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| Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist, keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. Led Zeppelin's heavy, guitar-driven sound, rooted in blues and psychedelia on their early albums, has earned them recognition as one of the progenitors of heavy metal, though their unique style drew from a wide variety of influences, including folk music. Jimmy Page wrote most of Led Zeppelin's music, particularly early in their career, while Robert Plant generally supplied the lyrics. John Paul Jones' keyboard-based compositions later became central to the group's catalogue, which featured increasing experimentation. The latter half of their career saw a series of record-breaking tours that earned the group a reputation for excess and debauchery. Although they remained commercially and critically successful, their output and touring schedule were limited during the late 1970s, and the group disbanded following John Bonham's death from alcohol-related asphyxia in 1980. This site features the playlist from their 2007 greatest hits complitation Motherload. The songs for that CD were selected by the surviving members; Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, and represent eight of the band's nine studio albums. |
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| Led Zeppelin the eponymous debut studio album was recorded in October 1968 at Olympic Studios in London and released on Atlantic Records on 12 January 1969. Featuring integral contributions from each of the group's four members with memorable guitar riffs, lumbering rhythms, psychedelic blues, groovy, bluesy shuffles and hints of English folk, made it a significant turning point in the evolution of hard rock and heavy metal. It also attracted a large and devoted following to the band; Zeppelin's take on the emerging heavy rock sound endeared them to parts of the counterculture on both sides of the Atlantic. The albums front cover, which was chosen by Jimmy Page, featured a black-and-white image of the burning Hindenburg airship. The image refers to one account of how the band's name was chosen: When Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Keith Moon and John Entwistle were discussing the idea of forming a super group, Moon joked: "It would probably go over like a lead balloon", and Entwistle allegedly replied: "a lead zeppelin". To Jimmy Page this was the perfect combination of heavy and light, combustibility and grace. The "a" was dropped to avoid the confusion of lead being pronounced as leed. In their first year, Led Zeppelin completed four US and four UK concert tours, and also released their second album, Led Zeppelin II on October 22, 1969. Recorded mostly on the road at various North American studios, it was an even greater commercial success than their first album, and reached the number one chart position in the US and the UK. The album also yielded Led Zeppelin's biggest hit with the track Whole Lotta Love. This song reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1970, after Atlantic went against the group's wishes by releasing a shorter version on 45. |
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| In 1970 Jimmy Page and Robert Plant retired to Bron-Yr-Aur, a remote cottage in Wales, to commence work on their third album, Led Zeppelin III, released October 5, 1970. The result was a more acoustic style that was strongly influenced by folk and Celtic music, and showcased the band's versatility. The album's rich acoustic sound initially received mixed reactions, with critics and fans surprised at the turn from the primarily electric arrangements of the first two albums, further fuelling the band's hostility to the musical press. The album reached number one in the UK and US charts. However, its stay would be the shortest of their first five albums. The opening track, Immigrant Song, was released as a single by Atlantic Records, against the band's wishes, reaching the top twenty on the Billboard chart. Led Zeppelin released their fourth album on 8 November 1971. In response to the treatment they had received from critics, particularly after Led Zeppelin III, the band decided to release the fourth album without a title. It is variously referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, Untitled, IV, or, due to the four symbols appearing on the record label, as Four Symbols, Zoso or Runes. In addition to lacking a title, the original cover did not have their band's name, as the group wished to be anonymous and to avoid easy pigeonholing by the press. However, the fourth album, without a name, was a commercial and critical success, producing many of the band's most well-known songs, including Black Dog, Rock & Roll and the band's signature song, Stairway to Heaven. Although never released as a single, Stairway to Heaven is sometimes quoted as being the most requested and most played Album-oriented rock (AOR) FM radio song. The album is one of the best-selling records worldwide at 37 million units, and its massive popularity cemented Led Zeppelin's status as superstars in the 1970s. The group followed up the album's release with tours of the UK, Australasia, North America, Japan, and the UK again from late 1971 through early 1973. |
