Happy Birthday: Led Zeppelin II Is 40 Years Old!
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Led Zeppelin II, one of the most iconic albums of all time. So, we thought it should be marked with a list of 10 facts about the record. Some you might know, others you won’t. Just a bit of fun, really.
* The woman featured on the cover is actress Glynis Johns, famed for her role in Mary Poppins!
* Every one of the nine tracks was recorded in a different studio.
* This is the first album to feature Jimmy Page playing his famed 1959 Gibson Les Paul.
* Led Zeppelin II was the band’s first number one album in America. It knocked the Beatles’ Abbey Road off the top – twice. It also topped the UK charts, again superceding Abbey Road.
* Although never released as a single in the UK, Whole Lotta Love did come out in America, Germany, Japan, Holland, Belgium and France.
* Moby Dick has also been known as Pat’s Delight and Over The Top.
* Although Thank You ended Side One of the original vinyl release, with Heartbreaker opening Side Two, on the cassette version [does anybody remember laughter...erm, cassettes?!] this was reversed.
* Livin’ Lovin’ Maid (She’s Just A Woman) has never been played its entirety live by Zeppelin.
* Art director David Juniper was nominated for a Grammy in 1970 for the Best Recording Package. He lost out to America The Beautiful by Gary McFarland. No, we’ve not got a clue, either.
* In 2006, this album was number eight on the Classic Rock list of the Top 100 Greatest British Rock Albums Ever.
For further info, go to www.ledzeppelin.com
Fantastic album – time does not detract from it one bit.
[...] Original post by mdome [...]
Possibly their most consistent – and exciting – album. Am sure Percy will be calling up the others to suggest a celebratory tour… Er, not on this planet, though. Seriously, I don’t think this album can be bettered, even by Zeppelin themselves.
the brown bomber. a staple of my youth. it was good to be young then.
Is it really 40 years since I was in the sixth form and bought this in its week of release. An album that I still play.
(And I have the cassette as well)