Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin embodied the 1970s much as the Beatles had personified the 1960s, a group whose commercial dominance and sonic innovations supplied the interpretive lens for an entire musical era. The quartet pioneered album-oriented rock by declining to issue singles from their LPs even when radio stations played tracks extensively, while simultaneously expanding the scale of live performance through ever-larger arena and stadium bookings that mirrored their soaring ticket demand. Although other acts operated in comparable commercial spheres, Led Zeppelin maintained a singular aura fostered by enigmatic cover imagery, avoidance of media interactions, and the power of their recordings themselves. Blending postwar electric blues, foundational rock and roll, and psychedelic textures, the band generated an enormous sonic force from the outset, yet their sound encompassed more than sheer volume. Beneath the amplification ran a pronounced folk-rock current, which the four musicians later enriched with elements of global traditions, funk, country, and keyboard textures, yielding an exploratory catalog whose reach extended into hard rock, heavy metal, and alternative rock.

Such accomplishments seem all the more striking given that the group arose from the remnants of the groundbreaking British rock outfit the Yardbirds. Guitarist Jimmy Page, already established through studio work during the 1960s, entered the lineup in 1966 as bassist Paul Samwell-Smith’s successor, soon sharing lead-guitar responsibilities with Jeff Beck before assuming sole guitar duties after Beck’s exit. Page shaped much of the band’s final LP, 1967’s Little Games, which also featured contributions from bassist and string arranger John Paul Jones, another veteran of London session circles who had joined Page on Beck’s 1966 single “Beck’s Bolero,” alongside drummer Keith Moon. Under new manager Peter Grant, the Yardbirds promoted the album with a U.S. trek, yet the ensemble was nearing its end. Shortly before the breakup, Page returned to session duties, among them a spring 1968 date at which he performed on Jones’s arrangement of Donovan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man.” During those sessions Jones expressed interest in any future endeavor Page might undertake. That project took shape rapidly. In summer 1968, Yardbirds vocalists Keith Relf and James McCarty departed, leaving Page and bassist Chris Dreja holding the band name and committed to an autumn tour. Page began searching for a singer and drummer. He first approached vocalist Terry Reid and Procol Harum’s B.J. Wilson, neither of whom could participate. Reid instead directed Page toward Robert Plant, then fronting Hobbstweedle.

Impressed by Plant’s voice, Page recruited him in August 1968, the same month Chris Dreja withdrew from the venture. John Paul Jones then signed on as bassist. Plant urged Page to enlist drummer John Bonham, formerly of Plant’s earlier group Band of Joy. Bonham required persuasion, having received more lucrative offers elsewhere, but agreed by September. Performing initially as the New Yardbirds, the musicians completed the Yardbirds’ scheduled Scandinavian dates in late September 1968. The following month they cut their debut album in fewer than thirty hours. Also in October, Dreja notified Page that rights to the New Yardbirds name applied solely to those concerts, prompting the switch to Led Zeppelin. Grant secured an unprecedented Atlantic Records contract in the United States before year’s end, reportedly for a $200,000 advance—the largest sum then paid to any debut act. Early in 1969 Led Zeppelin embarked on its first American tour, paving the way for the January release of the self-titled debut album. Two months later the record entered the U.S. Top Ten. The band toured nonstop throughout 1969 across America and Britain. While on the road they tracked Led Zeppelin II, whose swift completion lent the loud, riff-driven blues an urgent immediacy.

Like its predecessor, Led Zeppelin II became an instant success after its October 1969 release, reaching the top of the American charts two months later and remaining at number one for seven weeks. The album solidified the group’s status as an international live draw, and relentless touring continued for the next year. Led Zeppelin broadened its palette on Led Zeppelin III. Cut at a Welsh cottage and issued in October 1970, the album incorporated British folk elements into its heavy rock framework, deepening the quartet’s sonic range. Led Zeppelin III topped charts in both Britain and the United States, though initial sales proved softer than those of the prior two blockbusters; the record never earned platinum status in the U.K., yet eventually achieved six-times platinum certification in the U.S., underscoring its standing as one of the band’s most distinctive statements. Despite the group’s stated reluctance toward singles, “Immigrant Song” appeared as a 7-inch in America, backed with the non-album track “Hey, Hey What Can I Do,” their sole B-side never included on an LP. Led Zeppelin did not tour as extensively behind III as behind II, yet their popularity continued to grow. The untitled fourth album, universally known as Led Zeppelin IV, sealed their legacy. Released in November 1971, it fused the heavy blues of II with the folk mysticism of III; at their intersection stood “Stairway to Heaven,” an eight-minute epic that distilled much of the band’s grandeur. The track became an immediate radio staple and eventually the most-played song in album-oriented radio history, though it was never issued as a single. Despite never reaching number one in America, Led Zeppelin IV became the band’s biggest seller, moving well over 37 million copies across four decades.

