LED Zeppelin: 1968 -1980

“Heavy Air”

Led Zeppelin: 1968 – 1980

“BUZZ” Newspaper Article (#73-Lz) April- May 2017

By: RLSchwinden aka: MrZerr0

Back in the day, when I was going to West High (Wolverines) in Sioux City, Iowa, Disco & The Bee Gees, were all the rage in 1978 -79, now me, myself, I hated that stuff, I was digging a band my Aunt Cat turned me onto “LED ZEPPELIN” with songs like “Out On The Tiles” “D’yer Mak’er” “Immigrant Song” “Four Sticks” “No Quarter” “Misty Mountain Hop” “Bring It On Home” & most of my friends could not understand why I was listening to this kind of music, that their older brothers & sisters liked. Now I have been collecting records since 1969 &  started in the music business in 1982 & started in the record business in 1986 & have owned my own recordshop (Mr. Zero’s) for the last 8 years so for my 6th anniversary of writing this particular article I thought I would cover by far the most popular band of all time … LED ZEPPELIN, a close 2nd would be PINK FLOYD & 3rd The BEATLES, now bear in mind, I did not decide this, it is 29 years of Customer requests that decided this factor …

 

>Think About It: 1968 <

This story starts when Session Guitarist Jimmy Page: (James Patrick Page: 9 Jan 1944; Middlesex, England) & Session Musician; John Paul Jones: (John Richard Baldwin: 3 Jan 1946; Kent England) recorded “Beck’s Bolero” with Jeff Beck & Keith Moon in May ’66. Page then joins ‘The YARDBIRDS’ in Jun ‘66 & records the LP ‘Little Games’ released in July 1967 with the 5 Singles “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago b/w Psycho Daisies” in Oct ’66 ”Little Games b/w Puzzles” in Mar ’67 “Ha Ha Said The Clown b/w Tinker Taylor Solder Sailor” in Jul ’67 “Ten Little Indians b/w Drinking Muddy Water” in Oct ’67 & “Goodnight Sweet Josephine b/w Think About It” in Mar ’68. Page gets the idea to form a “Super Group” with himself, Jeff Beck with Entwistle & Moon; to which Moon recommends the name “Lead Zeppelin” & Entwistle comments to the effect “This would take off like a Lead Balloon”

 

> New Yardbirds: 1968 <

The “Original” Yardbirds dis-banded in Jul ’68 leaving Page in control of the name “Yardbirds” originally Page wanted Singer Terry Reid (13 Nov 1949 UK), to be the new vocalist of the band, however Reid declined for a solo career, Reid however did recommend the singer from ‘Hobstweedle’ one Robert Plant: (Robert Anthony Plant: 20 Aug 1948; Staffordshire, England), Plant brought along his old drummer from ‘Band Of Joy’ John Bonham: (John Henry “Bonzo” Bonham; 31 May 1948: Worchestershire, England -25 Sep 1980 Berkshire), both joined in Aug ’68 with John-Paul Jones on Bass. Page took his new band out on tour to fill 9 concert dates in Scandinavia in Sep ’68 as the “New Yardbirds”. Then page received a cease and desist order from Guitarist Chris Dreja. The bands manage Peter Grant (Peter James Grant: 5 April 1935; London – 21 Nov 1995) for the past 2 years suggested they now use the name ‘Led Zeppelin’ replacing “Led” for “Lead” as to avoid miss-pronunciation.

> Lead Balloon: 1968 -69 <

The band’s 1st LP “LZ1” (Hindenburg) was released on 12 Jan 1969 with the 45 Single “Good Times Bad Times b/w Communication Breakdown” this LP contains 4 Cover Songs: “Dazed & Confused” “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You” “I Can’t Quit You Baby” & “You Shook Me”, the band appear on Danish TV BYEN sometime in 1969 for 32min performing 4 songs from “LZ1” @ Gladsaxe Teen Club.

