White Summer

Not to be confused with White Boy Summer.
"White Summer"
Instrumental by the Yardbirds
from the album Little Games
Released24 July 1967 (1967-07-24)
Recorded28–29 April 1967
StudioDe Lane Lea, London
Genre
Length3:56
LabelEpic
Composer(s)Jimmy Page
Producer(s)Mickie Most

"White Summer" is a guitar instrumental by English rock guitarist Jimmy Page. It is an adaptation of the Irish air “She Moves Through The Fair." Page initially recorded and performed it with the Yardbirds and later included it in many Led Zeppelin concerts.

According to biographer Keith Shadwick, it is based on an old Irish folk song, "specifically derived from 'She Moved Through the Fair' in the 1963 version by [Davey] Graham, which he in turn credited to Padraic Colum".[1] The later Led Zeppelin song "Over the Hills and Far Away" was "spun off"[2] from "White Summer" as well as an unreleased 20-minute instrumental recorded in early 1974 at Headley Grange.[1]

  1. ^ a b Shadwick, Keith (2005). Led Zeppelin: The Story of a Band and Their Music 1968–1980 (1st ed.). San Francisco: Backbeat Books. pp. 18, 214. ISBN 0-87930-871-0.
  2. ^ Russo, Greg (1998). Yardbirds: The Ultimate Rave-Up. Crossfire Publications. p. 50. ISBN 0-9648157-3-7.