Walking into Clarksdale
Encyclopedia
Walking into Clarksdale is a studio album by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, both formerly of English rock band
Led Zeppelin
. It was released by Atlantic Records
on 21 April 1998. The follow-up album to No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded
, Walking into Clarksdale took 35 days to record. The album was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini
. The single "Most High
" was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance
in 1999.
Clarksdale
is a town in the Mississippi Delta
, a historical home of Delta blues
music.
The album debuted on the Billboard's Billboard 200
album chart at #8, while reaching #3 on the UK Album Chart. The single "Most High" reached #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks
chart.
Plant re-recorded the song "Please Read the Letter
" with Alison Krauss
for their 2007 collaboration album Raising Sand
. This re-recording won the Record of the Year
award at the 2009 Grammy Awards
.
"Blue Train" is a song about Plant's sorrow in relation with the death of his first son Karac in July 1977.
/Lee
.
Japanese bonus track
"Most High" and "Shining in the Light" were released as singles, with a music video for the former. "Most High" was also featured as a CD single with the b-sides "Upon a Golden Horse" and "The Window".
Additional personnel
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
. It was released by Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
on 21 April 1998. The follow-up album to No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded
No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded
No Quarter is a live album by Page and Plant, both formerly of English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released by Atlantic Records on 14 October 1994. The long awaited reunion between Page and Plant occurred on a 90 minute "UnLedded" MTV project, recorded in Morocco, Wales, and London, which rated...
, Walking into Clarksdale took 35 days to record. The album was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
. The single "Most High
Most High (song)
"Most High" is a song by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant from the studio album Walking into Clarksdale, released through Atlantic Records in 1998. In 1999, the song won Page and Plant the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance....
" was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, for works containing quality performances in the hard rock music genre...
in 1999.
Clarksdale
Clarksdale, Mississippi
Clarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 20,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Coahoma County....
is a town in the Mississippi Delta
Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
, a historical home of Delta blues
Delta blues
The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
music.
The album debuted on the Billboard's Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album chart at #8, while reaching #3 on the UK Album Chart. The single "Most High" reached #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...
chart.
Plant re-recorded the song "Please Read the Letter
Please Read the Letter
"Please Read the Letter" is a song originally recorded by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page for the 1998 album Walking into Clarksdale. It was released as the second single off the album....
" with Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
for their 2007 collaboration album Raising Sand
Raising Sand
Raising Sand is a collaboration album by rock singer Robert Plant and bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. It was released on October 23, 2007 by Rounder Records...
. This re-recording won the Record of the Year
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
award at the 2009 Grammy Awards
51st Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
.
"Blue Train" is a song about Plant's sorrow in relation with the death of his first son Karac in July 1977.
Track listing
All songs by Page/Plant/JonesCharlie Jones (musician)
Charlie Jones is a British bassist, songwriter and record producer. He has toured and recorded with Robert Plant, Page and Plant, The Strange Sensation, Goldfrapp and many others. He was married to Robert Plant's daughter Carmen Plant, they divorced in 2010....
/Lee
Michael Lee (musician)
Michael Lee was an English drummer who toured and recorded with former Led Zeppelin musicians Robert Plant and Jimmy Page....
.
- "Shining in the Light" – 4:01
- "When the World Was Young" – 6:13
- "Upon a Golden Horse" - 3:52
- "Blue Train" – 6:45
- "Please Read the LetterPlease Read the Letter"Please Read the Letter" is a song originally recorded by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page for the 1998 album Walking into Clarksdale. It was released as the second single off the album....
" – 4:21 - "Most HighMost High (song)"Most High" is a song by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant from the studio album Walking into Clarksdale, released through Atlantic Records in 1998. In 1999, the song won Page and Plant the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance....
" – 5:36 - "Heart in Your Hand" – 3:50
- "Walking into Clarksdale" – 5:18
- "Burning Up" – 5:21
- "When I Was a Child" – 5:45
- "House of Love" – 5:35
- "Sons of Freedom" – 4:08
Japanese bonus track
- "Whiskey from the Glass" – 3:01
"Most High" and "Shining in the Light" were released as singles, with a music video for the former. "Most High" was also featured as a CD single with the b-sides "Upon a Golden Horse" and "The Window".
Album
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French Albums Chart | 5 |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 17 |
| UK Albums Chart | 3 |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 27 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 31 |
| German Albums Chart | 13 |
| US Billboard The 200 Albums Chart | 8 |
| Canadian Billboard Top Canadian Albums Chart | 17 |
| Belgian Albums Chart (Walloonish) | 22 |
| Belgian Albums Chart (Flemish) | 27 |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 56 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart | 13 |
| Australian ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart | 16 |
| Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart | 17 |
| Hungarian MAHASZ Top 40 Albums Chart | 25 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Top 50 Albums Chart | 11 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 33 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | "Most High Most High (song) "Most High" is a song by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant from the studio album Walking into Clarksdale, released through Atlantic Records in 1998. In 1999, the song won Page and Plant the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance.... " |
UK Singles Chart | 26 |
| 1998 | "Most High" | US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart | 1 |
| 1998 | "Most High" | Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart | 58 |
| 1998 | "Most High" | Canadian RPM Alternative 30 Chart | 8 |
| 1998 | "Shining in the Light" | US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart | 6 |
Sales certifications
| Country | Sales | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA) | 500,000+ | Gold |
Personnel
Page and Plant- Jimmy PageJimmy PageJames Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
– acousticAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
and electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
s, backing vocals, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, co-productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Robert PlantRobert PlantRobert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
– vocals, co-production - Charlie JonesCharlie Jones (musician)Charlie Jones is a British bassist, songwriter and record producer. He has toured and recorded with Robert Plant, Page and Plant, The Strange Sensation, Goldfrapp and many others. He was married to Robert Plant's daughter Carmen Plant, they divorced in 2010....
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Michael LeeMichael Lee (musician)Michael Lee was an English drummer who toured and recorded with former Led Zeppelin musicians Robert Plant and Jimmy Page....
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion
Additional personnel
- Steve AlbiniSteve AlbiniSteven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
– engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, recording technician - Anton CorbijnAnton CorbijnAnton Corbijn is a Dutch photographer, music video and film director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2, having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both for more than a decade...
– photography - Cally – design
- Paul HicksPaul HicksPaul Hicks is a professional rugby league footballer who at club level has played for Wakefield Trinity, Batley Bulldogs, and Dewsbury Rams, playing at , i.e. number 8 or 10.-External links:****...
– assistant engineering - Lynton Naiff – stringString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s on "Upon a Golden Horse" - Ed Shearmur – programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
and string pads on "Most High" - Tim WhelanTim WhelanTim Whelan was an American film director, writer, producer and actor.-Selected filmography:* Adam's Apple * When Knights Were Bold * It's a Boy * Aunt Sally...
– keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
on "Most High"