The 20 greatest Led Zeppelin songs of all time
Their greatest hits as voted for by Planet Rock listeners
As part of Planet Rock's ‘Zeptember’ celebrations marking Led Zeppelin’s 50th anniversary in September 2018, we asked you to have your say and cast your vote on your favourite Led Zeppelin track from their distinguished back catalogue.
Thousands had their say and after previously revealing the Top 10 on air back then, fans of the classic rockers are still intrigued to know where their favourite Led Zeppelin song ranked on the Planet Rock poll of the band's greatest hits. Here, we present an in-depth look at the full 20 greatest Led Zeppelin songs of all time.
20. 'Going To California' (1971)
Preceding and starkly juxtaposing colossal ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ closer ‘When The Levee Breaks’, gorgeous folk ballad ‘Going To California’ is very possibly the prettiest song Led Zeppelin ever committed to plastic. Palpably influenced by Joni Mitchell, who Jimmy Page and Robert Plant both greatly admired, Page’s delicate acoustic guitars and John Paul Jones’ mandolin nicely compliment Plant’s Americanised drawl and soothe the listeners’ senses.
Originally entitled ‘Guide To California’ and thematically about earthquakes (hence lines like “The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake / As the children of the sun began to awake / Seems that the wrath of the Gods / Got a punch on the nose and it started to flow / I think I might be sinking”), the song soon evolved to incorporate wide-eyed and almost hippie-ish lyrics about seeking a woman “with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair.”
Speaking about the song to Spin Magazine in 2002, Plant said the song "might be a bit embarrassing at times lyrically, but it did sum up a period of my life when I was 22."
19. 'The Battle of Evermore' (1971)
Featuring the ethereal vocals of late Fairport Convention singer Sandy Denny, beguiling and mythical Celtic folk tune ‘The Battle of Evermore’ is the only Led Zeppelin track to feature a guest singer. Just like fellow ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ offshoot ‘Going to California’, the song centres an acoustic guitar and a mandolin alongside Denny and Plant’s sublime vocals.
Incredibly, Page and Plant wrote ‘The Battle of Evermore’ music on the fly, with the guitarist telling Trouser Press in 1977: “(It) was made up on the spot by Robert and myself. I just picked up John Paul Jones's mandolin, never having played a mandolin before, and just wrote up the chords and the whole thing in one sitting.”
Just like ‘Ramble On’ and ‘Misty Mountain Hop’, ‘The Battle of Evermore’ is highly influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ with some fans surmising it’s essentially about the Battle of Pelennor from Return Of The King. Characters Aragorn (“The Prince of Peace embraced the gloom”), Eowyn (“Queen of Light took her bow”), the evil Sauron (“The dark Lord rides in force tonight”) and his bloodcurdling Ringwraiths (“The ring wraiths ride in black, ride on”) are all referenced, however, in something of a curveball, Plant also sings about the angels of Avalon, from Arthurian legend.
18. 'Trampled Under Foot' (1975)
Funky, flamboyant and positively oozing sex throughout its five-and-a-half minutes, ‘Trampled Under Foot’ is one of the many towering zeniths of Led Zeppelin’s 1975 opus ‘Physical Graffiti’.
Lyrically a nod to influential bluesman Robert Johnson’s 1936 track ‘Terraplane Blues’, which uses the motor car as an extremely thinly veiled metaphor for sex, ‘Trampled Under Foot’ is packed with overt innuendo thanks to lines like“Mama, let me pump your gas”_and“Baby, let me check your points.”_
Testament to Led Zeppelin’s effortless ability to flit between genres, ‘Trampled Under Foot’ is more synonymous with Stevie Wonder and Motown than traditional rock music. Somewhat refreshingly it’s John Paul Jones who truly takes centre stage thanks to his funky-as-hell disco grooves on the clavinet that bounce off Jimmy Page’s wah-wah and John Bonham’s burly beats.
17. 'Babe I’m Gonna Leave You' (1969)
Led Zeppelin’s take on the Anne Bredon penned folk song, first popularised by Joan Baez on her 1962 live album ‘Joan Baez in Concert Part 1’, truly showcases Robert Plant’s imperious vocal prowess.
