Led Zeppelin IV @55- Jimmy Page, Robert Plant
It is one of rock history’s most popular, as well as most important, releases from Led Zeppelin, now marking its fifty-fifth anniversary year. Officially untitled (Jimmy Page explains why here), what became known as Led Zeppelin IV forged the molten metal template for all hard rock that followed in the Seventies. Yet Page’s superb acoustic guitar, mandolin, plus the voice of Robert Plant that all weave and soar like eagles on “Battle of Evermore” (with the late Sandy Denny from Fairport Convention guesting), “Going to California”, and “Stairway to Heaven” provided the contrast Led Zeppelin mastermind Jimmy Page calls “light and shade”, emulated by pop, rock, and country musicians ever since.
Anyone assuming that Led Zeppelin‘s allure was limited to the decade of the Seventies, or even the 20th century, simply has not been paying attention: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction 1995; Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award 2005; a single performance in November 2007 at London’s O2 Arena had six MILLION ticket requests; recipients for its lifetime contribution to American culture at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2012, awarded by US President Barack Obama; and winners of the Grammy Award in 2014 for the recording of that O2 concert. In 2014 the first three Led Zeppelin albums were re-issued as deluxe expanded editions, with all three debuting in the Top Ten on Billboard‘s album sales chart! The impressive reissue campaign continued with deluxe expanded remastered editions of one of the biggest sellers in rock history, Led Zeppelin IV (23 million sold just in the US; that’s third best all time), with single, deluxe two disc, and super deluxe boxed set versions on compact disc, vinyl record, and digital download available of each.
In this classic rock interview Jimmy Page and Robert Plant reveal the details of making “Rock and Roll”,”Misty Mountain Hop”, “Going to California”,”When the Levee Breaks”, “Black Dog”, and “Stairway to Heaven”. Page and Plant are my guests here In the Studio. –Redbeard
