Neil Diamond, The #21 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"This Diamond shines like no other."

"Neil's songwriting is incredible."

"His voice is God gifted and emotions behind his singing incomparable.

"Favorite male singer of all-time."

"Gorgeous man, gorgeous singer, gorgeous music."

"Neil is one of the best performers ever."

"What a talented man and a talented writer!"

"A remarkable 50-year career full of legendary songs.  Neil Diamond is an American icon who did it his way."

"A legend.  That voice is awesome."

"Neil has a voice that could make a person almost cry.  His songs were so perfect for every generation."

"I love this man.  Tremendous talent."

"How beautiful are his songs!  OMG--Powerful!"

"Incredible singer/songwriter!"

"Neil Diamond is one of the best singer/songwriters of all-time."

"His music is terrific.  He is his own performer with his own vision."

"I really don't think it is humanly possible for anyone to be cooler that Neil Diamond."

"Neil Diamond is an American cultural treasure."

Neil Diamond was born in Brooklyn, New York, attending Erasmus Hall High School.  He sang in the Freshman Chorus and Choral Club together with classmate Barbara Streisand.  He then went to Abraham Lincoln High School, where he was a member of the fencing team.  Neil received his first guitar at age 16, and after seeing folk singer Pete Seeger at a concert while at Surprise Lake Camp in New York, Neil was inspired to write his own songs.

After graduation, Diamond worked as a waiter in the Catskills, where he met Jaye Posner, who would later become his wife.  Neil attended New York University on a fencing scholarship as a pre-med major and was a member of the 1960 NCAA national championship fencing team.  When Neil was 10 credits away from graduating, Sunbeam Music Publishing offered him a 16-week job for $50 a week.  Neil accepted the job, but when that time ran out, he began writing and singing his own songs for demos.

But it was a struggle, and he was in and out of employment for seven years, existing on one sandwich a day for one of them.  

Neil and friend Jack Packer got a recording contract as Neil and Jack, and four singles, while unsuccessful, got good reviews.  Later in 1962, Neil signed a solo deal with Columbia Records.  But after an unsuccessful single, Columbia dropped him and Diamond went back to writing songs for the next seven years.

In 1963, Neil married Jaye Posner and they had two daughters, Marjorie and Elyn.  The two divorced in 1969.

Neil was able to sell just one song a week, barely enough to live on.  But he seemed to find the secret to great songwriting during this time.  "Something new began to happen," Diamond said to Ben Fong-Torres in an interview published in Rolling Stone magazine on September 23, 1976.  "I wasn't under the gun, and suddenly interesting songs began to happen, songs that had things none of the others did."

Diamond spent his early career at the Brill Building in New York City.  His first success as a songwriter came in November 1965 with "Sunday And Me", which Jay and the Americans turned into a Top 20 hit.  The Monkees recorded the Diamond songs "I'm A Believer", A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You, "Love To Love", and "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow).  "I'm A Believer" sold over one million copies within two days of its release and reached #1 for seven weeks.  

Diamond recorded these songs himself, but the cover versions were released before his own.  Other artists to record Diamond's music included Elvis Presley, Deep Purple, Cliff Richard, Lulu, and Mark Lindsay, former lead singer of Paul Revere & the Raiders.

 

In 1966, Diamond signed a recording contract with Bang Records.  He recorded "Solitary Man", which Neil describes as "an outgrowth of my despair" (at the time), as the lead single from his debut album The Feel of Neil Diamond.  It is the orchestral arrangement, and especially the horns, that is the backbone of the song.  It stalled at #55, and is one of The Top Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

Diamond opened for the Who and Herman's Hermits on tour.  Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, who worked with Neil in the Brill Building and had written "Chapel Of Love" for the Dixie Cups and "Be My Baby" for the Ronettes, mentored Neil and helped him with this song.  

"Cherry, Cherry" (at #6) gave Neil his first Top 10 hit.  The version that you hear above has no drums--it was recorded as a demo with the hand claps and when they added drums and horns, it didn't match the magic of the original, so it was the demo that was released.  Neil made his television debut performing this song on American Bandstand.

 

In 1967, Neil released the album Just For You, which contained the Top 10 hit "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon".

 

The follow-up was "Thank The Lord for the Nighttime", which peaked at #13.

Diamond felt inhibited by his label and he disagreed with their choices for single releases.  Neil wanted to release "Kentucky Woman" and "Shilo" but the label didn't feel they were strong enough.  Diamond tried to get out of his contract but that led to a series of lawsuits which kept him away from writing, and his record sales slumped.  Neil would finally win his court battles with Bang, but not until 1977, although a judge said he could sign with a new label in the meantime.

