Led Zeppelin concerts
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Throughout the late-1960s and 1970s, English rock group Led Zeppelin was one of the world's most popular live music attractions, making numerous concert tours of the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe in particular. They performed over 500 concerts, initially in clubs and ballrooms and then, as their popularity increased, in larger auditoriums. Such was their attraction in North America that they made no less than nine tours of the continent between the years 1968 and 1971, a frantic pace that stands testament to the popularity of their music on that side of the Atlantic. Many critics attribute the band's rapid rise as much to their tremendous appeal as a live act as they do to the quality of their studio albums.
From the early 1970s, the commercial and popular drawing power of Led Zeppelin continued to increase, and as a result the band began to embark on major stadium tours which attracted even vaster crowds. During their 1973 tour of the United States, they played to 56,800 fans at Tampa Stadium, Florida, breaking the record set by The Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965. Similar crowds were drawn on the Led Zeppelin’s subsequent US tours, and they continued to break attendance records (in April 1977 they played to 76,229 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome, Michigan, a world record attendance for a solo indoor attraction). It is for these reasons that Led Zeppelin, as much as any other band or artist in this era, is widely credited for helping to establish what has come be known as stadium rock.
Led Zeppelin also performed at several Music festivals over the years, including the Atlanta International and the Texas International Pop Festivals in 1969, the Bath Festival in 1970, the "Days on the Green" in Oakland, California in 1977, and the Knebworth Music Festival in 1979.
Led Zeppelin’s reputation as a compelling live act is often attributed to the tight understanding and musical chemistry achieved between all four group members, combined with a shared willingness to experiment on-stage, which resulted in dynamic, unpredictable performances. As is noted by Led Zeppelin experts Dave Lewis and Simon Pallett, “Led Zeppelin live was an extraordinary animal. From the very beginning no two performances were alike. Such was the creative spark between the four that the basic structures of their songs were repeatedly reworked, extended and improvised on, making their studio counterparts almost unrecognisable.”[1]
Led Zeppelin concerts could last more than three hours, with expanded, live versions of their song repertoire often incorporating elements of James Brown, Stax and Motown-influenced soul music and funk (favourites of bassist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham). The quartet also loved American rock and roll, being inspired by the exuberant styles of Fats Domino and Little Richard. Led Zeppelin would additionally perform rockabilly songs originally made famous by Elvis Presley and Eddie Cochran.
Many of these shows have been preserved as Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings which continue to be prized by collectors and fans.
Contents |
[edit] Led Zeppelin concert tour chronology
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[edit] External links
[edit] Sources
- Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4.
[edit] References
- ^ Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press, introduction.
| Led Zeppelin |
|---|
| Jimmy Page · Robert Plant · John Paul Jones · John Bonham |
| Discography - (Category) |
Studio albums: Led Zeppelin · Led Zeppelin II · Led Zeppelin III ·  (Led Zeppelin IV) · Houses of the Holy · Physical Graffiti · Presence · In Through the Out DoorLive albums: The Song Remains the Same · BBC Sessions · How the West Was Won |
| Films |
| The Song Remains the Same · Led Zeppelin DVD |
| Other |
| Peter Grant · Richard Cole · Swan Song Records · The Yardbirds · XYZ · The Firm · Page and Plant · Strange Sensation · Bootlegs ∙ Concerts ∙ Songs |
