The untitled fourth studio album by Led Zeppelin, commonly referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, was released November 8, 1971 on Atlantic Records. Produced by guitarist Jimmy Page, it was recorded between December 1970 and March 1971 at several locations, most prominently the Victorian house Headley Grange.
Track listing
1. “Black Dog”
2. “Rock and Roll”
3. “The Battle of Evermore”
4. “Stairway to Heaven”
5. “Misty Mountain Hop”
6. “Four Sticks”
7. “Going to California”
8. “When the Levee Breaks”
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Led Zeppelin released their fourth album on November 8, 1971. In response to the treatment the band had received from critics, the band decided to release the album with no title, though it is variously referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, Untitled, IV, or, due to the four symbols appearing on the record label, as Four Symbols, Zoso or Runes
It was Jimmy Page’s idea for each member to choose a personal symbol. "At first I wanted just one symbol on it, but then it was decided that since it was our fourth album and there were four of us, we could each choose our own symbol. I designed mine and everyone else had their own reasons for using the symbols that they used
ZoSo Photo By: PRPhotos.com
Jimmy Page designed his own symbol and has never publicly disclosed any reasoning behind it. The symbol is sometimes referred to as “ZoSo,” though Page has said that it was not in fact intended to be a word at all. Page was known to be a devotee of Aleister Crowley and his sign resembles a magical sigil
Mu Civilization Photo By: PRPhotos.com
Robert Plant's symbol of a feather within a circle was his own design, being based on the sign of the supposed Mu civilization
Borromean Rings Photo By: PRPhotos.com
John Bonham's symbol, the three interlocking Borromean rings, was picked by the drummer from the same book. It represents the triad of mother, father and child, but inverted, it also happens to be the logo for Ballantine beer
Rudolf Koch’s Book of Signs Photo By: PRPhotos.com
John Paul Jones' symbol, which he chose from Rudolf Koch's Book of Signs, is a single circle intersecting three vesica piscis; a triquetra. It is intended to symbolize a person who possesses both confidence and competence
Black Dog Photo By: Michelle Broadwater Photography
The song's title is a reference to a nameless, black Labrador retriever that wandered around the Headley Grange studios during recording. John Paul Jones, who is credited with writing the main riff, wanted to write a song with a winding riff and complex rhythm changes that people could not groove or dance to
Rock and Roll Photo By: Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Jimmy Page has said that the song came to be written as a spontaneous jam session, while the band were trying, and failing, to finish the track "Four Sticks.” The tapes were rolling and fifteen minutes later the basis of the song was down
Stairway to Heaven Photo By: Evening Standard/Getty Images
The song originated in 1970 when Page and Plant were spending time at Bron-Yr-Aur, a remote cottage in Wales. The lyrics of the song reflected Plant's reading at the time who had been pouring over the works of the British antiquarian Lewis Spence. He later cited Spence's Magic Arts in Celtic Britain as one of the sources for the lyrics to the song
37 Million Units Photo By: PRPhotos.com
The album is one of the best-selling albums worldwide at 37 million units. It entered the U.K. chart at No. 10, rising to No.1 the following week and stayed on the chart for 90 weeks. In the U.S. it stayed on the charts longer than any other Led Zeppelin album and became the biggest selling album in the U.S. not to top the charts, peaking at #2
