Led Zeppelin, The #23 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

 

(Continued from Part Two)

Led Zeppelin played to a sold-out Shea Stadium in New York City, and three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden were filmed for the movie The Song Remains the Same, which was later released in 1976.

In 1974, the hard-working group took some much-needed rest from touring and began their own recording label, Swan Song.  The logo, based on a drawing by William Rimmer, features a figure of a winged human-like being that can be found on Led Zeppelin memorabilia.  The group not only were now able to promote their own music; they signed other artists to the label, most notably Bad Company.

 

The following year, Zeppelin released the double album Physical Graffiti as the debut release on Swan Song.  Eight of the album's 15 songs were recorded at Headley Grange.  "Trampled Under Foot" made it to #38 before being squished by the competition.

"Houses Of The Holy", the title of the predecessor to Physical Graffiti, was set to be on that album but bumped at the last minute.  So, the group included it here.

Physical Graffiti, like its predecessors, has sold the majority of its copies after the group brought up--they total up to 16 million now.   "Kashmir" is one of The Top Tracks of the Rock Era*.  Plant wrote it in 1973 while driving through the Sahara Desert en route to the National Festival of Folklore in Morocco.  All four members of the band agree it is one of the best songs they ever recorded.

The album cemented the band's stellar reputation for high-quality albums, and shortly after its release, all of the albums in their catalog at the time re-entered the Album chart in the U.S.  Now featuring an elaborate sound and light show, Led Zeppelin toured North America and played five sold-out nights at Earls Court Arena in London.

The group planned another tour of the U.S. in the fall of 1975, but in August, Plant and wife Maureen were badly injured in a car crash while in Greece.  Robert suffered a broken ankle, while a blood transfusion was needed to save Maureen's life.  Plant recuperated over the next two months with Bonham and Page nearby.  The band used this time to write a good deal of the material for their next album.

In 1976, Led Zeppelin released the album Presence.  It eventually sold over three million copies, but wasn't able to stand up to previous efforts.

As they could not tour because of Plant's injuries, the group was able to finish their concert film The Song Remains the Same, and the soundtrack has sold over four million copies.      

Unable to tour in the U.K. due to the group being on tax exile, Zeppelin toured North America again in 1977.  Their show at the Silverdome in Michigan on April 30 set a record at the time for the largest attendance of a single concert (76,229).  Financially, the tour was a big success, but not without problems.  

Over 70 people were arrested in Cincinnati when fans tried to crash Riverfront Coliseum for two sold-out shows; others tried to get in by throwing rocks and bottles through the glass doors.  A "rain or shine" concert in Tampa Stadium in Florida was cut short because of a severe thunderstorm, and fans rioted, resulted in more arrests and injuries.  In July, Bonham and members of Led Zeppelin's staff were arrested after a show in Oakland, California when a member of promoter Bill Graham's staff was badly beaten during the concert.

The next day's show in Oakland represented Led Zeppelin's final live appearance in the U.S.  Two days afterward, while waiting for a show at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, Plant received word that his five-year-old son, Karac, had died from a stomach virus.  The group cancelled the remainder of the tour.

 

In 1978, the band recorded the best album they'd done in years, and one of the best of their career at Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden.  Zeppelin released In Through the Out Door in 1979, another #1 smash in both the U.S. and the U.K.  The amazing album once again helped all previous albums onto the Album chart simultaneously.  "Fool In The Rain" reached #21.

 

The album is now over six million in sales.  "All My Love" is a tribute to Plant's son Karac, who died when Zeppelin was on tour.

 

Led Zep headlined two concerts at the Knebworth Music Festival, playing to approximately 104,000 fans on the first night.  The group toured Europe in June and July, but on June 27, Bonham collapsed onstage in Nuremberg, Germany, and was rushed to the hospital.   The Country-flavored instrumental "Hot Dog" showed the versatility of the band.

"Carouselambra" is about how the band had drifted apart by this time.  Page and Bonham often stayed apart from the others and were typically late to recording sessions for the album, leaving Plant and Jones to do most of the work.

 Jones did much of the songwriting of "South Bound Saurez", which is built on his keyboard work.

 

"I'm Gonna' Crawl" is the last song Bonham played on.

 

Page used a drone effect with a Gizmotron to create the guitar sound on "In The Evening", ranked near the top of The Top 100 Tracks of the Rock Era*.

The band readied for a tour of North America, the first since the 1977 tour was cut short.  On September 24, assistant Rex King picked up Bonham to begin rehearsals at Bray Studios.  En route, Bonham insisted on stopping for breakfast, where he poured down four quadruple vodkas.  Bonham continued to drink heavily upon arriving at the studio.   After a long day of rehearsals, the band retired to Page's house (the Old Mill House in Clewer, Windsor).

After midnight, Bonham had fallen asleep and was taken to bed.  At 1:45 the next afternoon, new tour manager Benji LeFevre and Jones found Bonham dead.  The official statement showed the cause of death as asphyxiation from vomit.  The entire North American tour was cancelled.

There were rumors that Bonham would be replaced but in a December 4 press release, the group announced 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."

In the years that followed, Plant recorded several solo albums, and Page and Plant formed the Honeydrippers, which also included Jeff Beck, Paul Shaffer, and Nile Rodgers.  

Coda, a collection of outtakes and tracks not previously available, was released in 1982.  

In 1985, Page, Plant, and Jones reunited for the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, playing a set featuring drummers Phil Collins and Tony Thompson and bassist Paul Martinez.  The surviving members of the band were not happy with their performance.  

The three reunited again in 1988 for the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert with Bonham's son Jason on drums.  Again, Page, Plant, and Jones were not happy with the result.  

The group released the Led Zeppelin Box Set in 1990, featuring remastered tracks, that has now topped 10 million in sales.  The album reached #7.  Led Zeppelin Boxed Set 2 was released in 1993. 

Page and Plant reunited in 1994 for a MTV show and released the album No Quarter:  Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded.  The pair also went on a world tour the next year.  Jones said he wasn't even told of the reunion.

In 1995, Led Zeppelin were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and played a brief set with Jason Bonham once again on drums.

In 1997, the two-disc set Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions, mostly recorded in 1969 and 1971, was released.  Page and Plant released the album Walking into Clarksdale in 1998, but a planned tour was cancelled due to disappointing sales.

In 2003, the triple live album How the West Was Won was released, and Led Zeppelin DVD, a six-hour set of live footage, became the best-selling music DVD in history.  

The group received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammy Awards, the only award they ever received.  In 2007, the compilation album Mothership was released.

The supergroup reunited once again in 2007 for the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in London, with Jason Bonham again on drums.  20 million requests for tickets were submitted online.

Plant recorded and toured with Allison Krauss, and commitments for that project prevented a full reunion of Led Zeppelin.

The band received Kennedy Center Honors in 2012.  A film of the London performance, Celebration Day, premiered in 2012.  The live album peaked at #4 in the U.K. and #9 in the U.S.  

Page announced that he had been working on remastering the entire discography of the group, and all previously-released projects were re-released in the years to come.

To celebrate the band's 50th anniversary, Page, Plant and Jones issued an official illustrated book in 2018.

Led Zeppelin had 10 career hits, with one reaching the Top 10.  Five albums by the group have achieved Diamond status, while 14 have gone Multi-Platinum and four Platinum.  They have sold over 200 million albums worldwide.