Led Zeppelin IV, often called heavy metal's greatest album, kicks off an exciting new series that takes a fresh, in-depth look at some of the greatest works from the most influential artists of the rock era. Fans may know the songs, but wait until they hear the stories behind them! The music contained in Led Zeppelin IV is part of the soundtrack to a generation. Released in 1971, it rocks, stomps, glides, and shimmers as it covers all the bases the band had mastered: heavy blues, barroom rock and roll, mandolin-driven folk, epic Tolkien-infused mysticism, acoustic Americana, and more. Certified gold one week after its release, the album went to #2 on the U.S. charts and #1 in the U.K. It remained on U.S. charts for 259 weeks. There probably isn't an aspiring rock guitarist anywhere who hasn't plucked out the notes and chords to "Stairway to Heaven" or "Black Dog," and yet many music lovers are unaware of the intriguing backstory to this genre-defining work. To this day there is confusion about what is the actual title of the album. And what about those mysterious symbols? Barney Hoskyns pierces those veils and more as he tells the fascinating story of the evocative set that cemented Led Zeppelin's standing as the biggest, baddest, loudest band in the world—and that remains today the apex of their art.

In this wickedly entertaining and thoroughly informed homage to one of rock music's towering pinnacles, Erik Davis investigates the magic—black or otherwise—that surrounds this album. Carefully peeling the layers from each song, Davis reveals their dark and often mystical roots—and leaves the reader to decide whether [FOUR SYMBOLS] is some form of occult induction or just an inspired, brilliantly played rock album. Excerpt: Stripping Led Zeppelin's famous name off the fourth record was an almost petulant attempt to let their Great Work symbolically stand on its own two feet. But the wordless jacket also lent the album charisma. Fans hunted for hidden meanings, or, in failing to find them, sensed a strange reflection of their own mute refusal to communicate with the outside world. This helped to create one of the supreme paradoxes of rock history: an esoteric megahit, a blockbuster arcanum. Stripped of words and numbers, the album no longer referred to anything but itself: a concrete talisman that drew you into its world, into the frame. All the stopgap titles we throw at the thing are lame: Led Zeppelin IV, [Untitled], Runes, Zoso, Four Symbols. In an almost Lovecraftian sense, the album was nameless, a thing from beyond, charged with manna. And yet this uncanny fetish was about as easy to buy as a jockstrap.

Though Led Zeppelin's fourth album was actually released with a cryptic title, it has come to be known as Led Zeppelin IV. Perhaps best known for its hit "Stairway to Heaven," the album remains a favorite of classic rock fans of all generations. Rolling Stone has even placed it on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Drawing from more than 30 years of documentation, interviews, and recorded footage, this book delivers unprecedented accuracy. Titles: * Black Dog * Four Sticks * Misty Mountain Hop * Rock and Roll * Stairway to Heaven * When the Levee Breaks

“In this authoritative, unsparing history of the biggest rock group of the 1970s, Spitz delivers inside details and analysis with his well-known gift for storytelling.” —PEOPLE From the author of the iconic, bestselling history of The Beatles, the definitive account of arguable the greatest rock band of all time. Rock star. Whatever that term means to you, chances are it owes a debt to Led Zeppelin. No one before or since has lived the dream quite like Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham. In Led Zeppelin, Bob Spitz takes their full measure, separating myth from reality with his trademark connoisseurship and storytelling flair. From the opening notes of their first album, the band announced itself as something different, a collision of grand artistic ambition and brute primal force, of English folk music and African American blues. Spitz’s account of their artistic journey, amid the fascinating ecosystem of popular music, is irresistible. But the music is only part of the legend: Led Zeppelin is also the story of how the sixties became the seventies, of how innocence became decadence, of how rock took over. Led Zeppelin wasn’t the first band to let loose on the road, but as with everything else, they took it to an entirely new level. Not all the legends are true, but in Spitz’s careful accounting, what is true is astonishing and sometimes disturbing. Led Zeppelin gave no quarter, and neither has Bob Spitz. Led Zeppelin is the long-awaited full reckoning the band richly deserves.

Think about Led Zeppelin and the image coming to mind would be of the band straddling the world as the archetypal 'rock gods', defining the 1970s like no other artist did. Dig deeper though, and there's a lot more to Zeppelin than hard rock and bluster, with folk and blues strongly threading through their catalogue from the very beginning. This book digs into every Led Zeppelin track recorded during their decade-long existence before John Bonham's death brought down the curtain, by way of facts, anecdotes, analysis and a small dose of humour here and there. From the likes of ‘Kashmir’, ‘Stairway To Heaven’ and ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and their ilk, which have entered the public consciousness, down to the deeper cuts which only the fans will know, this book covers them all, while also taking a look into the stories behind the often ground breaking cover art, and the way the albums came to be recorded. Celebrating the triumphs and the arguable lower points, this is an alternative history of the band, told via the most important element – the music itself – which has influenced so many down the years. The history of led Zeppelin is a wild ride. This book shows you why. Steve Pilkington is a music journalist, editor and broadcaster. He was editor in chief for the Classic Rock Society magazine Rock Society and is now co-administrator of the rock website Velvet Thunder as well as presenting a weekly internet radio show called A Saucerful Of Prog. Before taking on this work full-time, he spent years writing for fanzines and an Internet music review site on a part-time basis. He has recently published books on Deep Purple and Rainbow, The Rolling Stones and Iron Maiden, all for Sonicbond, and has also written the official biography of legendary guitarist Gordon Giltrap. He lives in Wigan, Lancashire, UK.

