Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...

's 1975 North American Tour was the tenth

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

of North America by the English rock band. The tour was divided into two legs, with performances commencing on 18 January and concluding on 27 March 1975. It was preceded with two European warm-up shows, performed at

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

respectively.

History

The 1975 North American tour took place nearly 18 months after the conclusion of their previous concert tour, which was the longest break between concerts yet taken by the band. As a result, some critics have suggested that the band seemed sluggish and rusty upon their return to the stage, with the group lacking dynamics and giving rather 'heavy' performances.

Luis Rey Luis V. Rey (born 1955) is a Spanish-Mexican artist and illustrator, a 1977 graduate of the San Carlos Academy, (UNAM). He was among the contributors of the weekly satirical magazine '' El Papus'' based in Barcelona, Spain. He was sentenced du ...

(1997) ''Led Zeppelin Live: An Illustrated Exploration of Underground Tapes'', Ontario: The Hot Wacks Press, p. 302. To make matters worse, prior to leaving England for the tour guitarist

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

suffered a broken ring finger after slamming his fingertip in a train door. This forced him to take pain killers and to develop a three finger playing technique during the first portion of the tour.Chris Welch (1994) ''Led Zeppelin'', London: Orion Books. , pp. 71-73. In addition,

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following th ...

contracted a bad case of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

early in the tour, causing the cancellation of one show and negatively affecting his singing ability for much of the rest of the tour, leading to some unfavourable reviews. However, toward the end of the tour it was noted that the group seemed to be recovering, leading to some memorable performances.Dave Lewis (2003), ''Led Zeppelin: Celebration II: The 'Tight But Loose' Files'', London:

Omnibus Press Omnibus Press is a publisher of music-related books. It publishes around 30 new titles a year to add to a backlist of over 250 titles currently in print. History Omnibus Press was launched in 1972 as a general non-fiction publisher to complem ...

. , p. 30. Indeed, by the end of this series of dates, Plant himself stated that: For this stint of concerts, Led Zeppelin employed a much grander light show than had been used on previous tours, featuring a large

neon Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypt ...

-lit 'Led Zeppelin' backdrop and krypton

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The ...

effects for

's violin bow interlude. One scheduled concert in this tour, on February 4 at the

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (la ...

, was canceled by the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Kevin White, when fans, who waited in the freezing cold for the tickets, were taken pity on by the stadium owners and were let in inside but rioted and trashed the stadium. A concert at 8 March at the West Palm Beach Speedway in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

was also canceled following the promoters' failure to make property improvements at the venue. The concert tour was promoted by the

Concerts West The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports even ...

firm, and it marked one of the first tours ever where an individual concert promotion firm promoted the whole U.S. tour of an artist or group. The company further established its mark by promoting the band's subsequent 1977 tour of North America. An image of

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

in '' Christopher Strong'' wearing her aviator's suit appeared on the tour poster. During this tour Led Zeppelin hired ''

The Starship ''The Starship'' was a former United Airlines Boeing 720 passenger jet, bought by Bobby Sherman and his manager, Ward Sylvester, and leased to touring musical artists in the mid-1970s. History ''The Starship'', N7201U (S/N: 17907), was the fi ...

'' – a former

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

Boeing 720B

passenger jet A jet airliner or jetliner is an airliner powered by jet engines (passenger jet aircraft). Airliners usually have two or four jet engines; three-engined designs were popular in the 1970s but are less common today. Airliners are commonly cla ...

, to transport them between cities. This was the second and final time the band used this plane, having initially done so on their previous tour of North America in 1973. Towards the end of this tour, Lynette Alice "Squeaky" Fromme, a member of

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

's "Family", confronted Danny Goldberg, vice-president of the band's record company demanding to speak with

to warn him of "bad energy." Fromme claimed to have foreseen the future and wished to forewarn Page of the imminent danger. She swore the last time this happened, she had seen someone shot to death before her eyes. Goldberg stated that even he couldn't see Page until the following night, to which Fromme responded "tomorrow night will probably be too late." Goldberg persuaded her to write a long note to Page, after which she left. The note was burned, unread. Later that year, Fromme made an unsuccessful attempt to

assassinate Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

U.S. President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

Cancelled legs

The second leg of the band's US tour concluded in March, and was followed by a series of shows at London's

Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

in May 1975. The band had planned to continue touring after a break, with a further round of eight US shows scheduled from August 23 to September 9; this leg would have commenced with two sold out dates at Oakland Coliseum and included a show at the Rose Bowl in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

in addition to concerts in

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

( Sun Devil Stadium),

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

(

Arrowhead Stadium Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The stadium has been officially named GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stad ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

(

Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, often referred to as Fulton County Stadium and originally named Atlanta Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in the southeastern United States, located in Atlanta. The stadium was home of the Atlanta Braves of th ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

(

Louisiana Superdome The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Sain ...

) and

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, be ...

( Lloyd Noble Center). A European tour was also planned for fall, including one scheduled concert in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. These plans were cancelled when Robert Plant sustained serious injuries from a car accident on the Greek island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

on August 5. During Plant's convalescence, in the time originally allotted for the tour the band opted to take time off before writing for the '' Presence'' album.

