Royal Orleans
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- For the hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, see Omni Royal Orleans.
| "Royal Orleans" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Song by Led Zeppelin | ||
| from the album Presence | ||
| Released | March 31, 1976 | |
| Recorded | November-December, 1975 | |
| Genre | Hard rock | |
| Length | 2:59 | |
| Label | Swan Song | |
| Writer(s) | Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant | |
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Page | |
| Presence track listing | ||
| "For Your Life" (2) |
"Royal Orleans" (3) |
"Nobody's Fault But Mine" (4) |
"Royal Orleans" is a song by English rock group Led Zeppelin, from their 1976 album Presence.
When in New Orleans on concert tours, members of the group would stay at the Royal Orleans Hotel, and the song is reportedly based on an incident that occurred there. The story goes that, once when staying at the hotel in the early 1970s, a member of Led Zeppelin accidentally brought a transvestite up to his room, thinking he was a woman. Both smoked marijuana and fell asleep, the transvestite with a lit joint in his hand, which caught fire and burned the room down (though everyone escaped). To this day nobody is quite sure which member of the group was involved, although it has been suggested that it was bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones. The song suggests that it is John Paul Jones from the line:
| “ |
And when the sun peeked through |
” |
John Cameron was a studio rival of John Paul Jones. The song also alludes to Barry White.
"Royal Orleans" is the only song on the album credited to all four members (or any members besides Robert Plant and Jimmy Page). Lead singer Robert Plant wrote most of the lyrics, using the song as a way to poke fun at bandmate Jones, allegedly because of a comment Jones once made that vocals were the least important part of the band. The lyrics include lines such as "Be careful how you choose it" and "Poor whiskers set the room alight" to reference the event.
This song was never performed live by the band at Led Zeppelin concerts.
[edit] Trivia
- B-side of "Candy Store Rock."
[edit] Sources
- Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every song, by Chris Welch, ISBN 1-56025-818-7
- The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, by Dave Lewis, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
| Led Zeppelin |
|---|
| Jimmy Page • Robert Plant • John Paul Jones • John Bonham
Studio albums: Led Zeppelin • Led Zeppelin II • Led Zeppelin III • Live albums: The Song Remains the Same • BBC Sessions • How the West Was Won Compilations: Box Set • Profiled • Remasters • Box Set 2 • Complete Studio Recordings • Early Days: Best of Led Zeppelin Volume One • Latter Days: Best of Led Zeppelin Volume Two • Coda The Song Remains the Same • Led Zeppelin DVD Peter Grant • Richard Cole • Swan Song Records • The Yardbirds • XYZ • The Firm • Page and Plant • Strange Sensation • Bootlegs • Concerts • Songs |