 

So in March of 1968, Diamond signed with Uni Records, which later was absorbed into the parent MCA.  Around this time, Bang Records relented and released first "Kentucky Woman", but they didn't put the power of their promotion behind it.  It is another of The Top Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.  

Diamond released the album Velvet Gloves and Spit, his first release on Uni.  The album was re-released in 1970 with a new version of "Shilo", a song about a young boy creating an imaginary friend.  Neil has said it is partially about himself when he was younger.

Diamond wrote this song as a tribute to growing up in Brooklyn.  Although he went to nine different schools by the time he was 16 as the family moved often to accommodate the job demands of his father, who was a dry goods salesman, Neil's formative years were in Brooklyn.  It was there that he took up guitar lessons and began songwriting after being inspired after a songwriting session with Pete Seeger at a summer camp in Northern New York.  He references his home, family, neighborhood and early years in school in "Brooklyn Roads".

 

Neil performed "Two-Bit Manchild" on July 2 of 1968 on Showcase 68 and released it as a single that month.  

 

In 1969, Diamond released the album Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show, and thanks to the great title song, he scored his first Gold album and he was on his way to superstardom.  Up to this point, Neil had been writing personal and introspective songs.  This song was about a character, which he could play on stage.  In the liner notes for the boxed set In My Lifetime, Diamond said "This recording became a hit and was to make a showman out of me."  

Although it did reach #5 in New Zealand and #9 in Canada, it's peak of #22 in the U.S. makes it another of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

Diamond released what has become his signature song, "Sweet Caroline" as a single.  Diamond wrote "Sweet Carolina" in a Memphis hotel.  It reached #3 in Canada and Australia and #4 in the U.S. and has now sold over two million copies and is played in nearly every sports stadium in the world.

The song was later added to reissues of the Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show album and renamed as Sweet Caroline.  

 

We also want to feature "Dig In" from the album.

Join us for Part Two!

Simon & Garfunkel, The #22 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

 

(Continued from Part Two)

 

But making it to superstardom takes more than talent, and in this case, Simon & Garfunkel got a big boost when director Mike Nichols became a huge fan of the duo.  Nichols asked Columbia exec Clive Davis for permission to license Simon & Garfunkel music for his upcoming movie The Graduate, and Simon wrote new songs for the film.  

One of the new songs, although incomplete, bowled Nichols over.  The song became "Mrs. Robinson", a #1 smash in 1968 and another of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.

The Graduate also highlighted "Sound Of Silence" and "Scarborough Fair", as those three songs played repeatedly during the movie.   "Mrs. Robinson" won both Record of the Year and Best Contemporary Pop Performance by a Duo or Group at the Grammy Awards.  Simon and Garfunkel then released the amazing album Bookends, which went to #1.    

"A Hazy Shade Of Winter" is another underrated song, stalling at #13.  

Bookends spent a total of seven weeks at #1, as the duo proved they could compete with the likes of the Beatles, the Doors, and the Rolling Stones.  Bookends was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards.

 

Next up was the fun "At The Zoo", which peaked at #16.  It was later licensed to zoos in the Bronx and San Francisco in the late 70's for television commercials.

Simon and Garfunkel shows were no longer in small clubs, and they were now sellout performances.  After recording songs for their next album, the duo performed at the Monterey Pop Festival. 

This song finds Simon wondering what he would have done had he been born 100 years earlier and he surmised he may have been a tailor.  The spoken word section "Good morning, Mr. Leitch.  Have you had a busy day?" is done by singer Beverley Martyn, who was friends with Donovan; hence the mention of Donovan's last name in the song.  "Fakin' It" also charted, peaking at #23.  

Members of the famous Wrecking Crew played on this song:  drummer Hal Blaine, bassist Joe Osborn and Larry Knechtel on organ.  It seems to gain in popularity each year as more people discover the promise of "America".

Garfunkel, reflecting on this song in 2014, told The Mail on Sunday's Event magazine "It's amazing that a 24-year-old Paul Simon could write with such wisdom about an older person's perspective."  Here is the wonderful track "Old Friends".

 Producer John Simon and the musicians spent over 50 hours perfecting "Punky's Dilemma" in the studio before they were satisfied.

Garfunkel began acting, playing in the movie Catch-22.  After production, the duo reunited for a tour, with the U.S. portion ending in a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall in November.  They then worked with director Charles Grodin for a special on CBS, Songs of America.

