The Story Behind Zeppelin’s “Boogie With Stu”

I ran across this song this morning, and sine I hadn't listened to it in a long while, I through it on in the "Attic" this morning.

"Boogie with Stu" has a great story behind it. Zeppelin was using the Rolling Stone's mobile recording unit while working on their double album "Physical Graffiti".  Stu is Ian Stewart, often called the 6th Rolling Stone. He was mostly kept behind the scenes because management didn't think he "fit the Stone's image".

One day Stu showed up at the mobile recording unit and started playing on an out of tune piano. Jimmy Page was tuning his guitar and started to play along with Stu. Robert Plant joined in on vocals and Bonzo drumming along with Plant's vocals. The whole song was pretty much improvised and tape was rolling.

The lyrics were taken from a Richie Valens song "Ooh, My Head". Since Valens was dead, they credited his mother so she could get some royalties off the song. The composer credit reads Page/Plant.Jones/Ian Stewart/Mrs Valens.

Stu passed away of a heart attack in 1985

This one's for Stu!