Embracing the quiet/loud dynamic, Jimmy Page dextrously plucks his guitar as Plant howls lines about absconding a loved one before it ups the tempo and transcends into flamenco-esque bursts with Plant’s vocals getting more and more emotionally wrought by the second. In fact, it would be fair to say that no one sings “baby” quite like Percy.
Complimenting Plant in a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, Page said: "I knew exactly how (‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’) was going to shape up. I set the mood with the acoustic guitar and that flamenco-like section. But Robert embraced it. He came up with an incredible, plaintive vocal." A song with a classical nature that also packs an almighty punch, half-a-century from the ‘Led Zeppelin I’ recording sessions, the song still sounds as vital as ever.
16. 'No Quarter' (1973)
As if to purposely bamboozle and challenge the listener, ‘Houses of the Holy’ brilliantly jumps from the upbeat reggae rock of ‘D'yer Maker’ into the plaintive opening synthesiser melody of ‘No Quarter’.
A compositional triumph, ‘No Quarter’ is imbued with a foreboding tension as Plant delivers ominous lines about an impending battle (“Walking side-by-side with death / The devil mocks their every step, ooh”) that are steeped in heavy metal mythology.
The song’s title itself is derived from the military practise of the victor showing no mercy to their defeated opponent and the macabre subject matter is reflected in the intense yet equally restrained music.
As Rick Rubin pointed out to Rolling Stone: "It takes such confidence to be able to get really quiet and loose for such a long time. Zeppelin completely changed how we look at what popular music can be.”
15. 'Dazed and Confused' (1969)
Originally recorded by folk-rock singer Jake Holmes – who famously slapped Led Zeppelin with a plagiarism lawsuit in 2010 - Jimmy Page had previously performed the ‘Dazed and Confused’ live with The Yardbirds, however, it was with Led Zeppelin that the song truly became a psychedelia-tinged blues rock n’ roll beast.
Everything about the song is monumental, including Plant’s impossibly raw and powerful vocals, the howling guitars and the rumbling bass line that both opens and permeates the track. Colossal enough on record, ‘Dazed and Confused’ would often expand into an even bigger monster in the live arena with the experimental jam, including Page’s violin bowed guitar solos, often stretching out more than 30 minutes.
14. 'Ten Years Gone' (1975)
A track that flaunts Jimmy Page’s musical genius, ‘Ten Years Gone’ boasts layers of hypnotic, interweaving guitars and a simply sublime solo – in fact, Page reportedly used 14 guitar acks to overdub the harmony section.
Originally intended to be an instrumental track, Robert Plant added the somewhat nostalgic lyrics later, which are dedicated to an old girlfriend who gave him the conundrum of ‘it’s me or the music’ ten years earlier. Thankfully Percy opted for the music.
Plant said in a 1975 interview: "I was working my ass off before joining Zeppelin. A lady I really, dearly loved said, 'Right. It's me or your fans.' Not that I had fans, but I said, 'I can't stop, I've got to keep going.' She's quite content these days, I imagine. She's got a washing machine that works by itself and a little sports-car. We wouldn't have anything to say anymore. I could probably relate to her, but she couldn't relate to me. I'd be smiling too much. Ten years gone, I'm afraid. Anyway, there's a gamble for you."
13. 'The Rain Song' (1973)
The gorgeous ballad is nothing short of transcendental. Throughout its all too short seven minutes and 40 seconds, ‘The Rain Song’ floats along with swathes of exquisite guitars, delicate piano plonks and serene vocals from Percy. In our book ‘The Rain Song’ ranks as among the most beautiful rock ballads of all time.
In fact, Plant himself ranks the track as his greatest vocal performance with Led Zeppelin, telling Rolling Stone in 2005: “I’d say that on ‘The Rain Song’ I sounded best. I’d reached a point where I knew that to get good I couldn’t repeat myself. The high falsetto screams had become quite a kind of calling card.”
The Beatles’ George Harrison - who was a massive Led Zeppelin aficionado and even appeared at John Bonham’s 25th birthday party in 1973 - inadvertently inspired ‘The Rain Song’ when he bemoaned their lack of ballads.
