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"Dancing Days"
Netherlands single picture sleeve
Single by Led Zeppelin
from the album Houses of the Holy
A-side	"Over the Hills and Far Away"
Released	24 May 1973 (1973-05-24) (US)
Recorded	1972
Studio	Stargroves, East Woodhay, England
Genre	Hard rock boogie rock
Length	3:40
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Jimmy Page Robert Plant
Producer(s)	Jimmy Page
Led Zeppelin singles chronology
"Rock and Roll" (1972) "Dancing Days" (1973) "D'yer Mak'er" (1973)
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"Dancing Days" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It appears on their 1973 album, Houses of the Holy, and was released as a single in the US. It was recorded at Stargroves, England in 1972. It was inspired by an Indian tune that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant heard while traveling in Bombay. This was the first track from the album to be offered for radio play by Atlantic Records. It was premiered on 24 March 1973 on the BBC Radio One Rosko lunch time show.

Live performances

As with the single's A-side, "Over the Hills and Far Away", "Dancing Days" was introduced by the band in concert well ahead of its commercial release. The earliest live documented reference is in Seattle on 19 June 1972 where the song was performed twice: once during the main set and again as an encore; it was then performed frequently during the rest of this tour, with a version appearing on the live album, How the West Was Won. With the release of Houses of the Holy, however, "Dancing Days" was largely dropped from concerts, although an abridged, acoustic version was occasionally performed during the 1977 U.S. tour. A full electric version was played as an encore on 13 July 1973 at Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan as featured on the "Monsters of Rock" bootleg.

Reception

In a contemporary review for Houses of the Holy, Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone gave "Dancing Days" a negative review, calling the track nothing but a piece of "filler".

Personnel

According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin:

• Robert Plant – vocals
• Jimmy Page – guitars
• John Paul Jones – bass, keyboard
• John Bonham – drums

See also

• List of cover versions of Led Zeppelin songs – "Dancing Days" entries

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Houses of the Holy – Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
2. Rolling Stone Staff (June 25, 2022). "The Best Summer Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 10, 2023. ... went out on the lawn and danced to it — a testament to its searing boogie power.
3. ^ Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.
4. Fletcher, Gordon (7 June 1973). "Houses of the Holy". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
5. Guesdon & Margotin 2018, p. 332.

Bibliography

• Guesdon, Jean-Michel; Margotin, Philippe (2018). Led Zeppelin All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Running Press. ISBN 978-0-316-448-67-3.

• Led Zeppelin songs
• Songs written by Jimmy Page
• Songs written by Robert Plant
• 1973 singles
• Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page
• Stone Temple Pilots songs
• Atlantic Records singles
• 1973 songs
• Songs about dancing