released 2006 album, Alive and Kickin'.

Plant on Fats Domino tribute CD

There's a two-disc set coming out on Sept. 25 called Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino. Of immediate interest to Led Zeppelin fans are the two cover songs recorded by Robert Plant with a couple different groups. One of his songs can be heard online in MP3 format along with two other tracks from the double album:

1. Robert Plant & Soweto Gospel Choir - Valley of Tears: http://six-by-nine.org/muruch/robertplant-valleyoftears.mp3
2. Dr. John - Don't Leave Me This Way: http://six-by-nine.org/muruch/drjohn-dontleavemethisway1.mp3
3. Randy Newman - Blue Monday: http://six-by-nine.org/muruch/randynewman-bluemonday.mp3

Plant's track above was recorded with the Soweto Gospel Choir from South Africa. His other addition to the album, "It Keeps Rainin'," was recorded with the Lil' Band O' Gold, from Lafayette, Louisiana. After they recorded their song, Plant ended up playing with them at Tipitina's in New Orleans. Their 30-minute set, detailed in full both by a New Orleans Times-Picayune blog and Lafayette's hometown Independent Weekly, included both Fats Domino covers Plant had recorded for the album and a few Elvis Presley songs and snippets of Led Zeppelin songs alongside the blues song "Hoochie Coochie Man" made famous by Muddy Waters.

The album also includes the late John Lennon's classic cover of Domino's "Ain't That a Shame" and new recordings from a bunch of the same artists who frequently show up on compilations like the Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute and the Sun Records tribute: Bonnie Raitt (SRV), Eric Clapton (SRV & Sun), Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (Sun), B.B. King (SRV), Sir Elton John (Sun), Sir Paul McCartney (Sun) and Dr. John (SRV). Plant was also on the Sun Records tribute album.

Proceeds from sales of the Fats Domino tribute album will benefit the Tipitina's Foundation, whose goal is "to preserve and restore New Orleans' music culture in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina." A press release says the album "will help raise desperately needed funds specifically earmarked for instruments to be donated to New Orleans' public school children. Monies raised from the sales of Goin' Home will also go toward the rebuilding of Fats Domino's home and to create a community center in the Crescent City's still ravaged Lower 9th Ward."

TBL in the mail

Issue 18 of the fan magazine Tight But Loose (tblweb.com) has arrived in my mail hot off the presses in the United Kingdom. There's a whole slew of news on Robert Plant activity in 2007, including discussion of some recent and upcoming concert appearances (a new Strange Sensation song is said to have debuted live!), some previously reported info on his album with Alison Krauss to be released in October (pre-orders onsale now), and something that was new to me.

Namely, Plant contributed two tracks that will be included on a compilation to be out in September that will benefit Fats Domino's foundation, established to help rebuild some portions of New Orleans that are still in poor shape from Hurricane Katrina two years ago. TBL details the track names plus where and when they were recorded and with whom. Also, Plant performed a set including both songs and some Elvis Presley songs as well as some Zep material onstage just after recording the album. I'll leave it to Dave Lewis to provide those details rather than repeating them here.

The Plant-Krauss coverage in TBL, while mostly stuff I'd seen elsewhere and even reported myself in the Aug. 20 edition of my newsletter, does reveal one detail that was new to me, although precise details are still pretty sketchy. There is talk of a single to be released from the Raising Sand album, probably prior to its release. Again, I won't reveal here which track Dave Lewis cites as most likely. TBL promises the next issue will go behind the scenes with the making of Raising Sand, and personally, I can't wait!

I did get some song samples from rounder.com and also on the album listing at amazon.com. From what I've heard, I'm particularly excited about the Everly Brothers track, "Gone, Gone, Gone."

Something Plant said in an interview for Rounder's electronic press kit struck me as particularly cool: that it was with this project that he was first paired with a singer of equal talent who could follow him. Look back through his history: Who all else has dared to sing harmony with Robert Plant? It's a short list. But probably nobody has done it as well as Alison Krauss did. Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself here. I haven't heard the full album yet! Thirty-second song clips and testaments from those who have heard the album, however, tend to support this statement.