Take a deep dive into the innovative recording history of Led Zeppelin, in this newest addition to the fan-favorite All the Songs series. Fifty years after their first practice in a Soho basement, Led Zeppelin continues to fascinate new generations of listeners. While their legendary back-stage debauchery has been written about extensively in other books, All the Songs is all about the music, detailing the studio magic and inspiration that made all nine albums go platinum, including Led Zeppelin IV which was certified x23 platinum and has sold more than 37 million copies worldwide. Studio stories will include their productive time at Headley Grange in Wales, a poorly-heated former poorhouse where they recorded parts of Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV, Houses of the Holy and Physical Graffiti. Andhow the first album was recorded in three weeks but their second took six months, done while the band was on a world tour. They carried the masters of the recording session in a steamer trunk wherever they went. Out of these chaotic sessions came the "Whole Lotta Love," which was finished in New York with Hendrix engineer Eddie Kramer helping create the psychedelic middle part, as well as "The Lemon Song," which was cut live in the studio. Page worked feverishly with Kramer to mix the LP on a primitive 12-channel Altec board in a two-day span. Fans will also learn the genesis of their lyrics, the inspiration for their album covers, the instruments used, and the contributions of engineers such as Andy Johns, who helped create the iconic drum sound on "When the Levee Breaks" by recording Bonham at the bottom of a stairwell.

Rock legends Led Zeppelin remain a colossal music force with songs at once mystical, heavy, traditional and highly original. The Rough Guide to Led Zeppelin tells the story of the life and afterlife of this most extraordinary supergroup. Features include: The Story: from the first meeting of Plant and Page to the untimely death of John Bonham, detailing the magic, mayhem and excesses of the era. The Music: the band’s fifty best songs unpicked, plus coverage of blues influences, bootlegs, solo careers, and the best Jimmy Page guitar solos and most outstanding Robert Plant vocals. The Passengers: profiles of collaborators and colleagues including Roy Harper and Mickie Most. The Cargo: Zeppelin films, places, myths and memorabilia, books, websites and the afterlife of “Stairway to Heaven.” It’s a whole lotta Zep...

Led Zeppelin rocketed to fame in 1969 with their first album, simply titled Led Zeppelin, and the band's name has since been synonymous with the best rock and roll ever recorded. Their iconic "Stairway to Heaven" is regarded as one of rock and roll's most influential songs. Once considered rock and roll's bad boys, they are now one of the genre's elder statesmen. Through stunning photographs, informative sidebars, and revealing direct quotations from the band members themselves, this entertaining biography tells the story of four men from England who just wanted to play rock and roll, and it covers Zeppelin's accomplishments and challenges through the years.

What was the name of Led Zeppelin’s airplane and how was it customised for the band? Why is there no ‘a’ in ‘Led’? What led to the death of John Bonham? What has J.R.R. Tolkien got to do with the band? And which Japanese city awarded the band with a medal after they played a benefit gig there? This fantastic book features more than one hundred facts about Led Zeppelin, one of the most highly respected rock bands in history. With the facts separated into chapters covering the members of the band, its history, the albums and more, you are sure to learn some fascinating new information about the band. So whether you’re a fan from back in the day or are only now beginning to appreciate classic rock music, this is the perfect book for you!

In this exhaustive and insightful reference text, rock writer and cultural critic George Case details the key names, dates, figures, and features of one of the biggest and most mythologized rock-and-roll groups of all time: Led Zeppelin. Here, finally, are the answers to the puzzles that have haunted fans for over four decades – puzzles such as the meaning of Led Zep's enigmatic album covers; the truth about leader Jimmy Page's involvement with the occult; a breakdown of the sometimes murky roots of their greatest songs; firm data on their musical instruments, live performances, and studio productions; and sordid specifics of the band's infamously debauched private lives. But here, too, is a deeply reflective analysis of why Led Zeppelin's music has endured as long as it has, and of how Led Zeppelin's mystique has only grown in the years since their official disbanding. Placing the group in the context of their time and place, Case scrupulously compares and contrasts their achievements with those of their influences, rivals, and followers. Led Zeppelin FAQ is not only an indispensable listener's companion to a classic rock act, but a considered history of rock and roll as a business, an art form, and a worldwide social phenomenon.