 

In 1970, Simon and Garfunkel released their incredible final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water.  Another of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era* was the lead single--"The Boxer".  One of the duo's masterpieces, the incredible finished product took over 100 hours to record to make it sound the way it does.

The chorus was recorded in St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University in New York and it's tiled dome had great acoustics.  Blaine was responsible for the famous thundering drum.  Producer Roy Halee placed the drums in front of an elevator in the Columbia offices.  Blaine recalled in the 2011 documentary Making of Bridge Over Troubled Water that he pounded the drum at the end of the "Lie la lie" vocals playing in his headphones.  Blaine said that at one point, an elderly security guard was startled when he came out of the elevator to hear the thundering drums.

 

The album topped charts in 10 countries, including a 10-week stay atop the U.S. chart and an amazing 35 weeks at #1 in the U.K.   It not only was the best selling album in 1970, 1971, and 1972, but the biggest-selling album of all-time to that point in the U.K.

Bridge Over Troubled Water has now sold over 25 million copies, and is one of The Top 100 Albums of the Rock Era*.  Although Simon felt his initial writing of the title song was better than most of his songs, he didn't fully appreciate it until Garfunkel and Columbia head Clive Davis convinced him to write the legendary third verse.  It is now one of the most recorded songs in history.  

The classic title song is one of a select few to top charts in both the U.S., where it spent six weeks at #1, and the U.K., where it led the way for three weeks.  "Bridge Over Troubled Water " is another of The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era*, ranked #4.

 

The duo toured Britain playing to huge crowds.  The album captured six awards at the Grammys, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Contemporary Song, Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists and Best Engineered Recording (for the title song).  "Bridge Over Troubled Water was also nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.  "Cecilia" hit #1 in the Netherlands, #2 in Germany, #4 in the United States and #6 in Australia.

 

"El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" is from a song Peruvian songwriter Daniel Robles recorded in 1913.  It was released as a single in some countries and topped charts in Germany, Australia and the Netherlands.

 Simon & Garfunkel, the second best duo of the Rock Era, were greatly influenced and inspired by the harmonies of the Rock Era's #3 duo, the Everly Brothers.  Paul and Art do a great version of "Bye Bye Love" on the album, and interestingly enough, the Everlys often appeared with Simon & Garfunkel on reunion tours when the two legendary duos stood on stage and sang it.

 Simon wrote "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" for Garfunkel, who majored in architecture at Columbia University and was a fan of architect Frank Lloyd Wright.  Paul also personalized it with "I remember the nights we'd harmonize till dawn, I never laughed so long, so long, so long...  The repeated use of "so long" could be interpreted as a goodbye to Art.  

 

"The Only Living Boy In New York" reflects Simon's frustration that while he was toiling away in New York City on the album, Garfunkel was in Mexico at the request of Mike Nichols to act in the movie Catch-22.

 "Baby Driver" is another standout on this amazing album.

"Keep The Customer Satisfied", about the difficulties of constant touring, was the flip of "Bridge Over Troubled Water", but has gained much in stature over the years.

In 1970, Simon & Garfunkel had never been more popular--they were at their peak.  But musical differences had caused a riff in their relationship, and Paul and Art broke apart following this last amazing album.

 

The duo have reunited several times, first to perform a benefit for presidential candidate George McGovern in 1972.  After visiting a recording studio with John Lennon and Harry Nilsson in 1975, they hoped to make a more permanent reunion, but only one song, "My Little Town" resulted.  The single, included on both Simon's album Still Crazy After All These Years as well as Garfunkel's album Breakaway, reached #9.  

"My Little Town" was nominated at the Grammy Awards for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.  Later that year, Simon & Garfunkel performed a medley of three songs on Saturday Night Live, and two years later, Garfunkel joined Paul on the television show The Paul Simon Special.

 

In 1978, Simon and Garfunkel teamed up with James Taylor for their remake of "(What A) Wonderful World", which reached #17.

In 1981, the pair famously reunited for The Concert in Central Park  which drew over 500,000 people, one of the largest concert audiences in history.  Warner Brothers released the live album The Concert in Central Park, which sold over two million copies.

The concert led to a tour on the heels of renewed interest in their music, but the relationship once again soured, and the pair performed while rarely speaking to each other.

In 1990, Simon & Garfunkel were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  In 1993, they toured the Far East.

In 2003, the duo were honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys and after performing, they went on their biggest tour in years, playing 40 dates and earning an estimated $123 million.  They performed 20 more dates in 2004 and toured Europe as well.  They concluded their European leg with a concert in front of the Colosseum in Rome, which drew 600,000 fans.