Somebody just politely prodded on John Paul Jones' official discussion group that he's overdue for another update. They are pretty infrequent at that site; the last was in December 2006. Jonesy told me in December 2001, in a four-hour interview conducted in Philadelphia during the "budget tour" with King Crimson that preceded the release of his album The Thunderthief, that he wanted to interact with fans much more often than he was doing at the time. Jonesy soon handed off his Web design and maintenance to Canadian fan Sam Rapallo, the guy behind the Electric Magic site at led-zeppelin.com (yes, I was jealous, but he had a better résumé, and I still no nothing about making Web sites). They launched a new site, and JPJ's resolve to post more often quickly waned. Granted, maybe it's partially because he updates readers almost entirely on his solo activities, like progress on a new studio album that's been in the works for a long time but keeps getting shelved for other projects.

Jonesy has had his hands full, though, no doubt. There was producing Uncle Earl's album, there are bluegrass festivals, there's improving his skills on a mandolin and other assorted string instruments. But he did show up at Bonnaroo, the jam band festival in Tennessee earlier this year. A former coworker of mine texted me from Bonnaroo and told me he was watching JPJ play "Dazed and Confused" onstage. I thought my buddy was just messing with me! But I checked it out, and it's all over Youtube (in two parts). JPJ looked young -- way younger than he should, by comparison to Page and Plant anyway -- and he really appeared to be enjoying himself while revisiting this song he might not have played in front of a crowd since 1975 (verification/corrections, anybody?). Full coverage of this and his other Bonnaroo onstage guest spots in TBL.

The magazine also has a nice rundown of what to expect from the Mothership and TSRTS releases in November. As far as Mothership, I will go out on a limb and agree with Dave Lewis that the real prizes will be on the limited edition versions, especially the collector's edition. I might just happen to have a little inside information on this project myself. Stay tuned to my newsletter for anything I can reveal about that.

While there was nothing particular in this TBL about the ever-elusive Page other than a brief at-press-time mention of his role in testifying in trial against a man in Scotland who subsequently pled guilty to a charge of profiting from the sale of unauthorized live recordings of Led Zeppelin and other bands, TBL promises the next issue will have an interview with Page and info on a biography. Very ambiguous. Do they mean autobiography? It would be very interesting to read Page's own words on himself.

Finally, Dave Lewis discusses those Led Zeppelin reunion rumors and even points to the seemingly errant one-off rumor of a reunited Beck/Page Yardbirds. As for Zep, Lewis feels -- as do I -- that getting together for a once-only tribute show for Atlantic Records' Ahmet Ertegün is not far-fetched; anything further than that, on the other hand, is unlikely. For one thing, Plant will be touring with Alison Krauss to support Raising Sand! This much is sure.

When the Levee Breaks: Tribute to New Orleans

These comments originally appeared in an edition of the newsletter "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History."

If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break
If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break
And the water gonna come in, have no place to stay

Well all last night I sat on the levee and moan
Well all last night I sat on the levee and moan
Thinkin' 'bout my baby and my happy home

If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break
If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break
And all these people have no place to stay

These lyrics are as meaningful today as they were over 75 years ago when they were first recorded in 1929. The song "When the Levee Breaks" was performed on record by the husband-and-wife team of "Kansas" Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie, recalling the great Mississippi River flood of 1927. The couple's dueling guitars was said to mimic the sound of the water.

When Led Zeppelin adapted the song for its fourth album, a new riff was provided by John Paul Jones on bass and the swirling slide guitar of Jimmy Page. These elements were complemented by Robert Plant's psychedelic, drowning harmonica and a mesmerizing drum beat from John Bonham that was made sonically perfect by experimenting with the positioning of microphones around his drum kit.

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina this past week saw great devastation after a system of levees broke in New Orleans, La., flooding much of the city, forcefully evicting much of its population, and ultimately rendering much of its housing stock uninhabitable. We may have witnessed the destruction of a city long fabled for its unmistakable culture. It was a location the members of Led Zeppelin always looked forward to visiting.

Whether taking in some zydeco or jazz at a local club or some Cajun-flavored seafood at a down-home restaurant, Led Zeppelin history is rich with stories of the band indulging in all New Orleans had to offer. Members even rented out a house in the French Quarter during the 1973 tour for an extended stay there. It was at the Royal Orleans hotel where John Paul Jones hobnobbed with a local transsexual and friend of the band, a story that was famously exaggerated in the Presence track "Royal Orleans."

