Led Zeppelin discography

Led Zeppelin discography
Led Zeppelin performing live at Chicago Stadium in 1975
Studio albums9
Live albums4
Compilation albums10
Singles19
Video albums4
Music videos16
Charted songs3
Music downloads9

The discography of the English rock band Led Zeppelin consists of 9 studio albums, 4 live albums, 10 compilation albums, 19 singles, 16 music videos and 9 music downloads. The band is estimated to have sold over 300 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling music artists in history.[1][2] According to Billboard, they are the 40th Greatest Artist of All Time, as well as the 11th Most Successful Artist on Billboard 200 history.[3][4] The band has scored 7 number-one albums on Billboard 200[5] and has sold 112.5 million certified albums in the United States, becoming the 5th best-selling album artist in RIAA history.[6]

Formed in London in 1968, the group consisted of singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. The band pioneered the concept of album-oriented rock and often refused to release popular songs as singles.[7] Their debut album, Led Zeppelin (1969), released by Atlantic Records, charted at number six on the UK Albums Chart and at number ten on the United States Billboard 200. It received several sales certifications, including an eight-times multi-platinum from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Diamond from the Music Canada. Led Zeppelin's second studio album, Led Zeppelin II, recorded when the band were on tour, was released a few months after the first. It reached number one in several countries, including the UK and the US, where it was certified 12 times multi-platinum. The album produced Led Zeppelin's highest-charting single, "Whole Lotta Love", which peaked at several music charts in the top 10. Led Zeppelin III (1970) was a softer, more folk-based effort compared to the hard rock of the band's previous releases.[8] It also peaked at number one in the UK and in the US.

Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album, often called Led Zeppelin IV and released on 8 November 1971, is their most commercially successful album. It received a 24 times multi-platinum certification from RIAA, the fifth-highest of all albums, and fourth-highest exclusive of greatest hits compilations.[9] The band's fifth album, Houses of the Holy, was released in 1973. Again a transatlantic chart-topper, it has received an 11 times multi-platinum certification from RIAA. In 1974, the band set up their own vanity label, Swan Song Records, which would release the rest of Led Zeppelin's studio albums. The first was the 1975 double album Physical Graffiti, which has received a 16 times platinum certification from RIAA. Zeppelin's seventh album, Presence (1976), achieved a triple Platinum certification from RIAA. On 20 October 1976, Led Zeppelin released their first concert film The Song Remains the Same. The recording of the film took place during three nights of concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City, during the band's 1973 concert tour of the United States.[10] The band's eighth studio album, In Through the Out Door, received a sextuple platinum certification. This was the last album released by the band before Bonham died of alcohol intoxication in 1980; Led Zeppelin disbanded less than three months later.[11]

In 1982, Led Zeppelin released their last studio album, Coda, which contained outtakes from the band's previous recordings. Since their break-up, the band have released numerous compilation and live albums from older concerts, including How the West Was Won, which peaked at number one on the Billboard charts, and the compilation album Mothership, which produced seven music downloads and was released on the same day Led Zeppelin's entire catalog became available in digital stores, including in the iTunes Store.[12] "Stairway to Heaven", which had never been released as an official single before, was one of these songs released in digital stores.[13]

  1. ^ "Led Zeppelin Reissuing 2 More Albums This Fall". Billboard. 29 July 2014. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Led Zeppelin". www.cbsnews.com. 16 December 2012. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Greatest of All Time Artists". Billboard. 14 November 2019. Archived from the original on 28 May 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Artists". Billboard. 12 November 2015. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Led Zeppelin". Billboard. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  7. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Allmusic > Led Zeppelin > Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  8. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Allmusic > Led Zeppelin III". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  9. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  10. ^ Welch, Chris (1994). Led Zeppelin. London: Orion Books. pp. 68–69, 83. ISBN 978-1-85797-930-5. OCLC 31643666.
  11. ^ Eder, Bruce; Dillon, Charlotte. "Allmusic > John Bonham > Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  12. ^ Cohen, Johnathan (23 October 2007). "iTunes Welcomes Zeppelin with Catalog Box". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  13. ^ Lewis, Dave (2004). The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin (2nd ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1-84449-141-4.