Led Zeppelin, Part 2

Welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John, and this podcast is airing in the year 2025.  Fifty years ago a British hard rock band reached their creative peak with their only studio double album.  That album was titled Physical Graffiti.   This podcast episode will highlight the end of that band's career, from 1974 onward.  I consider this band to be one of the greatest bands in rock and roll history:  Led Zeppelin!  I am calling this episode Led Zeppelin, Part 2.  Be sure to check out our companion podcast, Led Zeppelin, Part 1, where I review Led Zeppelin's formation and the first six and a half years of the band.

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott. The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John. It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then.
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Until next time...
Rock On!

Transcript

Thank you for that introduction, and welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John, and this podcast is airing in the year 2025.  Fifty years ago a British hard rock band reached their creative peak with their only studio double album.  That album was titled Physical Graffiti.   This podcast episode will highlight the end of that band's career, from 1974 onward.  I consider this band to be one of the greatest bands in rock and roll history:  Led Zeppelin!  I am calling this episode Led Zeppelin, Part 2.  Be sure to check out our companion podcast, Led Zeppelin, Part 1, where I review Led Zeppelin's formation and the first six and a half years of the band.

As I mentioned in the companion podcast, Led Zeppelin, Part 1, in 1973 band member John Paul Jones had become disillusioned with the group and was tired of touring.  Jones told manager Peter Grant he was considering quitting.  Grant asked him to reconsider and to take the rest of the year off to recuperate.

Led Zeppelin reconvened at Headley Grange in January and February 1974, where they recorded eight tracks engineered by Ron Nevison.  As with previous sessions at Headley Grange, the informal atmosphere allowed the group to improvise and develop material while recording. Sometimes the group would rehearse or record a track several times, discuss what went wrong or what could be improved and then realized they worked out an alternative arrangement for it which was better.  For example, the song "Trampled Under Foot" evolved out of a jam session in 1972.  Much rehearsal went into perfecting the relentless semi-funk riff that dominates this song.  John Paul Jones has credited Stevie Wonder with the inspiration for the beat, which Jones played on a clavinet.  Jimmy Page played guitar through a wah-wah pedal and employed reverse echo on the recording of "Trampled Under Foot".  

John Bonham was a driving force at the sessions, regularly suggesting ideas or the best ways in which a complicated arrangement could be played successfully.  This led to him getting a lead songwriting credit on several tracks.  The eight songs extended beyond the length of a conventional album, almost spanning three sides of an LP, so the group decided to create a double album, adding material they'd recorded for previous albums but never issued.  Additional overdubs were laid down, and the final mixing of the album was performed in July 1974 by Keith Harwood at Olympic Studios, London.  The resulting album covered a range of styles including hard rock, progressive rock, rock 'n' roll, and folk.

On February 24th, 1975 Physical Graffiti was released as a double album in the US on Led Zeppelin's own Swan Song Records label.  It debuted at #3 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, rising to #1 the following week and staying there for six weeks.  Having built up a huge advance order following the delayed release date, it debuted at #1 in the UK charts.  Physical Graffiti has since proven to be one of the most popular releases by the group.  It was the first album to go platinum on advance orders alone.  Shortly after its release, all previous Led Zeppelin albums simultaneously re-entered the top-200 album chart.  The LP was promoted by a successful U.S. tour and a five-night residency at Earl's Court, London.  Tickets for the shows sold out within four hours.  Using a 70,000 watt PA system and an elaborate lighting rig, they performed several of their hits, including the new songs "Trampled Under Foot" and "Kashmir".  In 2004 the song "Kashmir" would be ranked at #140 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

After the Physical Graffiti  tour, Led Zeppelin took a brief break that summer, intending to start a major US tour on August 23rd, 1975.  However, Robert Plant and his wife sustained serious injuries from a car accident on the Greek island of Rhodes on August 4th.  The band was forced to cancel the tour and reschedule their activities.  Plant recuperated in Malibu, California, and Jimmy Page joined him in September.  The two prepared enough material to be able to present to the rest of the band.  In October John Bonham and John Paul Jones joined them at Hollywood's SIR Studio where they rehearsed the material throughout October 1975.  Once they had worked out arrangements they went to Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany for recording.  The resulting seven track album was recorded and mixed by Jimmy Page with engineer Keith Harwood.  It was completed in an exhausting eighteen days, with the two men putting in several long shifts .

Presence became the band's seventh studio album.  Presence is dominated by compositions by Page and Plant, with only one track credited to the entire group.  Unlike other Zeppelin albums, it features no keyboards and little acoustic guitar.  It was released by the band's own label Swan Song Records on March 31st, 1976 in the US and on April 2nd in the UK.  In Britain it attained one of the highest ever advance orders, shipping gold on the day of release.  It entered at #2 and peaked the following week at #1 on the US Billboard Pop Albums chart.  While the record would be commercially successful, reaching the top of both the British and American album charts,  it received mixed reviews from critics and is the lowest-selling album by the band. Because Plant was still recuperating, the band could not tour to promote the release, and only two tracks were ever performed live.  Nevertheless, the LP eventually achieved a triple-platinum certification in the US by the RIAA.  Here is a sample from the opening track, "Achilles Last Stand".

Undoubtedly the Presence album was overshadowed by the release of the band's movie and soundtrack The Song Remains the Same.  In October 1976 The Song Remains the Same premiered in New York City.  The movie showed the band in concert and was interspersed with fantasy sequences featuring each band member.  The movie became a success worldwide.  Itincluded several Led Zeppelin classics such as live versions of "Rock and Roll", "Dazed and Confused", and "Stairway To Heaven".