Jimmy Page told biographer Brad Tolinski: “George was talking to Bonzo one evening and said, ‘The problem with you guys is that you never do ballads.’ I said, ‘I’ll give him a ballad,’ and I wrote ‘Rain Song,’ which appears Houses of the Holy. In fact, you’ll notice I even quote ‘Something’ in the song’s first two chords.”
12. 'Black Dog' (1971)
Arguably one of Led Zeppelin’s most instantly recognisable songs and positively brimming with swagger, ‘Black Dog’ is the sound of Led Zeppelin at their most primal, poised and powerful.
Opening with Plant’s inspired acapella cry of “Hey, hey mama said the way you move / Gon' make you sweat, gon' make you groove”, these echoey and raw vocals bounce off a delicious iconic riff. In 2007, Q Magazine writers voted ‘Black Dog’ as the Greatest Guitar Track of all time.
John Paul Jones is credited with creating the iconic riff having allegedly been influenced by Muddy Waters’ polarising psychedelic rock album ‘Electric Mud’. Additionally, esteemed Led Zeppelin author Dave Lewis also claims that the band took inspiration from Fleetwood Mac’s 1969 song ‘Oh Well’ for the acapella structure of the track.
For fact lovers out there, the song title is derived from a black Labrador Retriever that wandered the grounds Headley Grange studios where the song was recorded.
11. 'Thank You' (1969)
Written as a touching tribute to his then wife Maureen, ‘Thank You’ was the first Led Zeppelin song that Robert Plant solely penned the lyrics. Sonically mellow and featuring delicate vocals from Plant as he delivers his love ode (opening lines “If the sun refused to shine/ I would still be loving you / When mountains crumble to the sea /There will still be you and me” are especially heartfelt), Jimmy Page’s acoustic guitar and the John Paul Jones’ Hammond organ all work together in perfect harmony.
Extra kudos should be given to Led Zep for fading to a false ending before eventually concluding with a crescendo ten seconds later. This gave radio stations at the time a conundrum – either cut the song off early or accept the awkward seconds of ‘dead air’.
10. 'Ramble On' (1969)
Despite being one of Led Zeppelin’s greatest and most enduring songs, incredibly they never performed ‘Ramble On’ in its entirety live until their Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert at London’s O2 Arena in December 2007 where the track segued into a brief snippet of ‘What Is and What Should Never Be’.
An effortlessly cool anthem, everything about the track is flawless; from Page’s breezy guitars to Jones' instantly infectious bassline to Percy’s incredible pipes and Bonzo’s pitter-patter drums.
Explaining how he achieved his violin-esque tone on the solo, Page told Guitar World: “I used the neck pickup on my Les Paul and backed off on the treble knob on the guitar and ran it through the sustainer Roger Mayer (legendary Jimi Hendrix engineer) made for me years before. When I was recording it, I was thinking in terms of making a sound sort of like a string arrangement.”
In contrast to the upbeat and impossibly feel-good music, ‘Ramble On’ is packed with references to The Lord of the Rings, especially in the lines “Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor / I met a girl so fair / But Gollum, and the evil one / Crept up and slipped away with her.” Although the song is thematically about Percy searching for his woman, the title is undoubtedly a nod to Frodo Baggins ploughing on with his seemingly endless journey to the darkest depths of Mordor.
9. 'In My Time of Dying' (1975)
An absolute mountain of a track clocking in at 11 minutes and six seconds, ‘In My Time of Dying’ is the longest song recorded by Led Zeppelin. Endlessly shifting up and down gears and taking listeners into intriguing new aural realms, ‘In My Time of Dying’ is a blues rock tour-de-force fusing electric heaviness with acoustic delta blues slide guitar.
Although all four members of Led Zeppelin were given songwriting credits on the sleeve notes of ‘Physical Graffitti’, ‘In My Time of Dying’ (also known as ‘Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed’) is a traditional gospel song that takes its title from a passage in the bible from Psalms 41:3 that reads "The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing, thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness".
