Dancing Days

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1973 single by Led Zeppelin

title: "Dancing Days" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["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"] description: "1973 single by Led Zeppelin" topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_Days" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1973 single by Led Zeppelin ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]

Field	Value
name	Dancing Days
cover	Over_the_Hills_and_Far_Away45.jpg
caption	Netherlands single picture sleeve
type	single
artist	Led Zeppelin
album	Houses of the Holy
A-side	Over the Hills and Far Away
released	(US)
recorded	1972
studio	Stargroves, East Woodhay, England
url	http://www.allmusic.com/album/houses-of-the-holy-mw0000190648
title	Houses of the Holy – Album Review
last	Erlewine
first	Stephen Thomas
author-link	Stephen Thomas Erlewine
website	AllMusic
access-date	October 25, 2014
* boogie rock<ref name	"RS summer"
length	3:40
label	Atlantic
producer	Jimmy Page
prev_title	Rock and Roll
prev_year	1972
next_title	D'yer Mak'er
next_year	1973
misc	{{Audio sample
type	single
file	Led_Zeppelin_-_Dancing_Days.ogg
::

::callout[type=note]

Hard rock | url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/houses-of-the-holy-mw0000190648 | title = Houses of the Holy – Album Review | last = Erlewine | first = Stephen Thomas | author-link = Stephen Thomas Erlewine | website = AllMusic | access-date = October 25, 2014
boogie rock | length = 3:40 | label = Atlantic | writer =
Jimmy Page
Robert Plant | producer = Jimmy Page | prev_title = Rock and Roll | prev_year = 1972 | next_title = D'yer Mak'er | next_year = 1973 | misc = {{Audio sample | type = single | file = Led_Zeppelin_-_Dancing_Days.ogg

"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.

Critical 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 the Houses of the Holy liner notes.

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

Stone Temple Pilots version

acoustic rock
grunge | length = 3:46 | label = Atlantic | writer = *Jimmy Page
Robert Plant | producer = | chronology = Stone Temple Pilots promotional single | prev_title = Pretty Penny | prev_year = 1995 | next_title = Tumble in the Rough | next_year = 1997 | misc =

American rock band Stone Temple Pilots recorded an acoustic cover of "Dancing Days" for the tribute album, Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin (1995). Their version is a grunge and alternative rock song, with elements of swing, an example of the DeLeo brother's jazz influences. The song was released as a promotional single that same year, and peaked at No. 63 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart.

The band repurposed the chorus riff on *Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart", a song and second single from their third studio album, *Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop'' (1996).

Release

A promotional single of "Dancing Days", shortened to three minutes and 46 seconds, was released in 1995, with the four minute and two second album version as the B-side. The single was manufactured by WEA Manufacturing, made by Specialty Records, and issued with a black and white printed tray card, but no front insert.

While not entering the US Hot 100, the song reached No. 63 on Hot 100 Airplay, No. 11 on Alternative Airplay, No. 3 on Mainstream Rock and No. 46 on the Canada Top Singles chart.

Critical reception

Ryan Burleson of Magnet praised the cover for its faithfulness to the original, opining that the song almost sounded like a Stone Temple Pilots original. According to him, this was not surprising, as the band frequently cited Led Zeppelin as an influence, and had the same record label, Atlantic.

Legacy

"Dancing Days" was remastered and rereleased on 13 September 2019 as one of 12 bonus tracks on the 25th anniversary remaster of the band's second studio album, Purple. Stone Temple Pilots reused the chorus riff from their version of the song on "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart", a song and second single from the band's third studio album, Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop, and released on 3 August 1996.

Howard Stern uploaded a video in January 2019 of the band performing the song on The Howard Stern Show, in 1996. The video had never been uploaded to the internet, and only the audio was previously available online. Howard says at the end, "you sons of bitches can really do it, I like it."

Track listing

Charts

::data[format=table title=""] | Chart (1995) | Peak position | |---|---| | {{left|Canada Top Singles (RPM)Peak chart positions for singles in Canada: | 46 | | | 63 | | | 11 | | | 3 | ::

References

Bibliography

References

Rolling Stone Staff. (June 25, 2022). "The Best Summer Songs of All Time".
Dave Lewis (1994), ''The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin'', Omnibus Press, {{ISBN. 0-7119-3528-9.
(7 June 1973). "Houses of the Holy".
(1973). "Houses of the Holy". Atlantic Records.
Coffman, Tim. (April 20, 2024). "10 grunge takes on classic tracks".
Mezydlo, Jeffrey. (May 31, 2025). "20 artists who pulled off great covers of Led Zeppelin".
Burleson, Ryan. (February 2, 2011). "Take Cover! Stone Temple Pilots Vs. Led Zeppelin".
(November 9, 2017). "The One after the Big One: Stone Temple Pilots, TINY MUSIC … SONGS FROM THE VATICAN GIFT SHOP".
Buchanan, Brett. (January 12, 2019). "Howard Stern Releases Unseen Scott Weiland Video: 'You Can Really Do It'".
"Stone Temple Pilots – Chart History: Hot 100".
"Stone Temple Pilots – Chart History: Alternative Songs".
"Stone Temple Pilots – Chart History: Mainstream Rock Songs".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::