In April 1977 the band began their 11th and biggest tour of the US.  On April 30th they played to a record attendance of over 76,000 fans at Detroit's Pontiac Silverdome.  In May 1977 they were awarded an Ivor Novello Award for "Outstanding Contribution to British Music".  Then on July 23rd a backstage dispute at the Oakland Coliseum led to a fight between the Zeppelin crew and promoter Bill Graham's security men.  This resulted in arrests and criminal charges for assault.  Then on July 26th, 1977 Robert Plant learned that his young son Karac had died.  Robert flew back to England and the tour was cancelled.

Plant was understandably devastated and shattered.  For most of the following fourteen months there was little band activity.  Then in November 1978, the group reassembled for rehearsals in London to prepare for their eight studio album.  In December the revitalized band went to record at ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden.  The resulting album was dominated musically by John Paul Jones and Robert Plant.  The LP was named In Through the Out Door to describe the band's struggles after the death of Robert Plant's son and the taxation exile the band took from the UK.  That exile had resulted in the band being unable to tour in their homeland for more than two years.

In June 1979 they embarked on a new European tour.  On August 4th and 11th they held two shows at Knedworth, England.  In Through the Out Door was released by their label Swan Song Records on August 22nd, 1979.  The album was a huge commercial success.  It went to #1 on the Billboard 200 in its second week on the American chart.  Subsequently, Led Zeppelin's entire catalogue appeared in the Billboard 200 between the weeks of October 23rd and November 3rd, 1979, an unprecedented feat, topping their own record in 1975.  The album remained on the US top spot for seven weeks and sold three million copies by the end of September 1979.  In Through the Out Door also went to #1 in the UK, Canada, and New Zealand.  It was the band's final studio release to reach the top of the charts in the United States.  To date, the album has sold six million copies in the US.  In January 1980, "Fool in the Rain" was released as a single to further promote the album, and it reached #21 on the Billboard singles chart.  Here is a sample of the LP's opening track, "In the Evening".

During April 1980 the band began rehearsing in London for another European tour and announced plans to return to North America.  On July 7th they played a concert in West Berlin and in September they met at Jimmy Page's home in Windsor to rehearse for the US tour.  Sadly on September 25th, 1980 John Bonham was found dead, stunning fellow band members and fans around the world.  

In December 1980 the band issued a press release saying that the band Led Zeppelin was done.  The three remaining band members were very shaken by Bonham's death.  They eventually went their separate ways, staying busy with solo projects and collaborations with other musicians.  On November 26th, 1982 a final studio collection of rejected and live tracks from various sessions during the band's twelve-year career was released under the album title Coda.  Page, Plant, and Jones got together for an underwhelming performance on July 13th, 1985 at the Live Aid show at Philadelphia with Phil Collins on drums.  Then at the Atlantic Records 40th birthday celebration at New York's Madison Square Garden in May 1988 they performed with Bonham's son Jason on drums.  In October 1990 Atlantic released a boxed set, simply called Led Zeppelin.  Jimmy Page supervised the re-mastering of the boxed set tracks.  It reached #48 on the UK albums chart and #14 on the Billboard 200 chart.  In 2004 the boxed set was certified Gold by the RIAA. 

In 1995 Plant and Page recorded an Unledded MTV show, followed by a world tour.  In 2007 came the wildly popular reunion show in London for the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert.  Led Zeppelin's three members reunited, with Jason Bonham once again taking the place of his late father John.  That concert holds the world record for the 'Highest Demand for Tickets for One Music Concert' with 20 million requests for tickets for the 19,000 capacity South London venue.  The show was subsequently released on DVD, CD, and vinyl with the title Celebration Day.  

Led Zeppelin's musical legacy and accomplishments are extraordinary!  They performed on multiple record-breaking concert tours, and Led Zeppelin is one of the best-selling music artists of all time.  Their total record sales are estimated to be between 200 and 300 million units worldwide.  They achieved eight consecutive UK number-one albums.   Each of their 9 studio albums reached the top 10 of the US Billboard album chart, and six reached #1.  Four of Led Zeppelin's recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.  They have been awarded 5 Diamond albums, as well as  14 Multi-Platinum, 4 Platinum, and 1 Gold album in the United States.  In the UK they have 5 Multi-Platinum, 6 Platinum, 1 Gold, and 4 Silver albums.  In 2003 they had five albums on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list:  Led Zeppelin #29, Led Zeppelin IV at #66, Physical Graffiti at #70, Led Zeppelin II at #75, and Houses of the Holy at #149.

Led Zeppelin collected many honors and awards throughout the course of their career.  They have been highly ranked in numerous radio and readers polls as one of the best rock bands and as one of the best live acts of all time.  In 1995 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  In 1997 they were awarded the "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the 42nd Annual Ivor Novello awards ceremony.  In 2000 they were ranked #1 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.  In 2004 they were named the 14th-greatest artist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.  In 2005 they received both a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the the American Music Award.  In 2006 they were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame.  In 2012 they were honored by US President Barack Obama at the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors.

The Rock and Roll Hall museum's biography of Led Zeppelin states that they were as influential during the 1970's as the Beatles were during the 1960's.  Led Zeppelin has had a profound influence on future generations of multiple rock and hard rock bands.  With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are cited as one of the progenitors of hard rock and heavy metal.  Led Zeppelin has also been credited as significantly impacting the nature of the music industry, particularly in the development of album-oriented rock and stadium rock.

This concludes another episode of Rock and Roll Flashback podcasts!  As mentioned in my intro, this episode is Part 2 of a two part podcast.  Be sure to check out the companion podcast, Led Zeppelin, Part 1, to hear some of the highlights of the first 6 and a half years of Led Zeppelin.  So for now, I'm Jumpin' John McDermott and, in the eloquent words of Robert Plant in the Led Zeppelin II album, "it's time to ramble on"...so until next time...Rock On!