"Four Sticks"
German single picture sleeve
Single by Led Zeppelin
from the album Led Zeppelin IV
A-side	"Rock and Roll"
Released	21 February 1972 (1972-02-21) (US)
Recorded	1971
Studio	Island, London
Genre	Hard rock[1] raga rock[2]
Length	4:46
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Jimmy Page Robert Plant
Producer(s)	Jimmy Page
Led Zeppelin singles chronology
"Black Dog" (1971) "Four Sticks" (1972) "Over the Hills and Far Away" (1973)
Audio sample
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"Four Sticks" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin from their untitled fourth album. The title reflects drummer John Bonham's performance with two sets of two drumsticks, totaling four.^[3]

The song was difficult to record, and required more takes than usual.^[3] John Paul Jones played a VCS3 synthesizer on the track.^[3] The song has an unusual time signature, featuring riffs in a mixture of 5/8 and 6/8.

Only one live performance has been identified – in Copenhagen on their 1971 European tour – and preserved on some bootleg recordings.^[3]

Personnel

According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin:^[4]

• Robert Plant – vocals
• Jimmy Page – acoustic guitar, electric guitars (six-string and twelve-string)
• John Paul Jones – bass, synthesiser
• John Bonham – drums

Four Hands

The song was re-recorded by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant with the Bombay Symphony Orchestra in 1972, during their trip to India, along with another song, "Friends" from Led Zeppelin III.^[5] This version featured tabla drums and sitars. The recording, titled "Four Hands" was released officially on the 2015 remastering of Coda.

See also

• List of cover versions of Led Zeppelin songs § Four Sticks

References

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.