A Draught Of Entwash To Make You Taller

The Lord of the Rings 3 - Return of the King published by Ace Books, 1965.
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Hríw Galad / Laer Bras

Two hours of music inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. From Bilbo Baggin's unexpected journey in The Hobbit to the Fellowship's nutso cuckoo trip to Mount Doom in The Lord Of The Rings. Songwriters are all over when they choose to pick out pieces of Tolkien lore for their tunes, some recount the entire adventures of Bilbo or the Fellowship in 3 minutes, others vaguely describe a character or place, some make such slight references and then mix it with decidedly non-Middle-Earth stuff that it is hard to determine if it is much of a Tolkien song at all and then there are ones that just repeat "three rings for the Elven kings" over and over. J.R.R. Tolkien himself seemed quite happy to inspire composers, even if he didn't care for the hippie movement or this kind of music.

23 different acts in this show, here is some information about some of them:

Led Zeppelin:

Besides all that other stuff, Led Zeppelin is best remembered for their lyrics referencing Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings. Although the band's first record foolishly contained zero Tolkien references, that changed when Robert Plant began writing lyrics for the group on their second release in 1969, aptly titled 'Led Zeppelin II'. “Ramble On” features lyrics vaguely reminiscent of Frodo Baggins' quest in The Fellowship of The Ring, before outwardly name-checking both Gollum and Mordor. On Led Zeppelin's fourth album, Plant produced twice as many The Lord Of The Rings songs as before. "Misty Mountain Hop" uses The Hobbit to explore mind-expanding drugs and “The Battle Of Evermore”, which combines Middle-Earth and normal Earth's war histories. Evermore features Jimmy Page on mandolin, an instrument he had never played before, it also features the vocals of Fairport Convention's Sandy Denny, this marked the only time Led Zeppelin used a guest vocalist. If writing three of his band's biggest songs wasn't enough to pay homage to Tolkien, Robert Plant also named his dog Strider.

Countries represented: USA, England, New Zealand, Ireland, Malaysia, Sweden, Norway.


  • 6:00pm Down To Middle Earth by The Hobbits on Down To Middle Earth (Decca), 1967
  • 6:03pm The Lord Of The Rings Part I, II & III by The Tables on Holiday At Wobbledef Grunch (Perfect Pop Records), 1997
  • 6:04pm A Elbereth Gilthoniel by J.R.R. Tolkien on Poems And Songs Of Middle Earth (Caedmon Records), 1967
  • 6:04pm The Hobbit by Skip Bifferty on The Story Of Skip Bifferty (Castle Music), 1968
  • 6:07pm The Dark Lord by Sam Gopal on Escalator (Esoteric Recordings), 1969
  • 6:10pm Silver Ships Of Andilar by Townes van Zandt on Texas Troubadour (Charly Records), 1972
  • 6:15pm Ramble On by Led Zeppelin on Led Zeppelin II (Atlantic), 1969
  • 6:20pm At The House Of Elfrond & The Ring Goes South by Bo Hansson on Music Inspired By Lord Of The Rings (Edsel Records), 1970
  • 6:24pm Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins by Leonard Nimoy on Spaced Out (Universal), 1967
  • 6:27pm Songs Of The Quendi: Night Theme / Wampum Song / Nenya / Land Of The Sun by Sally Oldfield on Water Bearer (Bronze), 1978
  • 6:39pm The Battle Of Evermore by Led Zeppelin on Led Zeppelin IV (Atlantic), 1971
  • 6:45pm Hobbit by The Electric Flag on The Trip: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Curb Records), 1967
  • 6:47pm In The Willow-Meads Of Tasarinan by J.R.R. Tolkien on Poems And Songs Of Middle Earth (Caedmon Records), 1967
  • 6:49pm Frodo (Don't Wear the Ring) by Flight Of The Conchords on Stand Up! (ABC), 2004
  • 6:53pm The Wizard by Uriah Heep on Demons And Wizards (Sanctuary Midline), 1972
  • 6:56pm Lord Of The Rings by The Downliners Sect on Insecticides (Munster Records), 1969
  • 7:00pm The Wizard by Black Sabbath on Black Sabbath (Warner Bros. Records), 1970
  • 7:04pm The Old Forest & Tom Bombadil by Bo Hansson on Music Inspired By Lord Of The Rings (Edsel Records), 1970
  • 7:08pm Nimrodel / The Procession / The White Rider by Camel on Mirage (Deram), 1974
  • 7:17pm Misty Mountain Hop by Led Zeppelin on Led Zeppelin IV (Atlantic), 1971
  • 7:22pm She Said She Said by The Beatles on Revolver (Apple Records), 1966
  • 7:24pm Ring Thing by Pearls Before Swine on Balaklava (Drag City), 1968
  • 7:27pm Gandalf Throws The Ring by Leonard Rosenman on The Lord Of The Rings (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Intrada), 1978
  • 7:31pm Three Rings For Elven Kings by Trader Horne on Morning Way (Janus Records), 1970
  • 7:33pm Minas Tirith by Oberon on Dust On The Nettles (A Journey Through The British Underground Folk Scene 1967-1972) (Grapefruit Records), 1971
  • 7:41pm I Sit Beside The Fire / Refrain: A Elbereth Gilthoniel by J.R.R. Tolkien on Poems And Songs Of Middle Earth (Caedmon Records), 1967
  • 7:44pm The Last Stage by J.R.R. Tolkien, Nicol Williamson on The Hobbit (Argo), 1974
  • 7:46pm Dreams In The House Of Healing by Bo Hansson on Music Inspired By Lord Of The Rings (Edsel Records), 1970
  • 7:47pm Hobbit Symphony by The Smoke on The Smoke (Kismet), 1968
  • 7:51pm Sugar Magnolia by Grateful Dead on Sunshine Daydream - Veneta, Oregon, August 27, 1972 (Rhino Records), 1993
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