Hey, Hey, What Can I Do

Ever heard a song that was only a B-side?

Meet Led Zeppelin, an English rock band that made loud, powerful music in the nineteen seventies.

Before streaming, songs came on small vinyl records called singles, with two songs, one on each side.

The main song went on the A-side. The other song went on the B-side.

In nineteen seventy, Led Zeppelin released a single in the United States with Immigrant Song on the A-side.

Our song, Hey, Hey, What Can I Do, was the B-side of that single. It is a rock ballad. A ballad is a slower, gentler song that often tells a feeling or a story.

• B-side of Immigrant Song

So Immigrant Song roars like a storm, while Hey, Hey, What Can I Do feels softer, like a calm evening.

Rock ballads often mix acoustic guitar, steady drums and a singer you can really hear.

Here is a fun fact: in those days, B-sides were often places for songs not on the albums.

Fans who flipped the record over found a hidden gem, a song they might never have heard otherwise. Let us recap the whole story in one picture. Quick check: what was Hey, Hey, What Can I Do to Immigrant Song?

• Flip the record, find a gem

In short, Hey, Hey, What Can I Do is a gentle Led Zeppelin rock ballad, released in nineteen seventy on the B-side of Immigrant Song.