"Tangerine" dates back to Page's time as lead guitarist with the Yardbirds. In April 1968, the group recorded demos for several songs at the Columbia Studios in New York City. Page biographer George Case notes that "Knowing That I'm Losing You" is very similar to "Tangerine" and suggests that Jackie DeShannon inspired the tune. Recordings from these sessions (with producer Manny Kellem) and the concert performance later used for "" were rejected for release at the time, but were issued in 2017 on the "Yardbirds '68" compilation album produced by Page. While the demo recorded by the Yardbirds featured a vocal by Keith Relf, the 2017 release does not include it.