Arguably the greatest ever question asked in a rock interview was posed by the American writer Chuck Klosterman to Robert Plant, asking about Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love.  "On Whole Lotta Love you say you’re going to give some girl 'every inch' of your love," Klosterman said. "But you’re British. Why don’t you use the metric system?"  Plant, to his credit, took the question in good part. "That would change the whole tone of the thing!" he replied. "I suppose today it would have to be, 'I’ll give you several centimetres of bliss.' But people of my generation know nothing about the metric system. I’m fortunate to say I still use inches – or at least that’s what my girlfriend says, and she’s 29."  Whole Lotta Love showcased Zeppelin at their most priapic, coupled with one of rock's most memorable riffs. Even people who never bought a Zeppelin album knew it, thanks to a version being the Top of the Pops theme tune for many years.  Of course, Whole Lotta Love became a controversial song – it transpired the lyrics were largely pinched from You Need Love, written by Wille Dixon and recorded by Muddy Waters in 1962, and possibly taken from a 1966 version by the Small Faces (which was credited to Marriott/Lane, ironically), which has similar phrasing to Plant's in Whole Lotta Love. Dixon sued Zeppelin in 1985, with the case being settled out of court. Still, as Plant would later say, "Page's riff was Page's riff. It was there before anything else. I just thought, 'Well, what am I going to sing?' That was it, a nick. Now happily paid for."  Here, then, is an early version of Whole Lotta Love – minus its vocal chorus, without the slide guitar at the chorus break, and with a much less extravagant percussion section. It's a fascinating insight into Zeppelin, and you'll be able to hear more works in progress from one of rock's greatest bands when Led Zeppelin's first three albums are reissued with companion discs on Atlantic/Swansong on 2 June.
Hear an early draft of one of rock's greatest ever songs, as featured on the forthcoming reissue of Led Zeppelin II