The band’s 2nd LP “LZ2” (group photo) is released on 22 Oct 1969, the very 1st pressings are mixed by; Robert Ludwig & can be identified by a tiny little “RL” in the run-off groove, these pressings are very rare & Very sought after. This LP contains the cover songs: “Lemon Song” “Bring I ton Home” & “Whole Lotta Love”.  The 45 single “Whole Lotta Love b/w Living Loving Maid” is the band’s highest charting song at #4 on the Billboard Charts in Jan ’70. The band make their (for all intensive purposes) last TV appearance on “Beat Club” on 28 Mar 1970 performing “You Shook Me” & “Whole Lotta Love”, later, on 16 Sep 1970, Plant & Bonham are interviewed on the “Nation Wide” TV Show. Manager Grant decided the concert venue is the way for his band to get optimum exposure; the band performs roughly 530 concerts from 4 Oct 1968 to 7 Jul 1980. Led Zeppelin’s 1st Minn. appearance is on:

18 May 1969 Sunday Guthrie Theatre:
Train Kept A-Rollin’
I Can’t Quit You Baby
Dazed & Confused
As Long As I Have You
Killing Floor
White Summer/Black Mountain Side
Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You
You Shook Me
How Many More Times
Communication Breakdown
Moby Dick

> What Can I Do: 1970 <
   The band’s 3rd LP “LZ3” (pinwheel) is released on 5 Oct 1970, with the single “Immigrant Song b/w Hey What Can I Do”, the bands only “Non-LP Song” this song their 3rd highest charting 45 hits #16 on the charts in Jan ’71. This LP finds the band moving in a new “Folk” direction, & is one of my personal favorites. This LP contains the cover songs; “Hats Off To Roy Harper” & “Gallow’s Pole”. Their 2nd Minn. appearance is on;
12 April 1970 Sunday Met Center Bloomington
We’re Gonna Groove
Dazed & Confused
Heartbreaker
Bring It On Home
White Summer/Black Mountain Side
Since I’ve Been Loving You
Thank You
Jones’ Organ Solo)
What Is & What Should Never Be
Moby Dick
How Many More Times
Whole Lotta Love

> Not A Hit Single: 1971 <
   The band’s 4th LP has no number, but instead has “Four Symbols” one for each member of the band, is released on 8 Nov 1971 with the single “Black Dog b/w Misty Mountain Hop” which is the band’s 2nd highest charting single at #15 in Feb ’72 in another 1st for the band a 2nd single off the same LP is released; “Rock & Roll b/w Four Sticks”, ironically, their most famous song “Stairway To Heaven”, is on this LP & was Never a single therefore it was Never a Hit on The Billboard Charts however it does hold the distinction of one of the biggest FM Radio Tracks of all time & being based on the ‘SPIRIT’ song “Taurus” from Jan ’68. This LP contains, by far my favorite “LZ” song “Battle Of Evermore” written from the book “Lord Of The Rings” with the 1st & only outside guest artist, ‘Fairport Convention’ singer Sandy Denny (1947 -1978; UK) singing opposite of Plant, in concert Jones performed Denny’ part.

> Take You To The Movies: 1973 <
   The band’s 5th LP ‘Houses Of The Holy’ is released on 28 Mar 1973, with the single “Over The Hills & Far Away b/w Dancin Days” once again releasing a 2nd single from the same LP,”D’yer Mak’er b/w The Crunge” is released in Dec ’73 & hits #20 on the charts, the band’s 4th highest charting single ever. Strangely the title track is left off of this release & will be saved for the following LP.  The band’s 3rd Minn. Appearance is on:

 

9 Jul 1973 Monday St. Paul Civic Center:
Rock and Roll
Celebration Day
Black Dog
Over The Hills & Far Away
Misty Mountain Hop
Since I’ve Been Loving You
No Quarter
Song Remains The Same
Rain Song
Dazed and Confused
Stairway To Heaven
Moby Dick
Heartbreaker
Whole Lotta Love
Communication Breakdown

> Swan Song: 1975 <

The band took some time off & opened their own Record Label “Swan Song” (with the image of Robert Plant as a Pegasus for the label) ‘Physical Graffiti’ their 1st double LP, is released on 24 Feb 1975 with 7 out-takes from: 1970 -73 & 8 new tracks with the cover song “Boogie With Stu” the single from this LP is “Trampled Under Foot b/w Black Country Woman “ which hits #38 on the charts in May ’75. From early on Manager Grant struck a deal that the band could have the most extravagant covers & the label would cover the cost, this one is no exception, a die-cut cover with a 6 page inner sleeve.  Since the band has been away for over a year, Plant does an interview on the TV Show “Midnight Special” on 14 Nov 1975. The band’s 4th Minn. appearance was on:

