46 years ago today, one of the most famous rock ‘n’ roll bands of all time released one of the most famous self-titled debuts of all time. In fact, it’s so famous that we’re not going to write anything else about it. Good night, folks!
Nah, just kidding. We have to write at least a little bit about the anniversary of Led Zeppelin’s first album’s being released, because if we don’t, we’ll never hear the end of it.
With that said, we also know that most fans already know the story about how the album came to pass, but if we’re going to do this thing, we’re going to cover that, too. Picture it: the Yardbirds had effectively broken up, with guitarist Jimmy Page – the last man standing – left with both the rights to the name and the contractual obligation to perform a handful of concerts in Scandinavia. Faced with a sudden need to pull together a new lineup, Page drafted the three gentlemen whose names you already know so well: bassist John Paul Jones, drummer John Bonham, and frontman Robert Plant. They did the concert dates, they played some Yardbirds songs, and then they also road-tested some new material, including “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You,” “Communication Breakdown,” “How Many More Times,” “I Can’t Quit You Baby,” and “You Shook Me.” Not long after they returned to the UK, they changed their name to Led Zeppelin, headed over to Olympic Studios in London, and settled in to record their first album.