I Ca n't Quit You Baby - wikipedia I Ca n't Quit You Baby `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby '' Single by Otis Rush B - side `` Sit Down Baby '' Released 1956 ( 1956 ) Format 7 - inch 45 rpm, 10 - inch 78 rpm Recorded c. July 1956 Studio Boulevard Recording, Chicago Genre Blues Length 2 : 56 Label Cobra Songwriter ( s ) Willie Dixon Producer ( s ) Willie Dixon Otis Rush singles chronology `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby '' ( 1956 ) `` My Love Will Never Die '' / `` Violent Love '' ( 1956 ) `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby '' is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Chicago blues artist Otis Rush in 1956. It was Rush 's first recording and became a record chart hit. The song, a slow twelve - bar blues, has been recorded by various artists, including Led Zeppelin, who included it on their debut album. Contents 1 Original song 2 Led Zeppelin versions 2.1 Reception 3 Recognition and influence 4 References Original song `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby '' was a vehicle for arranger / producer Dixon to launch Rush and Cobra Records, as it was the first single for both. In this regard, it was a success, reaching number six on Billboard 's Rhythm & Blues Records chart in 1956. In his autobiography, Willie Dixon explained that `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby '' was written about a preoccupied relationship Rush was having at the time. Dixon used this statement to draw out an impassioned performance by Rush. I ca n't quit you, baby But I 've got to put you down for awhile You know I ca n't quit you, baby But I 've got to put you down for awhile Well, you messed up my happy home, babe Made me mistreat my only child The song is notated in the key of A major in 12 / 8 time with a `` slow blues '' tempo. Rush 's original version consists of four twelve - bar vocal sections with lead guitar fills. It was Rush 's first recording and took place in Chicago around July 1956. Accompanying Rush on lead guitar and vocal are Big Walter Horton on harmonica, Red Holloway on tenor sax, Lafayette Leake on piano, Wayne Bennett on second guitar, Dixon on bass, and Al Duncan on drums. Otis Rush revisited `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby '' several times over the years, most notably when he recorded the song for the 1966 blues compilation Chicago The Blues Today ! Vol. 2 on Vanguard Records ( VSD 79217 ). This version featured an altered arrangement with an unusual turnaround ( tonic chord followed by a half - step above the tonic chord ) and staccato guitar fills. Most cover versions are based on Rush 's Vanguard rendition. Led Zeppelin versions `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby '' Song by Led Zeppelin from the album Led Zeppelin Released January 12, 1969 ( 1969 - 01 - 12 ) Recorded October 1968 Studio Olympic, London Genre Blues rock Length 4 : 42 Label Atlantic Songwriter ( s ) Willie Dixon Producer ( s ) Jimmy Page English rock band Led Zeppelin recorded `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby '' for their 1969 debut album Led Zeppelin. Their rendition generally follows Otis Rush 's 1966 Vanguard version, but with different instrumentation and dynamics. It also incorporates a break during the guitar solo where Jimmy Page plays a four - bar unaccompanied set - up before relaunching into the solo. Although biographer Keith Shadwick notes Page 's fluff on the turnaround coming out of the solo, he concludes the song `` ends up as one of the most successful pieces on the first album, with no flat spots and a perfectly symmetrical form, all within the classic blues tradition ''. Led Zeppelin regularly performed `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby '' in concert from 1968 to early 1970. Two live versions from 1969 are included on the 1997 Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions. A performance of the song on January 9, 1970, at Royal Albert Hall is included on the 2003 Led Zeppelin DVD ( an edited version of this performance was released on the 1982 Coda album ). In 1970, the song was dropped from Led Zeppelin 