The local music scene especially captivated Robert Plant. At a party thrown by Atlantic Records to acknowledge Led Zeppelin's success, Plant in turn honored many of the New Orleans musicians who had been hired to perform that night, including Ernie K. Doe, Professor Longhair, Frankie Ford, The Meters, Snooks Eaglin and Allen Toussaint. Plant has often said it was a shame such artists weren't recognized on a national basis.

Now, the plight of this city has become internationally known. To find out what you can do to aid the relief effort, visit www.redcross.org or call toll-free: 1-800-HELP-NOW.

John Paul Jones clears up the 'drag queen' story (interview part 8 of 22)

This is the eighth part of the transcript of my interview with John Paul Jones, conducted Dec. 10, 2001.

SPS: In 1973, you fractured your ribs on tour?

JPJ: I think I actually did it in England and didn’t realize it. It was kind of like on the cusp as it were. I think I like coughed or something like that in a hotel room, and something goes, "Wah!" Really, really [inaudible], and I thought, "Cor, ah, you know!" So it turned out that I'd fractured them. The doctor fired up an X-ray and then put me onstage. "OK, that's no excuse. You've still got arms and legs, and your head's all right. You're doing all right. Play!"

SPS: There's a show in Dallas, I think it was May 18, 1973, and Robert's saying how you're standing up there playing, "He might not be able to finish the whole gig."

JPJ: Yeah, yeah, yeah, they're always saying these things to each other all the time. Four old blokes have a sit-down and say, "[inaudible]," really, it was that sort of band ... That's what made it work. Nobody could have an attitude for longer than about five minutes. [laughs] Yeah, I sat down for the show. I was all right if I didn't laugh.

SPS: I think he might have been trying to make you laugh though. He said something like, "We thought he'd got the clap!"

JPJ: Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was, well, you know… [gets up and walks across the room for a bottle of water] As I said, that’s how it was. We all laughed at each other.

SPS: Now the city you actually played right before that one was New Orleans 1973. You had a huge reception with… I think Lisa Robinson was there, you had Ernie K. Doe, Professor Longhair …

JPJ: Oh, right, I remember that one.

SPS: … all the great New Orleans jazz musicians. Do you remember anything else –

JPJ: [pours water from the bottle into two cups]

SPS: Thanks. Do you remember anything else about that particular city that particular year?

JPJ: Well, maybe. You'll probably have to remind me …

SPS: Oh, maybe a song named after the Royal Orleans hotel …

JPJ: Oh, that was Robert in his usual homophobic manner. I don't know what … You see, the only trouble with that book [Hammer of the Gods by Stephen Davis], that stupid book was that it got all its facts wrong. It got all the stories the wrong way around. Part of that, it wasn’t funny. I mean, some of the stories were actually hilarious, but the way the book reads is, "What a bunch of miserable bastards we are!" But no, I mean, everybody knew who those people were. They were friends of Richard [Cole]'s. And yes, we knew they were transvestites. We were friends. Her name was … Her name was … Stephanie! We'd see her every time we'd go to New Orleans. But Robert was a bit provincial. They weren't like big city boys. They don't like all that sort of thing. Richard and Jimmy and I … They were friends of the band, for God's sake, you know. And then this idiot, Steve Davis, gets it all mixed up. I mean, OK, so we were in our room, drinking, and probably fell asleep, and I [clears his throat] found the room full of firemen!

SPS: Yadda, yadda, yadda.

JPJ: All that stuff that he didn’t know, it was like, "Oh, come on…" But in fact, there was another member of the band who found himself in situations where they didn’t know it was a boy, and it certainly wasn’t me.

SPS: [inquisitively] Ah! [laughs] You don't want to elaborate on that?

JPJ: No, I don't. So it's all … And then he writes a song about it! You know, thank you so much, Robert. He was a bit homophobic in those days. I think it's just 'cause they had a sheltered upbringing as lads.

SPS: I know Jimmy did, living on a farm. He had this huge manor and just basically stayed by himself …

JPJ: He certainly didn’t have an –

SPS: … an only child.

JPJ: Well, I'm an only child and didn't have a sheltered upbringing. Not in the slightest!

On to part nine: John Paul Jones on the story that he was considering leaving Zeppelin early.