The group supported Led Zeppelin IV with its largest tour to that point in terms of venue size rather than number of shows. Worldwide, the musicians graduated to stadiums and sports arenas, establishing a circuit that later became standard, while accumulating stories of extravagant behavior. After the 1972 tour concluded, they withdrew to record their fifth album, Houses of the Holy. Issued in March 1973, the record introduced touches of funk and reggae amid its driving rock and extended pieces. Once again Led Zeppelin scored a major hit, and its success financed an American tour that shattered box-office marks—many previously set by the Beatles. The trek ended with three nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden in July 1973, filmed for the 1976 concert movie The Song Remains the Same. Following that record-breaking outing, Led Zeppelin remained inactive throughout 1974, releasing no new music and playing no concerts. They did, however, launch their own imprint, Swan Song, which would handle all subsequent Led Zeppelin releases as well as albums by Dave Edmunds, Bad Company, the Pretty Things, and other artists. Physical Graffiti, a double album released in February 1975, marked the band’s first Swan Song title. It topped charts in both America and Britain. Led Zeppelin opened an international tour with five nights at London’s Earls Court, yet on the eve of the American leg that autumn, Robert Plant and his wife were seriously injured in a car accident while vacationing in Greece. The dates were canceled, and Plant spent the remainder of the year recovering.

During Plant’s convalescence the band recorded in Malibu. Presence appeared in spring 1976, debuting at number one in both the U.S. and U.K., though sales proved somewhat softer, possibly because the group chose not to tour in support. Instead they issued the concert film The Song Remains the Same in fall 1976; its soundtrack reached number one in Britain and number two in America. Led Zeppelin returned to the road in spring 1977 for a U.S. tour—the U.K. remained off-limits due to tax-exile considerations. The concerts generated substantial revenue, but nearly three months in, Plant’s six-year-old son Karac died of a stomach infection. The band canceled the remainder of the dates and offered no indication whether they would resume, prompting widespread speculation about their future. For a time it appeared Led Zeppelin might be finished. Plant spent late 1977 and most of 1978 in seclusion. The group did not resume recording until late 1978, when sessions began at ABBA’s Polar Studios in Sweden. A year later they undertook a brief European tour covering Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Belgium, and Austria. In August 1979 Led Zeppelin played two large shows at Knebworth—their first British concerts in four years and their final English performances.

In Through the Out Door, the band’s long-delayed eighth studio album, finally appeared in September 1979. It entered the charts at number one in both America and Britain. In May 1980 Led Zeppelin began its last European tour. In September the musicians started rehearsals at Jimmy Page’s house ahead of a planned American trek. On September 25 John Bonham was found dead in bed after an all-day drinking episode; he had choked on his own vomit. In December 1980 Led Zeppelin announced they were disbanding, as they could not continue without Bonham.

In the aftermath the surviving members pursued individual paths. John Paul Jones returned to production and arranging; he maintained a low profile until releasing his solo debut, Zooma, in 1999. After scoring Death Wish II, Jimmy Page assembled the outtakes collection Coda, issued at the end of 1982. That same year Robert Plant launched a solo career with Pictures at Eleven. In 1984 Plant and Page briefly reunited in the all-star oldies project the Honeydrippers. After one EP, Plant resumed solo work while Page formed the Firm with former Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers. In 1985 Led Zeppelin reconvened for Live Aid, backed by drummers Phil Collins and Tony Thompson, reigniting reunion speculation that never materialized. In 1988 the band reassembled for Atlantic’s 25th-anniversary concert, this time with Jason Bonham on drums. During 1989 Page remastered the catalog for the 1990 box set Led Zeppelin. At the time the four-disc collection became the best-selling multi-disc box set ever released; three years later it was followed by the ten-disc Complete Studio Recordings.

In 1994 Page and Plant reunited for an MTV Unplugged segment released as No Quarter that fall. Although the album went platinum, sales fell short of expectations for a full Led Zeppelin reunion. The following year the duo embarked on a successful world tour that led to a new studio album, the Steve Albini-produced Walking into Clarksdale, in 1998. Despite some favorable reviews, the record achieved only modest commercial success—gold certification in America alone—and Page and Plant soon parted ways; Page toured with the Black Crowes while Plant resumed his solo career. Additional archival Led Zeppelin releases appeared in the late 1990s, including 1997’s double-disc BBC Sessions, the first official hits compilations—1999’s Early Days: The Best Of, Vol. 1 and 2000’s Latter Days: The Best Of, Vol. 2—and 2003’s How the West Was Won, documenting highlights from the band’s 1972 Los Angeles concerts. That same year the group issued an acclaimed double-DVD set of live performances spanning 1969–1979. A full reunion of the surviving members, with Jason Bonham on drums, occurred in 2007 at a London O2 tribute to Atlantic founder Ahmet Ertegun. The concert was filmed and recorded, appearing commercially as Celebration Day in fall 2012.

In 2014 Led Zeppelin initiated an extensive catalog campaign overseen by Jimmy Page, presenting newly remastered editions of all albums on CD, high-resolution downloads, and vinyl. Deluxe versions included previously unreleased vault material. The first three albums appeared in June 2014; the final installments arrived in July 2015. The Complete BBC Sessions, an expanded edition of the 1997 collection, followed in 2016 and contained eight previously unreleased tracks, among them a long-lost radio session featuring “You Shook Me,” “Sunshine Woman,” and “I Can’t Quit You Baby.” In 2018 an expanded How the West Was Won was released in March, and a Super Deluxe Edition of The Song Remains the Same appeared in September.