's typical concert lineup as they incorporated material from Led Zeppelin III into their shows, with `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby '' essentially being replaced by `` Since I 've Been Loving You ''. It was however revived as part of the `` Whole Lotta Love '' medley during some Led Zeppelin concerts in 1972 and 1973. The song was rehearsed by the surviving members of Led Zeppelin for the May 14, 1988, Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary Celebration, but was not performed during the event. Reception In a contemporary review for the Coda album, Kurt Loder of Rolling Stone found the Coda version of `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby '', `` tossed off a sound check ( in 1970 ) '', `` perfectly captures the bluesmania of the period, complete with a classically overwrought guitar solo. '' Recognition and influence Blues historian Gerard Herzhaft identifies `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby '' as a blues standard. Rush 's original Cobra single was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1994, which described it as `` a Willie Dixon production revealing Rush as an extraordinary talent with an impassioned approach. '' A variety of artists have recorded the song, including John Lee Hooker for the album More Real Folk Blues ( 1966, released in 1991 ) ; Savoy Brown Blues Band as `` Ca n't Quit You Baby '' on Purdah single 45 3503 ( 1966 ), also Blues Anytime Vol. 2 ( 1968 ) ; John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers for Crusade ( 1967 ) ; Little Milton on Checker single 1212 ( 1969 ) ; Willie Dixon from I Am the Blues ( 1969 ) ; Dread Zeppelin from Un-Led - Ed ( 1990 ) ; Gary Moore from Power of the Blues ( 2004 ) ; and the Rolling Stones from Blue & Lonesome ( 2016 ) with Eric Clapton on slide guitar. References ^ Jump up to : Herzhaft, Gerard ( 1992 ). `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby ''. Encyclopedia of the Blues. Fayetteville, Arkansas : University of Arkansas Press. p. 453. ISBN 1 - 55728 - 252 - 8. ^ Jump up to : Dixon, Willie ; Snowden, Don ( 1989 ). I Am the Blues. Da Capo Press. pp. 102, 106 -- 107. ISBN 0 - 306 - 80415 - 8. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 1988 ). Top R&B Singles 1942 -- 1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin : Record Research. p. 301. ISBN 0 - 89820 - 068 - 7. Jump up ^ Hal Leonard ( 1995 ). `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby ''. The Blues. Milwaukee, Wisconsin : Hal Leonard. p. 100. ISBN 0 - 79355 - 259 - 1. ^ Jump up to : Blues Foundation ( November 10, 2016 ). `` 1994 Hall of Fame Inductees : I Ca n't Quit You Baby -- Otis Rush ( Cobra 1956 ) ''. The Blues Foundation. Retrieved February 8, 2017. Jump up ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. `` Led Zeppelin ( album ) -- Review ''. AllMusic. Retrieved January 21, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Shadwick, Keith ( 2005 ). Led Zeppelin : The Story of a Band and Their Music 1968 -- 1980 ( 1st ed. ). San Francisco : Backbeat Books. pp. 52 -- 53. ISBN 0 - 87930 - 871 - 0. ^ Jump up to : Lewis, Dave ( 2004 ). Led Zeppelin : The Complete Guide to Their Music ( 1st ed. ). London : Omnibus Press. ISBN 1 - 84449 - 141 - 2. Jump up ^ Loder, Kurt ( January 20, 1983 ). `` Coda ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 27, 2017. Jump up ^ Jimmy Page has been identified as having a role in Savoy Brown 's 1966 single, which predates his 1968 recording with Led Zeppelin. Russo, Greg ( 2016 ). Yardbirds : The Ultimate Rave - Up. Floral Park, New York : Crossfire Publications. p. 292. ISBN 978 - 0 - 9791845 - 7 - 4. Jump up ^ `` Dread Zeppelin - Un-Led - Ed ''. Discogs.com. Retrieved 9 August 2017. Jump up ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. `` The Rolling Stones : Blue & Lonesome -- Review ''. AllMusic. Retrieved July 27, 2017. Led Zeppelin songs Led Zeppelin `` Good Times Bad Times '' `` Babe I 'm Gonna Leave You '' `` You Shook Me '' `` Dazed and Confused '' `` Black Mountain Side '' `` Communication Breakdown '' `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby '' `` How