"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" First Ever Recordings

These are the very first ever recordings of "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", long before Led Zepplin even existed. The first is by the song's author Anne Bredon, who wrote the songs in the late 50's, and this recording dates from approx. 1959, and is a home recording. The recordings is a little rough, but you can absolutely recognize the song. The second recording is from Janet Smith from approx 1961 when she was attending Oberlin College. She heard Anne play it on a college radio show, and Anne to teach it to her. Janet then developed her own arrangement of the song, and you can clearly hear this is the arrangement of the song that was later made famous by Joan Baez. Janet is the one who taught the song Joan, and from there the song entered repertoire of many folk, pop, and rock artists, being recorded by The Association, obscure British Rn'B band The Plebs, and eventually Led Zepplin and Quicksilver Messenger Service. Enjoy!!!

[@peterv7258]

I heard a whole story a while back about how the original writer of the song had no idea that Zeppelin recorded it or that it was million dollar hit. Those folky guys form back then didn't listen to the rock n roll.

[@ilirllukaci5345]

Thank you for this explication of my youth.

[@sliebhdubh6816]

Anne Bredon version my clear favorite - really class.

[@rickjensen2833]

What a great film and music history lesson. Very sad .

[@marc8vino]

Thank You! Great background and origins of the song.

[@sonyatwiss8156]

"Thank you",That's my people!

[@davidmcdowell476]

Beautiful warriors- seeing them is to love them

[@kate6458]

This is stunning. Thank you so, so much for posting!

[@markymark560]

I love all of these. It appears that Jimmy pages version chord progressions are his own as they are not in any other versions and are genius.

[@1glassMilk]

There is a version who has similarities with the chords progression Led Zeppelin uses. It's The Association - Babe I'm gonna leave you.

[@readl.5640]

@Markymark560, Jimmy Page used a chord progression and picking style that exactly mimics Donovan's guitar on "Hampstead Incident", recorded for the Mellow Yellow album in 1966 (rel. in 1967), which is an entirely different song, not based on Bredon's lyric or melody. Donovan's arrangement of his own "Hampstead Incident" in '66 preceeded the timing of Page first playing his version of "Babe" to Plant in 1969. It's clear Page used a hybrid of Bredon's original of "Babe" (1959) for lyrics and Donovan's opening of "Hampstead" (1966) kzbin.info/www/bejne/goSzqpdvlNtorZI for his interpretation of "Babe", which appeared on Led Zeppelin's debut album, released in 1969.

[@A-Pa-s-Plainjane]

@@readl.5640 - thx, really excellent catch. as a big Donovan fan, I always like to see and hear how the melodies morph. Donovan himself, in an short and obscure youtube post talks about how the music traveled from the British isles to America, then back to the British Invasion of America, and so forth, like a loaf of bread dough being kneaded and shaped and devoured by a world needing nourishment.

[@Oldcrow77]

Joan’s is pretty close to what page “ lifted” Vocals are hard to handle though kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJ3YgpSEedRgY7Msi=EkBc-hNYtlKRPAJn

[@johnmitchelljr]

Thanks for your work.

[@raffaelevalente7811]

Thank you for sharing! Great video, too

[@berkeskaya]

The first two chords and the strumming in Janet Smith version sounds like Exit Music. Also, it's clear that Janet Smith was the first one who actually bring magic out of the crude original version. Then Led Zeppelin elevated the song to a whole other realm with almost an entire rewrite. Baez's version is beautiful not because of any arrangement or rewriting contribution but because her voice and performance is so powerful and iconic.

[@struppinator]

Exit music is a masterpiece ❤

[@HisboiLRoi]

Thank you for this post. I've been searching for recordings of this song by both Bredon and Smith for a while and have always come up empty. As you say, it is clear that Baez based her version on Smith's arrangement, but she also took it to an entirely different plane. It is also clear that Zeppelin was inspired by Baez's take rather than the other covers that preceded theirs by the likes of The Plebs, The Association, and QMS, not to mention that Plant and Page have acknowledged such multiple times.

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

Yeah, Janet really was the first person to turn the song into something magical, and Baez took that and made it even more dramatic. I guess Page and Plant could sense that drama too, and took it even further. I have to admit though, I'm a particular fan of The Plebs version! I just love that they turned it into a stompin' Rn'B number! The Association's version is good too, I like the bowed bass they used in their arrangement.

[@heliotropezzz333]

@@stephendoriankutos4429 It's nice to have all these versions. Each one gives something different to the song.

[@daks8888]

Yeah thanks. I have been looking for this as well.

[@1glassMilk]

There is a version who has similarities with the chords progression Led Zeppelin uses. It's The Association - Babe I'm gonna leave you.

[@chrissibersky4617]

I'm European so I haven't heard a lot of this kind of music. It's not common here. But I've heard some of Jimmy Driftwood's music and the first version reminds me a lot of his songs in many ways.

[@HowardCarter-ni6ll]

Thanks a mill for upping .

[@StephenS-2024]

Love it. Thanks!