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| Houses of the Holy, released March 28, 1973, featured further experimentation by the band, who expanded their use of synthesisers and mellotron orchestration. The album cover, designed by the London-based design group Hipgnosis, depicts images of nude children climbing the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. Although the children are not shown from the front, the cover was controversial at the time of the album's release. As with the band's fourth album, neither their name nor the album title was printed on the sleeve. Houses of the Holy topped charts worldwide, and the band's subsequent concert tour of North America broke records for attendance, as they consistently filled large auditoriums and stadiums. At Tampa Stadium in Florida, they played to 56,800 fans, breaking the record set by the Beatles' 1965 Shea Stadium concert and grossing $309,000. Three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City were filmed for a motion picture, but the theatrical release of this project, The Song Remains the Same, was delayed until 1976. Physical Graffiti, a double album was released February 24, 1975. It was the band's first release on their own Swan Song Records label, which had been launched in May 1974. The album was a commercial and critical success, having built up a huge advance order, and when eventually released it reached No. 1 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. It has since proven to be one of the most popular releases by the group. Jim Miller stated in Rolling Stone that the double album was "the band's Tommy, Beggar's Banquet and Sgt. Pepper rolled into one: Physical Graffiti is Led Zeppelin's bid for artistic respectability." |
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| Presence, released by Swan Song Records on March 31, 1976. Written and recorded during a tumultuous time in the band's history, as singer Robert Plant was recuperating from serious injuries he had sustained the previous year in a car accident. The album was a commercial success, reaching the top of both the British and American album charts, and achieving a triple-platinum certification in the United States, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics and being the slowest-selling studio album by the band (other than the outtake album Coda). In Through the Out Door, the band's eighth and final studio album to reach the top of the charts in America, was released August 15, 1979. The album featured sonic experimentation that again drew mixed reactions from critics. Nevertheless, the album reached number one in the UK and the US in just its second week of release. In Through the Out Door was the last album released by the band before the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980. The planned North American tour was cancelled, and despite rumours that Cozy Powell, Carmine Appice, Barriemore Barlow, Simon Kirke, or Bev Bevan would join the group as John's replacement, the remaining members decided to disband. A press statement released on December 4, 1980, stated that: "We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend, and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were." The statement was signed simply "Led Zeppelin". |
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Wanderin' Spirit
November, 2015
"Mothership"
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Psychedelic Blues
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| Rolling Stones and American R&B | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginnings 1962-1965 |
Tripping Out 1966-1969 |
Flat Out 1970-1980 |
Rolling On 1981-2005 |
| Live Stones |
Exposed Mick Jagger |
Riff It Up Keith & Ronnie |
Forty Rocks |
| Muddy Waters | Little Walter | Jimmy Reed | Chuck Berry |
| Willie Dixon | Koko Taylor | Barbara Lynn | Etta James |
| Got Soul | Motown Classics | Doo Wop Party | Juke Joint |
| Favorites From the Record Cupboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Beatlemania 1962-1966 |
Pepper's MMT 1967 |
Beatles Revolution 1968-1970 |
Beach Boys |
| Jefferson Airplane |
Grateful Dead Workingman's Dead |
Grateful Dead American Beauty |
Grateful Dead Europe 72 |
| The Doors | Moody Blues | Pink Floyd | Jimi Hendrix |
| Them Van Morrison |
Van Morrison Into the Mystic |
Van Morrison Back on Top |
Eric Clapton |
| Small Faces | Faces | Rod the Mod | Rod Stewart Superstar |
| Flying Burrito Brothers | Chocolate Watchband | Flamin' Groovies | Electric Prunes |
| Bob Dylan | Simon & Garfunkel |
Mamas & Papas | The Byrds |
| Joan Baez | CSNY | Joni Mitchell | The Band |
| Jackie DeShannon |
Led Zeppelin Mothership |
The Who My Generation |
Carole King Natural Woman |
| M. Faithfull Swinging London |
M. Faithfull Aftermath |
Claudine Longet | Nancy Sinatra |
| Bruce Springsteen |
Tina Turner | Janis Ian | Olivia Newton John |
| Liberty Silver | Fleetwood Mac White Album |
Fleetwood Mac Rumours |
Eurythmics |
| Patti Smith Horses |
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| Rock'n'Roll Time Capsules | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950's Rock & Roll |
1960-63 Twistin' |
1964 British Invasion |
1965 Retrospective |
| 1966 Hits of 66 |
1967 Flowers, Peace & Love |
1968 Great in 68 |
1969 The 69er |
| Woodstock Festival |
1960's Psychedelic Era |
1970's Decade of Decadence |
1980's Big Chill |
| Rockin' Out in the Garage | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | New York | California | Texas |
| Midwest | Heartland | North West | South West |
| Old South | Deep South | International | Spirit's Favs |
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