In 2005, they performed at a Hurricane Katrina benefit concert in Madison Square Garden, and toured Australia and Asia in 2009.

The duo has sold over 100 million albums and won 10 Grammy Awards.  "Bridge Over Troubled Water", "Mrs. Robinson", and "The Sound Of Silence" as well as the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme have all been accepted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Simon & Garfunkel posted 20 career hits, with 8 of those going Top 10 and three #1's that were all among the biggest hits of the Rock Era.  

Simon & Garfunkel, The #22 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Two

 

(Continued from Part One)

 Simon and Garfunkel asserted more creative control for the third album, and the result was the acclaimed Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.  They released "The Dangling Conversation" as the opening single, and it peaked at #25, becoming one of The Top Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.  It may have been too deep for the mainstream audience at the time.  

Simon got together with Bruce Woodley of the Seekers to write two songs in 1966.  One was "Red Rubber Ball", which was a #2 hit for the Cyrkle.  The other was this one, which the Seekers also recorded for their 1967 album Seekers Seen in Green.  Here is Simon & Garfunkel with "Cloudy", a song they performed at the Hollywood Bowl in 1968. 

 

In concerts, Garfunkel introduced this song by telling the story of a photo shoot for their debut album Wednesday Morning 3 A.M.  The two posed for over 500 pictures in front of the subway station at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street in New York City before they got the perfect shot they wanted.  After they packed up the cameras and guitars and were leaving, Art noticed for the first time that the subway wall that was in the background the whole time contained what he termed "an old familiar suggestion" and thus the pictures were unusable.  

The experience inspired Simon to write "A Poem On The Underground Wall".

 

The city mentioned in this song is Scarborough, a coastal town in England.  The "Scarborough Fair" drew traders and entertainers from all over the country in Medieval times, and Bards sang this song when they traveled from town to town.  The author is unknown.  "Scarborough Fair" gave the duo three hits from the album, and with a peak of #11, it too is one of The Top Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 

"A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into...) name-checks the U.S. Secretary of Defense at the time, as well as several others in this ingenious song.

 

Paul has said in interviews that one song he wished he'd written was "Silent Night". Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous events of 1966 is this sad but poignant version of the song which juxtaposes the sad commentary on world events with the warm sentiments of the Christmas season.  It is called "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night".

 "Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall" could portray the potential insignificance of our lives, or it could mean that even creations are not forever and that everything is subject to change.  In any case, it is another outstanding set of lyrics.

 

In "Patterns", Simon uses a dreamy musical background to be the bed for some heavy lyrics that imply that everything is preordained, that we are all following a set of instructions in living our lives.  To make his point, Simon uses everyday images and situations wrapped in metaphors that show that even though we may think we are making progress, we are actually going around in circles and are trapped by the same mistakes and factors as others who have gone before.   

 

"For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her", which features Simon's 12-string guitar as the only instrumentation, as well as the gorgeous vocal from Garfunkel, is another highlight of the album.  It was released as a single two years after the duo's breakup.

Don't miss more timeless music from Simon & Garfunkel in Part Three!

Simon & Garfunkel, The #22 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"These boys were geniuses. “the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls"

"The best duo ever. Their voices blended perfectly."

Sensational!"

"One of the best groups of all-time. Absolute legends."

"Their music is timeless."

"One of the all-time greats!"

Unbelievable chemistry"

"Simply brilliant."

"They are fantastic!"

"Gold, pure gold."

"They were born to sing together ❤. Their voices are amazing."

"I think these are the best harmonies ever made."

"The more time passes, the more one realizes how great they were and how great they sounded."

"They sang the anthems of a complete generation (or 2). We should cherish this music that was sang with such beautifull harmony and social relevance."

"This is what magic sounds like."

"The best duo in history."

"The masters of harmony. Amazing, legendary act."

"These guys will never be matched. True legends."

"They are so incredible and will never be forgotten."

This legendary duo of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel grew up three blocks apart from each other and met while in grade school in Queens, New York, in 1953, and they attended the same junior high and high schools as well.  Both were captivated by rock and roll, especially the music of the Everly Brothers.  

The two initially started a doo-wop group with three other friends known as the Peptones and learned to harmonize.  Paul and Art performed as a duo at school dances.  They wrote their first song together in 1956--"The Girl For Me".  While both were 15, they wrote "Hey Schoolgirl" and recorded it at Sanders Recording Studio in Manhattan.  Promoter Sid Prosen heard the song and signed the duo to Big Records.

