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WCSX Classic Cuts : Houses of the Holy

WCSX Classic Cuts Led Zeppelin: “Houses of the Holy” The Hook: Why wasn’t the song on the album of the same title. Jimmy Page says it was simply because back…

16th September 1970: British rock band Led Zeppelin collect their geode awards after being voted top British group in the Melody Maker Pop Poll in London. From left to right, they are Jimmy Page, Robert Plant (who also won the Best British Singer award), and John Bonham.

Photo by Roger Jackson/Central Press/Getty Images

WCSX Classic Cuts

Led Zeppelin: "Houses of the Holy"

The Hook: Why wasn't the song on the album of the same title. Jimmy Page says it was simply because back then, they could do that.

Album: Physical Graffiti

Year: 1975

Writers: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant

Stats: As with many of their classics, it wasn't released as a single.

Background: The song "Houses of the Holy" kicked off side two of the original vinyl double-album of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti. Jimmy Page acknowledges that he's been asked how it came to be there more than a few times.

Jimmy Page on what he gets asked most about the song “Houses of the Holy.” OC:…they could. :22

“It sort of begs the question, ‘Well, why didn’t you put it on the album called Houses of the Holy?’ Well, the reason was because we could – we could leave it off and put it on another album. In the days when there wasn’t an Internet frenzy if you sort of sneezed or scratched your head you could do things like that and people would sort of go, ‘Why did they do that. I don’t understand that.’ and then going, ‘Yeah, I guess the conclusion is because they could.”