Maps of Music

Led Zeppelin (1969)

Where the lyrics of Led Zeppelin take you, and where it was really made.

The debut was recorded before the band had a record deal, and Page and manager Peter Grant paid the studio bill themselves: £1,782 for about 36 hours of studio time.

Key places

Debut sessions at Olympic Studios (1968)

Recording site Olympic Studios — The band entered Olympic Studios at 11 p.m. on 25 September 1968 to record the debut album. The sessions ran in September and October 1968 and took about 36 hours of studio time, including mixing. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Led Zeppelin: debut studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin
• Released January 1969 in the United States and 31 March 1969 in the United Kingdom, through Atlantic Records
• Produced by Jimmy Page and Glyn Johns, who also engineered the record
• Line-up on the album: Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham
• Mixes original songs from the first rehearsals with remakes of blues and folk songs

Background

• The Yardbirds disbanded in July 1968, leaving Page with the name and contract obligations
• Page brought in John Paul Jones; Robert Plant and John Bonham joined after Plant was recommended to him
• The line-up first rehearsed on 19 August 1968 and toured Scandinavia as the New Yardbirds
• After returning to London, Page changed the name to Led Zeppelin
• The band had not yet signed a record deal when the sessions were made

Recording

• Recorded September and October 1968 at Olympic Studios, London
• The band entered the studio at 11 p.m. on 25 September 1968
• The album took about 36 hours of studio time, including mixing, and cost £1,782
• Most of the album was recorded live, with overdubs added later
• Page used a distant second microphone to capture room ambience
• One of the first albums released in stereo only

Cover

• Cover chosen by Page: black-and-white image of the Hindenburg airship
• Cover design by George Hardie

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in London in 1968 from the remnants of the Yardbirds, originally as the New Yardbirds.
• Jimmy Page recruited Robert Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones; the first full performance was in Denmark in September 1968.
• The name was changed to Led Zeppelin after a cease and desist letter from Chris Dreja, with the 'a' dropped from 'lead' at Peter Grant's suggestion.
• Atlantic Records signed them with a large advance and gave the band artistic and publishing autonomy.

Members

• Robert Plant on vocals and harmonica; Jimmy Page on guitar; John Paul Jones on bass and keyboards; John Bonham on drums.
• Page wrote most of the music and Plant most of the lyrics; Jones often originated keyboard-based songs.

Career

• Released eight studio albums in ten years, achieving eight consecutive UK number-one albums and six US Billboard 200 number ones.
• Led Zeppelin IV, with 37 million copies sold, is among the best-selling albums in history.
• Set attendance records on tours in the 1970s, including 56,800 fans at Tampa Stadium in 1973.
• Disbanded in December 1980 after John Bonham's death; surviving members reunited only sporadically, including the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995; estimated to have sold 200 to 300 million records.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Initial reception: it first received poor reviews
• Rolling Stone: said the band offered little that the Jeff Beck Group had not done better months earlier, and called Page a limited producer
• Melody Maker: Chris Welch gave the album a glowing review
• Robert Christgau in The Village Voice: found the debut subtler and more ambitious musically than Led Zeppelin II, though not as good
• Before release, a positive reaction and good concerts produced 50,000 advance orders

Reappraisal

• Stephen Thomas Erlewine: cited the album as a significant turning point in the evolution of hard rock and heavy metal
• Martin Popoff: argued the album featured what was likely the first metal song, Communication Breakdown
• Sheldon Pearce of Consequence of Sound: called it the first hard rock domino for the band's later work
• Joe Perry of Aerosmith: said Jimmy Page was an incredible producer who wrote great songs

Records

• Reached number 10 on the Billboard chart
• Earned its US gold certification in July 1969
• VH1 named it the 44th-greatest album of all time in 2003
• Ranked 29th on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003, its highest-charting album on that list
• Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Page said the album took about 36 hours of studio time over a few weeks, and he knew this from the studio bill.
• The name came from a joke: Keith Moon said a group would go over like a lead balloon, and John Entwistle reportedly replied with a lead zeppelin.
• On You Shook Me, Page used the reverse echo technique by recording the echo on a spare track and turning the tape over.
• Baby Come On Home and Sugar Mama were recorded at the Olympic sessions but left off the album.
• Good Times Bad Times was seldom performed live by the band, though it was a strong track.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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