Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in 1968 that consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones. With their heavy, guitar-driven blues-rock sound, Led Zeppelin are regularly cited as one of the progenitors of heavy metal[1][2] and hard rock,[3][4] even though the band's individualistic style drew from many sources and transcends any one music genre.[5][6] Led Zeppelin did not release songs from their albums as singles in the United Kingdom, as they preferred to develop the concept of album-oriented rock .[2]
Grant also secured for the new band an advance deal of $200,000 from Atlantic Records in November 1968, then the biggest deal of its kind for a new band.[25] Atlantic was a label known for a catalogue of blues, soul and jazz artists, but in the late 1960s it began to take an interest in progressive British rock acts, and signed Led Zeppelin without having ever seen them, largely on the recommendation of singer Dusty Springfield.[23][32] Under the terms of the contract secured by Grant, the band alone would decide when they would release albums and tour, and had final say over the contents and design of each album. They also would decide how to promote each release and which (if any) tracks to release as singles, and formed their own company, Superhype, to handle all publishing rights.[33]
In 1977, Led Zeppelin embarked on another major concert tour of North America. Here the band set another attendance record, with 76,229 people attending their Pontiac Silverdome concert on 30 April.[66] It was, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest attendance to date for a single act show.[47] Though the tour was financially profitable it was beset with off-stage problems. On 19 April over 70 persons were arrested as about 1,000 ticketless fans tried to gatecrash Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum for two sold out festival seating concerts while some tried to gain entry by throwing rocks and bottles through glass entrance doors. On 3 June a concert at Tampa Stadium was cut short because of a severe thunderstorm, despite tickets printed with Rain or Shine . A riot broke out amongst the audience, resulting in several arrests and injuries.[67]
The first Led Zeppelin box set, featuring tracks remastered under the supervision of Jimmy Page, introduced the band's music to many new fans, stimulating a renaissance for Led Zeppelin. This set included four previously unreleased tracks, including the Robert Johnson tribute Travelling Riverside Blues . The song peaked at number seven on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, with the video in heavy rotation on MTV. 1992 saw the release of the Immigrant Song / Hey Hey What Can I Do (the original B-side) as a CD single in the US. Led Zeppelin Boxed Set 2 was released in 1993; the two box sets together containing all known studio recordings, as well as some rare live tracks.