[@lisaletendre5557]

Thanks for posting. It's fascinating to see where cover versions come from. What ever the original may sound like, it's sometimes that what may get lost in translation. The original seed of feeling or yearning or experience. Elvis Presley's version of Hound Dog sounds good and it made him famous. But check out Big Momma Thornton's gritty original version, and the meaning is a very personal experience of a woman who's no longer going to put up with a lazy, no good man who deceives and just takes from her. Led Zeppelin have done a good job of polishing!

[@ShanghaiRooster]

Elvis's version was inspired not by Big Momma's but by a rendition he heard in Vegas by Freddie Bell & the Bell Boys.

[@ShanghaiRooster]

@@actionconcrete5416 Indeed. 😎

[@josephfalco3141]

its true Thornton killed that song. but it was written by two New York song writers Leiber & Stoller.

[@donletmedon]

I love 1964 The Plebs version

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

That one is my favorite!

[@knottsscary]

You uploaded it! Super excited to listen

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

I hope you like it!

[@camelectric]

The remakes are so much better, amazing!

[@matsgoalkeeping2448]

I love The Association version of this song

[@oldcrow6752]

This slaps hard.

[@christinerobinson9372]

Wow.

[@dickynichols9459]

Some early folk gems, such a rich tradition in music.

[@geob0324]

A far cry from Led Zeppelin's version.

[@fabolousjada5070]

No buddy they won the lawsuit lol your probably white

[@benzep3467]

Thanks for sharing, excellent! It is wondrous or extremely clever how Page managed to "steal" a home recording, as some people suggest. Nobody knew it was Anne Bredon's song until she made herself known. On my old LP sleeve it says " Tradional, arr. by Jimmy Page". Arranged from the Joan Baez version that is 😁

[@rimmersbryggeri]

As with so many LZ songs.

[@benzep3467]

​@@rimmersbryggeri The other ones were on albums, also available in the UK. As I understand, this one by Anne Bredon, was a recording made in a studio of a radio-station, somewhere in the States. Anne had sent the demo to a record company, but it was declined. So she had the demo at home, maybe in a drawer. How could Page know where she lived and 'steal' it from Anne Bredon? 😂

[@rimmersbryggeri]

@@benzep3467 I meant all the other songs that were "inspired by" other artists from he past and contemporary.

[@wizardofzardoz5004]

So cool. I like them both, but for me, the second, Janet Smith version was slower and more haunting. Especially her voice. Either way, both are beautiful in song, image, and people.

[@videogeekin]

“Joan Baez and Led Zeppelin’s version should be up next...wha happen?”

[@Fongolitus]

"Led Zeppelin's 'management company' probably yanked it, they have a habit of doing that 🤷‍♂

[@elconejito99]

Anyone know where to get the second versions?

[@user-gq3yt1tt7u]

Lezte Frage vir dem Duschen:: kennen Sie das Landv links neben Siszilien?. Australien - rixhtig!

[@stevebutler812]

♥️

[@baconsogood454]

The footage is fascinating (as is the music) but not sure how they are related. Just curious about why you chose this footage.

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

Anne Bredon is very much into Native American music, and has since released a few cassette albums of her interpretations of Native American songs. That's what inspired my choice, and the nature of the song took on a poignancy when matched with footage of people who were forced to leave, and we realized too late what we lost.

[@baconsogood454]

@@stephendoriankutos4429 That's so cool! Thanks for sharing the info as well as the music and video. Great job pairing the two!

[@Cosmo-Kramer]

My God, the bold character in the faces of those Indians is incredible! They are the real McCoy!

[@lynnbrownutahmusician3138]

Is there a correlation of the song's author and Native Indians pictures?

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

Anne Bredon is very much into Native American music, and has since released a few cassette albums of her interpretations of Native American songs. That's what inspired my choice, and the nature of the song took on a poignancy when matched with footage of people who were forced to leave, and we realized too late what we lost.

[@velosovictor1878]

👋👋🦅

[@buggulugs]

Thank you. 😐

[@user-gq3yt1tt7u]

Nachdem ich CadU gewählt habe. Er hat seinen Kater ausgeschlafen.

[@michavandam]

What does this footage have to do with the song?

[@eggman7527]

She is singing what she hears in her head--the parting words of a man who deserts her for the shittiest of inarguable, is-what-it-is, shit happens reasons.

[@user-gq3yt1tt7u]

Schauen wir mal🎉🎉🎉

[@sergemarelli]

Quite interesting, thank you. Why the Native American film? Was Ann Bredon a Native American?

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

Hey, thanks for viewing and commenting. The reason for Native American imagery is due to the fact that Anne Bredon became, and is still to this day, a student of Native American song traditions and almost exclusively records traditional tribal songs these days. It was my idea to tie her earliest work with her latest work through the video. And maybe it's just me, but I can hear the Indian influence in "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" as a very primitive blues.

[@9897431]

@@stephendoriankutos4429 She's sadly passed on since this post. She worked very closely and lovingly with the Mono indian tribe in Northern California.

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

@@9897431 Thank you so much for letting me know. I haven't spoken to here in several years, and it truly saddens me that she's gone. Thank you again.