Recorded by numerous artists including The Lovin' Spoonful’s John Sebastian and Bob Dylan, no one quite reimagined it like Led Zeppelin. Somewhat bizarrely the song ends with a coughing fit (purported to be Bonham) and Plant singing the word “cough.”
8. 'Rock and Roll' (1971)
In keeping with the highly apt title, Rock and Roll is structurally based on one of the most popular structures in early rock music - the 12-bar blues progression. Brilliantly, ‘Rock and Roll’ was also a slang term used by blues musicians for sex, giving lines like “It's been a long time since I rock and rolled” extra meaning.
The song was born out of a ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ recording session at Headley Grange when Bonham, apparently frustrated with a ‘Four Sticks’ drum pattern, spontaneously broke into drum beats inspired by the Little Richard song ‘Keep A-Knockin', which Page then added Chuck Berry-esque riffs to. Incredibly the bones of the track – which they initially dubbed ‘It's Been a Long Time’ - were fleshed out in less than 30 minutes.
Retrogressive musically yet also stamped with Led Zeppelin’s indelible imprint, ‘Rock and Roll’ contains nostalgic lyrics yearning for exuberant youth and fifties rock. In keeping with this, Plant name checks the slow rock 'n' roll dance The Stroll plus The Monotones’ 1958 rock and roll / doo-wop song ‘The Book of Love’ in his idiosyncratic howl.
7. 'Whole Lotta Love' (1969)
Colossal sounding, dirty-as-hell, gloriously lewd and sonically experimental, ‘Whole Lotta Love’ needs very little introduction. Jimmy Page’s iconic riff is one of the purest and most timeless riffs he ever created with Led Zeppelin (even the casual pop music fan knows it due to it soundtracking Top of the Pops for decades), while John Paul Jones and John Bonham give the track poise, rhythm and muscle.
For all the brilliance of Page’s trademark guitars, Plant manages to grab the headlines with his sexually charged and highly lascivious lines like "Way down inside”, "I'm gonna give you every inch of my love" and, of course, "I wanna be your backdoor man!"
Breaking down into a free jazz-like interlude just over one minute in, Plant’s orgasmic utterances reverberate while Bonham pounds a drum solo and Page twiddles with his Theremin antennae.
Reaching a climax in more ways than one at the four-minute mark, Plant sounds like a man in sexual rapture as he shrieks_“Hey!”, “Oh!”, “Love!”_True, parts of the lyrics were borrowed from the 1962 Muddy Waters song written by Willie Dixon called ‘You Need Love’, but this does little to dilute the magnificence and sexual energy of ‘Whole Lotta Love’.
6. 'Immigrant Song' (1970)
Clocking in at just two minutes and 26 seconds – highly succinct by Led Zeppelin’s standards – ‘Immigrant Song’ is a barbaric beast of a track that’s built upon an incessant, instantly infectious riff and Plant’s yowling vocals. Crammed with lyrical references to Norse mythology (“Valhalla, I am coming”) and Viking hordes (“On we sweep with threshing oar / Our only goal will be the western shore”), Led Zeppelin wrote ‘Immigrant Song’ after performing in Reykjavik on 22nd June 1970. The opening lines “We come from the land of the ice and snow / From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow” directly reference Iceland.
Incredibly, just six days after playing the Icelandic capital, Led Zeppelin gave ‘Immigrant Song’ its debut live outing when they opened their Bath Festival set with it. Rapturously received by fans, the line “The hammer of the Gods” was used by some to describe Led Zeppelin’s thunderous music and was used as the title of music journalist Stephen Davis’ unauthorised Led Zeppelin biography in 1985 - a book the band famously loathed.
5. 'Achilles Last Stand' (1976)
The sonically complex ‘Presence’ opener is one of Led Zeppelin’s most visceral songs powered by furious, relentless rhythms cooked up by Bonham and Jones, a mind-boggling myriad of six layered guitar tracks orchestrated by Page and emphatic vocals from the ever-masterful Plant.
Lyrically the song touches upon mythological imagery including Atlas, William Blake’s Albion and Achilles (Plant broke his ankle in a car crash in Greece and hurt it again in a subsequent fall just like the song’s namesake), but it was also inspired by Plant’s travels throughout Morocco, Greece, and Spain in the summer of 1975.