Many More Times '' Led Zeppelin II `` Whole Lotta Love '' `` What Is and What Should Never Be '' `` The Lemon Song '' `` Thank You '' `` Heartbreaker '' `` Living Loving Maid ( She 's Just a Woman ) '' `` Ramble On '' `` Moby Dick '' `` Bring It On Home '' Led Zeppelin III `` Immigrant Song '' `` Celebration Day '' `` Since I 've Been Loving You '' `` Gallows Pole '' `` Tangerine '' `` That 's the Way '' `` Bron - Y - Aur Stomp '' Untitled ( Led Zeppelin IV ) `` Black Dog '' `` Rock and Roll '' `` The Battle of Evermore '' `` Stairway to Heaven '' `` Misty Mountain Hop '' `` Four Sticks '' `` Going to California '' `` When the Levee Breaks '' Houses of the Holy `` The Song Remains the Same '' `` The Rain Song '' `` Over the Hills and Far Away '' `` Dancing Days '' `` D'yer Mak'er '' `` No Quarter '' `` The Ocean '' Physical Graffiti `` The Rover '' `` In My Time of Dying '' `` Houses of the Holy '' `` Trampled Under Foot '' `` Kashmir '' `` In the Light '' `` Ten Years Gone '' `` The Wanton Song '' `` Sick Again '' Presence `` Achilles Last Stand '' `` Nobody 's Fault but Mine '' `` Candy Store Rock '' In Through the Out Door `` In the Evening '' `` Fool in the Rain '' `` Carouselambra '' `` All My Love '' Coda `` We 're Gonna Groove '' `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby `` Bonzo 's Montreux '' `` Wearing and Tearing '' Compilation and live albums `` Hey, Hey, What Can I Do '' `` Travelling Riverside Blues '' `` White Summer '' `` The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair '' `` Somethin ' Else '' Led Zeppelin John Bonham John Paul Jones Jimmy Page Robert Plant Studio albums Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II Led Zeppelin III Led Zeppelin IV Houses of the Holy Physical Graffiti Presence In Through the Out Door Live albums The Song Remains the Same BBC Sessions How the West Was Won Celebration Day Compilations Coda BBC Sessions The Best of Led Zeppelin Mothership Led Zeppelin Deluxe Edition Boxed sets Led Zeppelin Remasters Boxed Set 2 The Complete Studio Recordings Definitive Collection Films The Song Remains the Same Led Zeppelin DVD Celebration Day Tours Scandinavia 1968 U.K. 1968 North America 1968 -- 1969 U.K. & Scandinavia 1969 North America Spring 1969 U.K. Summer 1969 North America Summer 1969 Europe Autumn 1969 North America Autumn 1969 U.K. 1970 Europe 1970 North America Spring 1970 Iceland, Bath & Germany 1970 North America Summer 1970 U.K. Spring 1971 Europe 1971 North America 1971 Japan 1971 U.K. Winter 1971 Australasia 1972 North America 1972 Japan 1972 U.K. 1972 -- 1973 Europe 1973 North America 1973 North America 1975 Earls Court 1975 North America 1977 Knebworth 1979 Over Europe 1980 Reunions Live Aid ( 1985 ) Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary ( 1988 ) Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert ( 2007 ) Lists Discography Songs Awards and nominations Bootlegs Cover versions by others Led Zeppelin songs written or inspired by others Related Articles Swan Song Records Atlantic Records Three Week Hero `` Beck 's Bolero '' Bron - Yr - Aur The Starship Caesar 's Chariot Planned tour -- The 1980s, Part One Covers and tributes That ' 70s Show ( season 5 ) Bands The Yardbirds Band of Joy XYZ The Honeydrippers The Firm Coverdale Page Page and Plant Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes Them Crooked Vultures Books Hammer of the Gods : The Led Zeppelin Saga Stairway to Heaven : Led Zeppelin Uncensored When Giants Walked the Earth People Jason Bonham Peter Grant Richard Cole Book Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I_Can%27t_Quit_You_Baby&oldid=855627732 '' Categories : 1956 songs 1956 singles Otis Rush songs Led Zeppelin songs Songs written by Willie Dixon Blues songs Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page Cobra Records singles Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Italiano ქართული Magyar Nederlands Norsk nynorsk Português Русский Svenska Українська 3 more Edit links This page was last edited on 19 August 2018, at 18 : 09 ( UTC ). 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Question: who wrote i can't quit you babe
Answer: Willie Dixon