[@user-gq3yt1tt7u]

What Didi you you do, what Didi I do?

[@user-gq3yt1tt7u]

Wir hast Du das gemacht😅?

[@dirigiblegraff2519]

Gràcies, Led Zeppelin

[@canesvenatici4259]

Oh I like the footage of Native American people. Thats a nice touch as she was a Navajo-style rug and basket weaver and very into the Native American culture. So was she part-Native American? Why was she so, so attached to a culture that wasn't hers?

[@9897431]

*Mono indian style

[@pablosantander5739]

My favorite is the Page's version, the huge problem is he never gaves credits to the composers of the songs in Zeppelin albums and that's is ilegal.

[@slump75]

Virtually no similarities to the amazing Zeppelin song of the same name.

[@alexnauda]

I don't know, it has a lot of similarities that carry through all the way from the original. For example, that prominent half step in the summer time part (which in the Zep version is F major to E major and then it repeats). Also the wailing vocal, lyrical content, and overall theme are completely intact!

[@FredMartinNissanohio]

Zeppelin. The masters of stealing material

[@ShanghaiRooster]

@@FredMartinNissanohio They did, but it has to be said stealing tunes and lyrics was par for the course in folk music circles for decades before Zeppelin even formed. Listen to enough old blues and you'll hear the same verses pop up in many songs.

[@Jacob-ib4zx]

@@FredMartinNissanohio just as all great artists are

[@tagadabrothersband]

@@ShanghaiRooster Led Zeppelin was not a part of the folk music circles, but a rock band making a lot a money. Others rock bands had problems with copyright, but it didn't have the magnitude it had with Led Zeppelin. And I'm a Zep fan.

[@user-gq3yt1tt7u]

Wi ist Vati?

[@jeremyhoke1782]

I always thought Zep worked in a little bit of 25 or 6 to 4 in their version.

[@RamonElRockero]

Babe Im gonna leave you was released a year before 25 or 6 to 4

[@Spartacus18]

Oh dear

[@davidfox5942]

While my guitar gently... The Beatles

[@63MGB1]

@@davidfox5942 Agreed. While My Guitar as well as 25 or 6 to 4.

[@andrewmcintosh2703]

​@@davidfox5942Summer in the City by the Lovin' Spoonful.

[@of6594]

I wonder why Anne Bredon sued Led Zeppelin but not Joan Baez? ... well, who could she squeeze most money from?

[@whyis45stillalive]

If it went to court, Page would win. Hands down. If Taurus isn’t Stairway, there’s no way Led Zeppelin’s “Babe….” Is Anne Bredon’s.

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

Oh sweetie, Anne did take it to court in the early 1990's, and now she's credited and received a huge sum in back royalties that were owed to her and continued to earn royalties until her death 2019. So much for your theory.

[@whyis45stillalive]

@@stephendoriankutos4429 Ahh I’m sorry. It was the lyrics that were the same, not the melody. I hate when I’m wrong, but I’m not afraid to admit it. Happens more, as I get older. My apologies. Even with hearing aids, I had a problem understanding Ms. Bredon’s singing. The chord progression was completely different. Not an excuse, just the reason. I won’t delete the post. I deserve the derision. Zeppelin were terrible for plagiarism. Especially on that first album. This is just another case.

[@ss_whole]

I like the Zeppelin version better

[@user-gq3yt1tt7u]

Sicher ist sichr😢

[@jamupsnepali7200]

I liked orginal...

[@user-lk9ip2kl4k]

Oh wow, another song by Led Zep that they made a killing off of that they didnt write. Thats odd 😂

[@dogsquadindia]

Ffs man Anne never sang like.thia. look up recordings under her profesional name Anne Briggs. She was a sublime singer

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

Anne Bredon and Anne Briggs are two different people, you f*#!cking moron 🤣

[@fabolousjada5070]

Now i know why Greta Van Fleet doesnt respect led zep and dress like Indians They are saying that led zep got it from Indians and blacks so how they copying them when they have been sued over 10 times

[@MiladieBasson-dn8ge]

La reprise de LZ est loin de l' original. Donc pour moi cela reste de la créativité...

[@charlesming7875]

It was not a cover, Led Zeppelin stole it, and paid her out, court settled it.

[@scrapplepig]

Those thieves, string 'em up!

[@user-gq3yt1tt7u]

Fie Fahrkarte ist unintessant.

[@bsdgffishtuna5186]

original song title: "Babe, I'm Gonna Steal You". and any other shit you got. I'm stealing...welcome to Led Zeppelin.

[@SirGeorgeButtox]

and at least 90% of popular music produced in the 20th century to the present.

[@scrapplepig]

Not only did they steal it, it sounds like the original. They were too lazy to put their own spin on it.

[@gregshirley-jeffersonboule6258]

I actually like LZ's version, but they were absolute dbags for trying to take credit for writing this song. So sleazy.

[@sergemarelli]

They didn't "try to...", it was all a misunderstanding - which took way too long to be cleared - but LZ actually thought it was an old traditional folk song. They corrected the attribution when notified, so, no "sleaze".

[@tok5475]

@@sergemarelli sure, if you believe that