The sound of a band at the top of their game and epic in every sense of the word, despite Jimmy Page listing it as one of his finest achievements with Led Zeppelin, ‘Achilles Last Stand’ hasn’t quite had the plaudits it deserves. When critics at Rolling Stone Magazine compiled their favourite Led Zeppelin songs in 2012, bewilderingly ‘Achilles Last Stand’ failed to dent the Top 40. Fortunately, Planet Rock listeners have a much more discerning musical palate!
4. 'When The Levee Breaks' (1971)
Quite possibly one of the finest cover songs of all time, Led Zeppelin lifted the lyrics and title for ‘When The Levee Breaks’ from the 1929 country blues song penned by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie that details the upheaval caused by the devastating Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 – hence lines like “If it keeps on rainin' levee's goin' to break / When the levee breaks I'll have no place to stay.”
While the lyrics stay true to the original, musically Led Zeppelin reimagined ‘When The Levee Breaks’ as an aptly apocalyptic sounding, blues-tinged hard rock powerhouse. From the fabled opening beats, it’s undoubtedly John Bonham grabs the limelight and defines the song with his vigorous and instantly recognisable drumming.
Putting it much better than we ever could, his son Jason Bonham poignantly told Q Magazine: "It's the drum intro of the Gods. You could play it anywhere and people would know it's John Bonham. I never had the chance to tell Dad how amazing he was - he was just Dad."
3. 'Since I’ve Been Loving You' (1970)
The masterful, slow-building seven-and-a-half-minute blues jam is undoubtedly one of Led Zeppelin’s finest and most soulful moments and rightfully voted in the Top 3 by our listeners.
Slick musically with generous flourishes of electric piano from John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page apparently spent months trying to perfect his timeless solo that kicks in just before the four-minute mark, only to settle for the first version he laid down in the original demo.
Perfectly complimenting the sublime music, ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ also showcases Robert Plant’s vocal range – effortlessly flitting between tender and soulful, and shrieking and emotionally charged.
Commenting on it in an interview with MOJO in 2003, Robert Plant said: "The musical progression at the end of each verse - the chord choice - is not a natural place to go. And it's that lift up there that's so regal and so emotional. I don't know whether that was born from the loins of JP or JPJ, but I know that when we reached that point in the song you could get a lump in the throat from being in the middle of it."
2. 'Stairway To Heaven' (1971)
What is there left to say about this timeless classic that hasn’t already been said? Not only widely considered one of Led Zeppelin’s finest songs in their short career but also one of the greatest rock songs of all time, ‘Stairway To Heaven’ is so entrenched in rock n’ roll folklore it’s certain to retain its enduring appeal for many, many decades to come.
Clocking in at just over eight minutes, every second of the song is iconic; from the opening, Renaissance-tinged finger-picked guitars and recorders to Jimmy Page’s legendary solo and right through to Robert Plant’s ultimate, plaintive “and she's buying the stairway to heaven” refrain.
Commenting on its legacy, Jimmy Page told Rolling Stone in 2008: “To me, I thought 'Stairway' crystallized the essence of the band. It had everything there and showed the band at its best... as a band, as a unit. Not talking about solos or anything, it had everything there. We were careful never to release it as a single. It was a milestone for us. Every musician wants to do something of lasting quality, something which will hold up for a long time and I guess we did it with 'Stairway.'”
1. 'Kashmir' (1975)
Receiving a whopping 18% of the total vote in our Zeptember poll – almost double the vote of ‘Stairway To Heaven’ in second spot – the towering musical behemoth that is ‘Kashmir’ took its rightful place at the summit. A track so good that it has you thumbing at the thesaurus looking for suitable superlatives, it’s no surprise that the surviving members of Led Zeppelin regard ‘Kashmir’ as one of their crowning glories.
Jimmy Page said: "The intensity of 'Kashmir' was such that when we had it completed, we knew there was something really hypnotic to it, we couldn't even describe such a quality. At the beginning, there was only Bonzo and me in Headley Grange. He played the rhythm on drums, and I found the riff as well as the overdubs which were thereafter duplicated by an orchestra, to bring more life to the track. It sounded so frightening at first..."
