BIG 100 is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of Led Zeppelin IV! This iconic album came out on November 8, 1971.
Monday at noon I'll play you the entire album, and give away copies of the album on CD, courtesy of Swan Song/Atlantic Records.
You can also win a CD copy of Led Zeppelin IV each morning this week at 10:40 with the BIG Guitar Riff of the Day. I'll play you a legendary Zeppelin guitar riff, and then you identify the song at wbig.com/guitar.
Led Zeppelin IV is the album that most fans and critics consider their best. The band never gave the album a name, but since it was their fourth album, it became known most commonly as Led Zeppelin IV.
Over the years, the album also has been referred to as Four Symbols and The Fourth Album by Atlantic Records. Some also call it ZoSo, which Jimmy Page's symbol on the album label appears to spell.
Jimmy Page himself frequently refers to the album as "the fourth album" and "Led Zeppelin IV", while Robert Plant thinks of it as "the fourth album, that's it."
The original vinyl album has no text on the front or back cover, and has no catalogue number on the spine.
Recording started in December 1979 at Island Records' Basing Street Studios in London after first considering doing it at Mick Jagger's home, Stargroves. That was too pricey so they took over Headley Grange, a country estate in Hampshire, England.
Page preferred doing it in a remote location because they could be all together and really concentrate on the sessions.
Every song on this album is incredible:
Side 1
Black Dog
Rock & Roll
The Battle of Evermore
Stairway to Heaven
Side 2
Misty Mountain Hop
Four Sticks
Going to California
When the Levee Breaks
The album cover features a 19th-century rustic oil painting that Robert Plant bought at an antique shop in Reading, England. Page says it was intended to bring out a city/country dichotomy that had initially surfaced on Led Zeppelin III, and a reminder that people should look after the Earth.
The album cover was among the 10 chosen by the Royal Mail for a set of "Classic Album Cover" postage stamps in January 2010.
Led Zeppelin IV peaked at number-two on the Billboard 200 and has been certified 23-times platinum.