Writers: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
Producer: Jimmy Page
Recorded: 1971 at Stargroves, Mick Jagger's home, in Berkshire, England
Released: Album, March 28, 1973; Single: May 24, 1973
| Players: | Jimmy Page — guitars Robert Plant — vocals John Paul Jones — bass John Bonham — drums |
| Album: | Houses Of The Holy (Atlantic, 1973) |
Led Zeppelin began playing “Over The Hills And Far Away” on its 1972 U.S. tour. It was originally known as “Over the Hills.”
The single reached Number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The song was recorded using the Rolling Stones' mobile studio at Mick Jagger's home.
Eddie Kramer, who did many of the Zeppelin sessions and also worked closely with Jimi Hendrix, engineered the song.
The Houses Of The Holy album was actually finished in 1972 but was delayed due to complications with the sleeve design. The elaborate multi-printed photo of two nude children climbing up ancient stones is based on the science fiction book Childhood's End.
The printing (there were detailed color schemes to be implemented) itself delayed the album's release for nearly three months.
Like the fourth album, the cover of Houses Of The Holy contained not a single word. The band felt this added to its mystique and sense of expectation of the music contained within. Manager Peter Grant did allow a wraparound title to be included on the U.K. versions of the album, apparently not wanting to invoke the same record company outrage as the previous album's verbally-bereft cover did.
Footage of the song being performed in Seattle in 1977 and at Knebworth, England in 1979 was patched together for a video to promote the release of the British version of Remasters in 1990.
“Over The Hills And Far Away” was one of the Zeppelin songs that guitarist Jimmy Page performed during his 1988 Outrider solo tour.