Speaking with Dan Rather in 2018, Robert Plant said: "It was a great achievement to take such a monstrously dramatic musical piece and find a lyric that was ambiguous enough, and a delivery that was not over-pumped. It was almost the antithesis of the music, this lyric and this vocal delivery that was just about enough to get in there."
Commenting on its musical magnificence, Blues Power host Bernard Doherty said: “Timeless, formidable, startling and brimming with majesty, ‘Kashmir’ is one of the few Led Zeppelin tracks to use outside musicians (session players were brought in for the string and horn sections) and they all gel magnificently together. I cannot do without listening to it every single day – John Bonham’s outstanding drumming is the key.” Lavishing ‘Kashmir’ with the kind of praise he usually reserves for Rush, Darren Redick said: “The lyrics in this song are totally otherworldly! I mean, who talks like “Oh, father of the four winds, fill my sails Across the sea of years”!? And the pomp of the music. Hell yes!”
Read through Led Zeppelin's incredible career timeline:
1968: Career beginnings
When Jimmy Page's band The Yardbirds decided to disband in 1968, the guitarist began his search for a new band. Before long, he had joined forces with vocalist Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones to become The New Yardbirds and embarked on a tour of Scandinavia.
By October 1968, they had changed their name to Led Zeppelin, which was inspired by comments made by several musicians about their chances of going down like a lead balloon. They played their first show as Led Zeppelin later that month at the University of Surrey. Atlantic Records signed the young band in November 1968 without even seeing them, thanks to the growing hype for British bands in the US.
1969: First and second album in one year
Led Zeppelin released their self-titled debut album in early 1969, which was an overnight commercial success in both the UK and US, reaching the Top 10 in both album charts. To take advantage of the momentum from their first album, the group impressively released their second album 'Led Zeppelin II' later that same year.
Despite being predominantly recorded while the band were touring, 'Led Zeppelin II' was an even bigger hit than their first record and reached Number 1 in the UK and US. Their popularity only continued to grow upon the release of the single 'Whole Lotta Love', which sold over 1 million copies and reached Number 4 on the US Billboard chart.
1970-1972: A new folk-inspired sound
'Led Zeppelin III', the band's third and more folk-inspired album, was released in October 1970 and featured hit single 'Immigrant Song'. Even with a brand new sound, the album reached Number 1 in both the US and the UK. The following year the band released their fourth album which, despite being untitled, is often referred to as 'Led Zeppelin IV', 'IV' or 'Four Symbols'. The four symbols featured on the album cover represent each member of the band, plus being a nod to their fourth studio album.
With an estimated 37 million copies sold, 'Led Zeppelin IV' is one of the best-selling albums in rock history and raised the band's profile even higher. While it was never released as a single, album track 'Stairway to Heaven' is arguably one of the band's most popular songs.
1973: North American tour
Led Zeppelin's next album 'Houses Of The Holy' was released in March 1973 and topped charts around the world. Later that year, the band embarked on a North American tour which included three sold-out shows at Madison Square Gardens in New York. They travelled in style, roaming from city to city in The Starship (pictured), a Boeing 720 bought by singer Bobby Sherman and his manager Ward Sylvester, and leased out to touring musicians.
1974: Launch of record label Swan Song
When their contract with Atlantic Records ended in 1974, Led Zeppelin took a break from touring and launched Swan Song, their own record label. As well as using the label to promote Led Zeppelin albums, the band also started signing artists such as Bad Company and Maggie Bell.
1975-1976: 'Physical Graffiti' and tour hiatus
Led Zeppelin released the double album 'Physical Graffiti' in February 1975, the first release on their newly-established Swan Song label. The album was a massive commercial and critical success, which debuted at Number 1 in the UK and Number 3 in the US. Shortly after the release of 'Physical Graffiti, the band embarked on yet another North American tour.
