List of songs recorded by Led Zeppelin

A montage of the four members of Led Zeppelin: Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones.
Clockwise, from top left: Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band who recorded 108 songs between 1968 and 1980. The band pioneered the concept of album-oriented rock and often refused to release popular songs as singles,[1] instead viewing their albums as indivisible, complete listening experiences, and disliked record labels re-editing their songs for single releases.[2]

Their self-titled debut album, Led Zeppelin, released in early 1969, contained songs that were influenced by the genres of blues, hard rock and heavy metal.[3] Led Zeppelin II, released in October 1969, built upon their debut with a more direct, hard-hitting sound that has become a blueprint for heavy metal bands.[4] Led Zeppelin III (1970) marked a musical growth for the band; half of its songs were hard rockers while the other half were built upon folk and acoustic music that gave it "extra depth".[5] "Immigrant Song", released as a single, was backed by the band's only non-album single, "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do".[6] Their untitled fourth album, commonly referred to as Led Zeppelin IV,[7] was released in November 1971.[8] Bringing together all the genres from their previous albums,[8] the album contains some of the band's best-known songs, including "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll", "Going to California" and "Stairway to Heaven", referred to as one of the greatest rock songs of all time.[9]

The band's following albums, Houses of the Holy (1973) and Physical Graffiti (1975), continued the band's musical growth.[10][11] Houses of the Holy contained a wider range of musical styles, from the ballad "The Rain Song" to the funk-inspired "The Crunge",[12] while Physical Graffiti was a double album that contained new songs as well as unreleased outtakes from previous albums.[13] The album, like its predecessor, contained a variety of musical styles, including hard rock, funk, acoustic rock, blues, soft and progressive rock, and even country rock.[14][15] Presence (1976) marked a departure from their previous albums by featuring more straightforward, guitar-driven songs with less emphasis on musical experimentation.[1][16] In Through the Out Door (1979), a direct contrast to Presence,[17] featured a keyboard-heavy sound that was dominated by Jones.[18] The album would prove to be their last as a band, as after Bonham's death in September 1980, the remaining members decided to disband the group. Coda (1982) is a collection of outtakes from various sessions during the band's career.[19][20]

Since their breakup, 26 songs have seen official release. The Led Zeppelin Boxed Set (1990) saw the release of the band's cover of Robert Johnson's "Travelling Riverside Blues", the live medley "White Summer/Black Mountain Side", and the first album release of "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do?";[21] the second boxed set (1993) saw the release of "Baby Come On Home".[22] New songs were also released on BBC Sessions (1997) and its remaster, The Complete BBC Sessions (2015),[23][24] 2003's Led Zeppelin DVD and the live album How the West Was Won (2003).[25] After the release of the concert film Celebration Day (2012), Page announced the remastering of the band's discography in the form of deluxe editions, which together included 13 previously unreleased songs, some of which were different mixes of previously released songs.[26] The albums were released between 2014 and 2015.[27][28][29][30]

  1. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Led Zeppelin – Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  2. ^ Wall 2008, pp. 166–167.
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  4. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Led Zeppelin II – Led Zeppelin". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  5. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Led Zeppelin III – Led Zeppelin". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  6. ^ Yorke 1993, p. 129.
  7. ^ Davis 2005, p. 25.
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference LZ4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ September 2002 Issue Archived 21 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine. SPIN. SPIN Media LLC.
  10. ^ Wall 2008, p. 294.
  11. ^ "Record Collector: Physical Graffiti – an album under review". Record Collector. Archived from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  12. ^ Wilkening, Matthew (28 March 2016). "The Story of Led Zeppelin's Most Diverse Album, 'Houses of the Holy'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Loudwire Network. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  13. ^ Dave Schulps, Interview with Jimmy Page Archived 20 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Trouser Press, October 1977.
  14. ^ Lewis 1990, pp. 54–56.
  15. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Physical Graffiti – Led Zeppelin". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  16. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Presence – Led Zeppelin". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  17. ^ Akkerman 2014, p. 113.
  18. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "In Through the Out Door – Led Zeppelin". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference coda was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Yorke 1993, p. 267.
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference boxed set was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference boxed set 2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "BBC Sessions – Led Zeppelin". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  24. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Complete BBC Sessions – Led Zeppelin". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  25. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "How the West Was Won – Led Zeppelin". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  26. ^ "Jimmy Page remastering Led Zeppelin albums for 2013 boxset release". NME. UK. 30 October 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  27. ^ "First Three Albums Newly Remastered With Previously Unreleased Companion Audio". LedZeppelin.com. 14 March 2014. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  28. ^ "Led Zeppelin Reissues Continue with Deluxe Editions of Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy". LedZeppelin.com. 29 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  29. ^ "Physical Graffiti Deluxe Edition Arrives Exactly 40 Years After Debut, Produced and Newly Remastered by Jimmy Page, with Previously Unreleased Companion Audio". LedZeppelin.com. 8 January 2015. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  30. ^ Grow, Kory (3 June 2015). "Led Zeppelin Announce Final Three Deluxe Reissues". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2017.