18 Jan 1975 Friday Met Center Bloomington:
Rock and Roll
Sick Again
Over The Hills & Far Away
When the Levee Breaks

Song Remains the Same
Rain Song
Kashmir
No Quarter
Trampled Under Foot
Moby Dick
Stairway To Heaven
Whole Lotta Love
Black Dog

> When We Last Return Again: 1976 <

The band’s 7th LP (& my personal favorite) ‘Presence’ is released on 31 Mar 1976, it is the 1st Led Zeppelin album to contain No Cover songs, there was one out-take “10 Ribs & All-Carrot Pod” the single released from the LP is “Candy Store Rock b/w Royal Orleans” to promote this LP there was an actual “The Object” made & sent out to promoters, Radio Stations & Recordshops, & as far as I know the 1st Promo-Video made for a “LZ” song is aired on the TV Show “Whistle Test” on 17 Jan 1976 , the song “Achilles Last Stand”. An interesting & little know fact while this LP was being recorded, Deep Purple’s ‘Come Taste The Band’ was also being recorded at the same time in the same studio &  Plant & Tommy Bolin (1951-1976) put together a Pub-band performing old stands in the area of W. Germany & Switzerland to pass their time in Europe.

 

Deciding not to tour in ’76 the band release tier 1st “Live” album ‘Song Remains The Same’  is released on 22 Oct 1976, (But recorded on 27-29 July 1973 in NYC @ Madison Square Garden) now this LP is essential to the fans, for the simple fact of how vastly different the band played their music live vs. their studio recorded versions. This title also saw a Theatrical Film Release (also on VHS & then DVD) containing 5 songs NOT on the LP, however the album contained 1 song Not found in the Film & 2 songs  in the film were shorter versions . The band makes its 5th & then their final appearances in Minn. on;

 

12 April 1977 Tuesday Met Center Bloomington

13 April 1977 Wednesday  St. Paul Civic Center:
Song Remains the Same
Sick Again
Nobody’s Fault But Mine
In My Time Of Dying
Since I’ve Been Loving You
No Quarter
Ten Years Gone
Battle Of Evermore
Going To California
Black Country Woman
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
White Summer/Black Mountain Side
Kashmir
Moby Dick
Page’s Guitar Solo
Achilles Last Stand
Stairway to Heaven
Encore:
Rock and Roll
Black Dog
Trampled Under Foot

 

> In Seconds Of Release: 1979 <

After a 2 year sabbatical, the band return with a new LP,  ‘In Through The Out Door’ is released on 15 Aug 1979 with their 5th highest charting single “Fool In The Rain b/w Hot Dog “ which reaches #21 in Feb ’80. However due to Bonham’s struggle with alcoholism & Page’s heroin addiction, this final studio LP is primarily a Jones & Plant album (evidence to this can be heard on Plant’s 1st solo effort in Jun ’82). In another cool LP cover event, this particular album has 6 different covers, concealed in a brown paper bag (a view of the perspective of each person pictured in the bar) some covers were only sent to certain areas of the country, ex. New York, Los Angles, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver & Minneapolis all received different amounts of certain covers, which were identified by the letters A-F on the spine of the LP & a colored dot on the outside of the brown paper bag, the inside sleeve was-is a water color art like a children’s book. The last concert for Led Zeppelin was on 7 July 1980 in W. Germany, as John Bonham choked on his own vomit in his sleep on early on Thurs. 25 Sep 1980. The band held a press conference in Dec ’80 to announce they would no longer continue as a band.

The final original release from the band is ‘Coda’ on 19 Nov 1982, however this is essentially a “Contractual Obligation” record to fulfill their record contract to Atlantic & pay on their Tax debts, it contains 3 songs from ’70 & ’78 & 1 each from ’72 & ’76 including 2 cover songs “We’re Gonna Groove” & “I Can’t Quit You Baby”

So there it was … The Legend that Is LED ZEPPELIN.

Celebrating my 6th year of writing this Column for “BUZZ” & 8 years of Mr. Zero’s 55113 on 14 April.

Tune into my Guest DJ Spot on the KFAI 90.3 FM & 106.7AM Radio Show “The Pop-Shop” Thurs 20 April 2017 from 10- Midnight.

See you on the other side …. MrZerr0

Mr. Zero’s

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