The band were forced to go on a short hiatus from touring after frontman Robert Plant and his wife Maureen were both injured in a serious car crash in Greece whilst on holiday. In March 1976, the band released their seventh album, 'Presence' which reached the top of the charts in the US and UK. Still unable to tour due to Plant's injuries, Led Zeppelin completed their concert film 'The Song Remains The Same', released in October 1976.
1977-1979: Guinness World Record win
Once Plant had made a full recovery, Led Zeppelin went back on tour in 1977 and made it into the Guinness Book of Records for playing to an audience of over 76,000; the largest attendance for a single act show at that time. In late 1978, the band released 'In Through The Out Door', which, like the majority of their previous albums, reached Number 1 in the UK, US, Canada and New Zealand. The following year, Led Zeppelin headlined two shows at Knebworth Music Festival.
1980: John Bonham's death
On 25th September 1980, John Bonham sadly passed away from asphyxiation in his sleep after drinking heavily the day before. He was just 32 years old. He has since been hailed as one of the greatest drummers of all time. Led Zeppelin cancelled their upcoming North American tour and in December, the remaining members of the band released a statement stating that they would be disbanding.
1982-1988: Reunion at Live Aid
In November 1982, a collection of Led Zeppelin outtakes and unused tracks known as 'Coda' was released. It included tracks from the band's performances at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970 and from the sessions for 'Led Zeppelin III', 'Houses Of The Holy' and 'In Through the Out Door'.
Plant, Page and Jones reunited to play two one-off shows. The first was at the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia in 1985 and the second was for Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert in 1988, where they played with Bonham's son Jason on drums.
1990s: Plant and Page
After reuniting once again for a 90-minute 'UnLedded' MTV project in 1994, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page formed the duo Plant and Page, releasing an album called 'Walking into Clarksdale' in 1998. Led Zeppelin were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 by Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. The event was attended by Plant, Page and Jones along with Bonham's children, Jason and Zoë Bonham, who were there to represent their late father.
2000s: Another Guinness World Record
In 2003, the triple live album 'How the West Was Won' and the Led Zeppelin DVD were released. The DVD, which features six hours of live footage, became the best-selling music DVD in history. Led Zeppelin, along with Jason Bonham, reunited again to headline the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert at London's O2 Arena in December 2007. This was the band's first show in 27 years, setting a Guinness World Record in 2009 for the highest demand of tickets for one music concert, after 20 million ticket requests were submitted online.
2010s: Anniversaries, commemorations and honours
'Celebration Day', a Led Zeppelin concert film, was released in October 2012. The film showcased the band's 2007 performance at London's O2 Arena and grossed $2 million in one night. The accompanying live album sold an estimated 1.8 million copies.
The surviving members of Led Zeppelin - Plant, Page and Jones - were all awarded The Kennedy Center Honors by President Barack Obama in December 2012. This is the US' highest award for "lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts." In 2015, Led Zeppelin re-released their 2007 'Mothership' compilation album which featured remastered versions of the band's songs. The album was a commercial success and went on to go double Platinum. The band also released a book called 'Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin in 2018 to commemorate the band's 50th anniversary.
2020-2021: Tour and documentary news
Despite fans keeping their fingers crossed for another Led Zeppelin reunion, Jimmy Page stated in an interview in 2020: "It seems really unlikely that there would be a tour in the future. Unlike The Rolling Stones, they do sort of know that the fans love that – I know that with Led Zeppelin fans too. But it doesn't look as though there's anything in the future, unfortunately."
After being delayed due to the pandemic, the first official trailer for the Led Zeppelin documentary, Becoming Led Zeppelin, was released in September 2021. The documentary, set for release this year, features brand new interviews with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones, as well as never before seen interviews with the late John Bonham. The band's website describes the documentary as "the definitive telling of the birth of Led Zeppelin."
2021: 50 years of 'Stairway to Heaven'
In November 2021, Led Zeppelin celebrates the 50th anniversary of their legendary track 'Stairway to Heaven'. The song was first released on 8th November 1971, and is now often regarded as 'one of the greatest and most iconic rock songs of all time'.
Read more:
A look back at the career of the mighty Led Zeppelin
50 facts about Led Zeppelin's seminal album covers
The real location of 20 rock and metal album covers