Led Zeppelin IV

Led Zeppelin's studio album
Publication (s)	November 8, 1971
Label (s)	Atlantic Records
Format (s)	CD, LP
Genre (s)	Hard rock
Title (number)	8th
running time	42:38
occupation	Acoustic guitar / Electric guitar : Jimmy Page Voice / harmonica : Robert Plant Bass guitar / synthesizer / keyboard : John Paul Jones Drums : John Bonham
production	Jimmy Page
Studio (s)	Olympic Studios / Island Studios ( London ); Sunset Sound ( Los Angeles ); Mobile Studio ( Hampshire )
chronology Led Zeppelin III (1970) Houses of the Holy (1973)

The fourth album by the British rock band Led Zeppelin , often simply referred to as Led Zeppelin IV , has no official name. It is sometimes called Four Symbols (because of the four symbols on the inside of the cover), Untitled or, because of the design of the first symbol, Zoso . After the release of Led Zeppelin III in 1970, Jimmy Page is said to have decided not to give the album a name in order to find out whether the record would still sell well. As of July 31, 2006, Led Zeppelin IV had sold 23 million times in the US, making it the third best-selling album in US history. It has been sold 37 million times worldwide.

General

The album was recorded and produced in Headley Grange, London and Los Angeles from December 1970 to March 1971 and released on November 8, 1971.

On Led Zeppelin IV , the classic is Stairway to Heaven , which has often been rated as one of the best rock songs ever. The piece achieved high fame, although it was never released as a single. Other influential songs on the album include The Battle of Evermore , a duet by Robert Plant with Sandy Denny, and When the Levee Breaks , a piece originally written by Memphis Minnie . It was covered in 2004 by A Perfect Circle for their album eMOTIVe ; Parts of the drum track were sampled by the Beastie Boys and used for their music. In 2012, the title was played in a scene in the film Argo . Prince described the song Black Dog as one of 55 songs that inspired him musically.

Alleged message

There were rumors that the song Stairway to Heaven contained a message with satanic content that could be heard if the song was played backwards. However, this could not be proven and was also denied by Jimmy Page.

List of songs

1. Black Dog ( Page / Plant / Jones ) - 4:54
2. Rock and Roll (Page / Plant / Jones / Bonham ) - 3:40
3. The Battle of Evermore (Page / Plant) - 5:51
4. Stairway to Heaven (Page / Plant) - 8:00
5. Misty Mountain Hop (Page / Plant / Jones) - 4:38
6. Four Sticks (Page / Plant) - 4:44
7. Going to California (Page / Plant) - 3:31
8. When the Levee Breaks (Page / Plant / Jones / Bonham / Memphis Minnie) - 7:07

Contributors

• Jimmy Page - acoustic and electric guitar, producer, digital editing
• Robert Plant - vocals, harmonica
• John Paul Jones - bass guitar, keyboards, mandolin, recorder
• John Bonham - drums
• Ian Stewart - Additional Piano (2nd Song)
• Sandy Denny - Additional vocals (3rd song)
• Peter Grant - executive producer
• George Chkiantz - sound mix
• Andy Johns - sound engineering, sound mixing
• George Marino - Digital processing
• Graphreaks - visual design
• Barrington Colby Mom - Illustration The Hermit in the Booklet

Sales figures and awards

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Argentina (CAPIF)	Platinum (Led Zeppelin IV) + Platinum (Zoso)	120,000
Australia (ARIA)	9 × platinum	630,000
Brazil (PMB)	gold	100,000
Germany (BVMI)	3 × gold	750,000
France (SNEP)	2 × platinum	600,000
Italy (FIMI)	platinum	100,000
Canada (MC)	2 × diamond	2,000,000
Switzerland (IFPI)	2 × platinum	100,000
Spain (Promusicae)	platinum	100,000
United States (RIAA)	23 × platinum	23,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	6 × platinum	1,800,000
All in all	2 × gold 27 × platinum 4 × diamond	29,300,000

Main article: Led Zeppelin / Music Sales Awards

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Led Zeppelin on The-Pit.de
2. ↑ Rockhard ( Memento of the original from December 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Report by Michael Jensen, page 1 (PDF; 286 kB) 
3. ↑ independent.ie: Led Zeppelin: The music
4. ↑ Discography on the official homepage
5. ↑ Blues for Dummies by Lonnie Brooks, Cub Koda, Wayne Baker Brooks, p. 76, ISBN 352770471X
6. ↑ Beastie Boys "Rhymin & Stealin" Direct Sample of Drums in Led Zeppelin "When the Levee Breaks" on WhoSampled.com (English)
7. ↑ Stairway to Hell on Spiegel Online
8. ↑ Backmasking on music4ever.de