The composition of the song began before the band's recording sessions at
Atlantic Studios. The original title was "A Man I Know". The main riff of "Good Times Bad Times" was written by
John Paul Jones on a
Hammond organ, who later said it was the most difficult riff he ever wrote, as well as one of the hardest riffs for him to perform. Guitarist
Jimmy Page played a
Fender Telecaster that
Jeff Beck had given him through a Tone Bender and a
Supro amplifier. Page's guitar solo was fed through a
Leslie speaker to create a swirling effect. Singer
Robert Plant's vocals were largely
double-tracked. Drummer
John Bonham plays fast
triplets on a single
bass drum, which drew praise from
Jimi Hendrix. He attributed the idea to
Carmine Appice of
Vanilla Fudge, who had played a similar figure on the band's cover of
the Beatles' "
Ticket to Ride" (which appeared on the band's debut album
Vanilla Fudge), though Appice had not played the triplets exclusively on the bass drum. ==Personnel==