“Hey, Hey Mama”: Cover Versions Of Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog”

I became aware of this video from the website OpenCulture.com. It’s a combination of 80 different YouTube video covers of Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog”. I guess it shows how getting your Led Zeppelin riffs down is a rite of passage for playing rock music. I love when it goes split screen and syncs up multiple videos but the very best moment occurs at 2:23 when Grover (of that classic hardcore outfit Sesame Street) rocks the house.

For a different take on “Black Dog”, I give you Dread Zeppelin. I think these guys are hilarious. They did reggae versions of Zep songs and were fronted by a Elvis Presley (late Vegas version) impersonator. Talk about high concept. These guys were a total goof. The members had names like Ed Zeppelin, Jah Paul Jones and Tortelvis. But what makes it all really cool is that on a musical level, it works. The arrangements are inventive and listening to Tortelvis, you realize the influence Elvis Presley had on Robert Plant as a vocalist. Sometimes the shtick gets a little heavy but I think they’re great. I knew someone who hated them and thought they were insult to the legend of Led Zeppelin. I say lighten up (jah mon).