Led Zeppelin - Black Dog

This is a live performance by British rock band Led Zeppelin playing the song "Black Dog" released in 1971. This performance is from 1975.
The song appears on Led Zeppelin's 1971 album "Led Zeppelin IV". The main riff of the song is attributed to bassist John Paul Jones who wrote it with the intention of doing a song people couldn't groove and dance to. He thought that with the complex rhythm changes and progressive riff that this would be accomplished. The song is named after a nameless black Labrador retriever who wandered around the studio at the time of recording. The lyrics are completely unrelated to the dog. Robert Plant did the vocals in two takes.
It's a great song and one of many instantly recognizable Zeppelin tracks. They had something with their riffs and rhythm that just made them unique and gave them a sound like no other band.
Truly a great song and performance.

Enjoy ; )

Guns N' Roses - Patience

This is the music video to the classic folk rock song "Patience" by Guns N' Roses. The song appears on the band's "G N' R Lies" album from 1989 which is also the last album before the band started going through line-up changes. The song peaked at no. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music was written by rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin and the lyrics were done by Axl Rose.
The song doesn't feature any percussion. But in live performances the band would often play it with drums and electric instruments. They would also use keyboards on these live performances. Embeded below is a live performance like this.

The song has been covered by many artists who especially love playing the song live. It's been done live by artists like: Carrie Underwood, John Mayer with Maroon 5 and also in various ways featuring Slash and different singers.
It's a great ballad/acoustic folk rock song, and the lyrics are very good and well written as well. A gem amongst GNR songs.

Enjoy ; )

Eric Clapton - Ain't Nobody's Business

This is a live performance by Eric Clapton playing his version of the classic 1920's song "Ain't Nobody's Business". At the end of the clip he also plays a little bit of "Drifting Blues" on a Spanish acoustic and stops to ask if there's percussion on it.
I really love the simple nature of this performance and the fact that it's split into two. It starts of with a piano and Clapton singing with only a little light percussion with a drum hit on the edge. The at the end to finish it the horn section kicks in and Clapton starts playing a solo. What you see is Clapton's vocal ability and how good a singer he is. He is one of the few people who can sort of recreate or keep the spirit of 20's and 30's music alive today which is very impressive. And then of course the guitar solo at the end which is just stunning.
The song was originally known under the title "Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do". It was written somewhere in the 1920's by by pianist Porter Grainger who had been Bessie Smith's accompanist and Everett Robbins. It was first recorded by Ann Meyer in 1922 and later by Bessie Smith in 1923. The song is an 8-bar vaudeville blues song. The lyrics were copyrighted in 1922 and now they are in the public domain. Embeded below is the Bessie Smith version, it's not that similar to Clapton's version, but you can clearly hear that this was the source material.

The song has been recorded by a large number of artists over the years. Artist such as: Billie Holiday, Diana Ross, Hank Williams Jr., Freddie King, Eric Clapton, Otis Spann, and Willie Nelson among others.
It's a great song and a great set of lyrics. I really love Clapton's version of this. His singing and his guitar playing it just all adds up to something unbelievable.

Enjoy ; )