Overview
Objectives
- Identify the defining musical characteristics of hard rock
- Identify the important predecessors and early examples hard rock music and musicians
- Examine Led Zeppelin’s career
- Identify the defining musical characteristics of Led Zeppelin’s style
Led Zeppelin continued
In 1971, Led Zeppelin released their fourth album. They did not give it a title, but it is usually called Led Zeppelin IV (in keeping with the formula established by their first three albums) or ZoSo, which was a symbol that Page included in the design of the album. All of the songs on the album were written by the members of the band except "When the Levee Breaks ♫," which is a cover of a song by rural blues musician Memphis Minnie.
This album also contains "Stairway to Heaven ♫," which is not only Led Zeppelin’s most popular song, but also one of the most popular rock songs ever written. The opening acoustic guitar melody of "Stairway to Heaven ♫" is reminiscent of music from the Renaissance period. The guitar is soon joined by recorders. A recorder is an end-blown wooden instrument that was popular during the Renaissance period as well. Plant’s voice joins this instrumental texture for the first two minutes of the song. Then, electric guitar, electric piano, and bass supplement the acoustic instruments. The drums do not join until over four minutes into the song. Eventually, "Stairway to Heaven ♫" segues into a hard rock final section, complete with a screaming, blues-influenced electric guitar solo performed by Page and the definitive wailing vocal style of Plant. The eight-minute song concludes with Plant’s unaccompanied articulation of the song’s title, "She’s buying a stairway to heaven." Although it was never released as single, "Stairway to Heaven ♫" is regarded by critics and fans alike as one of the greatest rock songs ever written.
Led Zeppelin toured and performed extensively during the 1970s. They were one of the most popular live rock acts of the decade, and they sold more tickets than any other rock group, including the Rolling Stones. A 1976 concert in Pontiac, Michigan drew over 75,000 fans. Most of their live performances also featured acoustic sets, during which they would sit down to perform. They also sat closer to the audience during live sets than they stood to the audience during their electric sets. Although Led Zeppelin’s music often featured extraordinary feats of post-production and experimentation, the live acoustic sets offered them a chance to play music for their fans that had not been altered or manipulated in any way.
The group’s next album, Houses of the Holy (1973), contained synthesizers and a Mellotron. The album also contains no covers or adaptations; all of the music was written by the members of Led Zeppelin. In 1975, Led Zeppelin released the double album Physical Graffiti, and the popularity of this album led to a resurgence in popularity of all of the band’s previous albums. Soon after Physical Graffiti was released, the five earlier albums all returned to the Billboard Top 200 albums charts. This remarkable feat occurred again in 1978, when Led Zeppelin released their seventh album, In Through the Out Door.
In 1980, Bonham died of complications due to alcohol abuse. The three remaining members of Led Zeppelin elected to dissolve the band rather than attempt to replace Bonham with another drummer.
"["In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida"] was used in The Simpsons episode "Bart Sells His Soul," where Bart switches a hymn out for this song and convinces the Reverend Lovejoy it is penned by I. Ron Butterfly. The whole 17-minute version is played by the First Church of Springfield's exhausted church organist."