They began their recording career as Tom & Jerry, and "Hey Schoolgirl" sold over 100,000 copies and charted on Billboard.  They earned a spot on American Bandstand, but two further releases were not successful.  Unsure of how their career was going to go, they made the wise move of attending college, with Simon going to Queens College and Art going to Columbia University.

Both recorded songs as solo performers, and Simon wrote songs alongside Carole King and Gerry Goffin.  Paul graduated college and joined Art at Columbia to once again perform together under the name Kane & Garr at Gerde's Folk City in Greenwich.

It was these performances that were heard by Tom Wilson, an A& R man and producer at Columbia Records.  Simon and Garfunkel auditioned in the studio singing "Sound Of Silence", and Wilson persuaded his boss to sign the duo to a recording contract.

 

In 1964, they released their debut album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., under the name of Simon & Garfunkel.  "Bleeker Street", a famous street in Greenwich Village where Folk music was red-hot, is one of the earliest songs the pair wrote together.

 

The title song tells of a man who has committed a crime and lies awake knowing that he will have to leave his lover forever in the morning.  As she sleeps next to him not knowing of the night's events, he clings to that precious moment, wishing time would stand still so he doesn't have to flee.  We never know what happened to him.  Here is "Wednesday Morning 3 A.M."

Another standout is "He Was My Brother", dedicated to Andrew Goodman, who was their friend and a classmate of Simon at Queens College.  Goodman volunteered in Freedom Summer in 1964 and was abducted and killed in the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in the evil county of Neshoba in Mississippi.  Goodman was simply there registering voters.  

Although there are a few prime cuts on the album, when it sold poorly, the duo disbanded again.  

Simon moved to England and began a solo career, playing small folk clubs with other artists including Al Stewart and Sandy Denny.  While in England, Paul met Cathy Chitty and the two became romantically involved.  By this time, Simon graduated from Brooklyn Law School and Garfunkel, having graduated from Columbia, pursued a master's degree in mathematics. 

Legend has it that unbeknownst to Simon and Garfunkel, Wilson overdubbed a song on their album ("The Sound Of Silence"), adding in electric guitar and drums, and released it as a single.  Incredibly, the song by a duo that was no longer together went to #1 nationally and sold over one million copies.  

When the shocked Simon and Garfunkel heard their song on the radio, they decided to get together and record another album, Sounds of Silence, which they released in 1966.  That surprise #1 song that essentially saved the careers of this legendary duo is now The #10 Song of the Rock Era*!

 

The duo chose "Homeward Bound" as a follow-up, which later appeared on their third album.  Simon wrote it while living in Brentwood, Essex, England.  He was traveling back from a show in Wigan and wrote the song while in Liverpool waiting for a connecting train.

 

The duo toured the country, and "I Am A Rock" rose to #3.  Simon isn't being autobiographical here, but the character in the song just wants to be alone, away from everyone and everything.

"Kathy's Song" is another popular track on the album.  Simon refers to "Kathy" in both "America" and "Homeward Bound".  Kathy is Kathy Chitty, the woman he met while he lived in England and the two had a serious love affair.  He wrote "Kathy's Song" while thinking of her and missing her in New York City.

"Richard Cory" is a song based on the poem of the same name by Edwin Arlington Robinson.  In Robison's poem, everyone was envious of Cory, believing he had it all--money, power, intelligence.  In reality, Cory had no friends, was extremely lonely, and ended up committing suicide.  In other words, money isn't all it's cracked up to be.

 

The duo's last four albums could serve as "Greatest Hits" packages for most artists, as they are loaded with high quality songs. Here is another amazing track--"April Come She Will".  The song, later included on "The Graduate" Soundtrack,  isunder two minutes, but Simon uses the months of the year to tell of a relationship that seemed promising at the beginning but faded with each passing month.

Paul's acoustic guitar playing gives us the instrumental, "Angi".

 

With "Somewhere They Can't Find Me", we find a unique experience in which the artist has reworked a previous song into something completely different.  This is in effect a remake of "Wednesday Morning 3 A.M.", the title song from the duo's first album.  The update takes a somber song and gives it a much rougher edge, built on the foundation of the instrumental you just heard, "Anji", but at a faster tempo laced with percussion and horns.  

Although the lyrics are basically the same, by rearranging the music and portraying a much different atmosphere, the listener is left with something completely different.  In this version, the protagonist doesn't seem to show any remorse, and his lover seems to catch him as he is leaving.  This interesting twist makes it much more difficult to feel empathy for the character than we did in the first version.  

Nevertheless, it shows the great artistic songwriting skill of someone who can, with just a slight change of the storytelling and different musical composition, offer the listener a completely different experience.

Much more from this sensational duo!

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.