Recordings

Audio recordings from many of the tour's shows have been preserved on unofficial bootleg recordings. Several high-quality soundboard bootleg recordings of shows from this tour have surfaced in recent years, including the 12 February Madison Square Garden, 13 and 14 February Nassau County Coliseum, and 16 February St. Louis Arena dates. The recording of the Dallas show from March 5th rivals the quality of officially released recordings, and shows that by the later stages of the tour, the band was playing as skillfully as on previous tours. Proof of this was the complete soundboard release of the 21 March Seattle show. Possibly the longest show of the tour in excellent quality. In 2021, an almost complete soundboard tape of the tour opening concert at the

Metropolitan Sports Center The Met Center was an indoor arena that stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States, a suburb of Minneapolis. The arena, which was completed in 1967 by Minnesota Ice, just to the north of Metropolitan Stadium, seated 15,000. It was the home of ...

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, m ...

surfaced. The band can be heard playing new material from the upcoming album to an American audience for the first time, a week after two warm-up dates in Rotterdam and Brussels.

Setlist

The new set list included material from the band's recently released album, ''

Physical Graffiti ''Physical Graffiti'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released as a double album on 24 February 1975 by the group's new record label, Swan Song Records. The band wrote and recorded eight new songs for the ...

''. Songs from that album which were played for the first time on this tour included "

Sick Again "Sick Again" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1975 album ''Physical Graffiti''. It was written by singer Robert Plant. The song is about a group of teen groupies, which Plant referred to as "L.A. Queens", with whom the band ...

", " In My Time of Dying", "

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

", " The Wanton Song" and "

Trampled Under Foot "Trampled Under Foot" is a song by English rock group Led Zeppelin. A funk-influenced piece with John Paul Jones on clavinet, it was included on their 1975 album ''Physical Graffiti''. The song was released as a single in several countries and w ...

". This was in spite of the fact that the album itself was not released until the second half of the tour. Unforeseen delays in the production of the album's elaborate sleeve prevented its release before the commencement of the tour. Initially, both " When the Levee Breaks" and "The Wanton Song" were included in the set; the only period during which these songs were played live by Led Zeppelin. Both were dropped after a few weeks. It was also the last time " How Many More Times" was played, being temporarily brought back to replace "Dazed and Confused" which Page was unable to play until his injured finger healed. " Since I've Been Loving You", the other song that Page was unable to play due to his finger injury, was played only three times on the tour: 14 February at

Nassau Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, east of New York City. The Long Island venue is approximately east of the eastern limits of the New York City Borough of ...

, 21 March at

Seattle Center Coliseum Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of Downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was o ...

and 27 March at the

Los Angeles Forum Kia Forum (formerly The Forum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located between West Manchester Boulevard, across Pincay Drive and Kareem Court, it is north of SoFi Stadium and t ...

.Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary
/ref> The fairly typical set list for the tour was: #"

Rock and Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

" (

Page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

Plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae excl ...

, Jones, Bonham) #"

" (Page, Plant) #" Over the Hills and Far Away" (Page, Plant) #" When the Levee Breaks" ( Minnie, Bonham, Page, Plant, Jones) (Dropped after 21 January) #" In My Time of Dying" (Page, Plant, Jones, Bonham) #" Since I've Been Loving You" (Page, Plant, Jones) (only on 14 February, 21 March, and 27 March) #" The Song Remains the Same" (Page, Plant) #" The Rain Song" (Page, Plant) #"

" (Bonham, Page, Plant) #" The Wanton Song" (Page, Plant) (Dropped after 25 January) #"

No Quarter The phrase no quarter was generally used during military conflict to imply combatants would not be taken prisoner, but killed. According to some modern American dictionaries, a person who is given no quarter is "not treated kindly" or "treated ...

" (Page, Plant, Jones) #"

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whi ...

" (Bonham) #" How Many More Times" (Page, Jones, Bonham) (21 January to 2 February) / " Dazed and Confused" (Page) (3 February to 27 March)* #"

Stairway to Heaven "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant for their untitled fourth studio album (often titled ''Led Zeppelin IV'') ...

" (Page, Plant) Encores (variations of the following list): *"

Whole Lotta Love "Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, '' Led Zeppelin II'', and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no single was ...

" (Bonham,

Dixon Dixon may refer to: Places International * Dixon Entrance, part of the Inside Passage between Alaska and British Columbia Canada * Dixon, Ontario United States * Dixon, California * Dixon, Illinois * Dixon, Greene County, Indiana * Dixon, In ...

, Jones, Page, Plant) (including " The Crunge") *" Black Dog" (Page, Plant, Jones) *"

Heartbreaker Heartbreaker(s) or The Heart Breaker(s) may refer to: Film and television *''The Heart Breakers'', a 1916 film starring Andrew Arbuckle *'' The Heart Breaker'', a 1925 film directed by Benjamin Stoloff * ''Heartbreaker'' (1983 film), an American ...

" ( Bonham, Page, Plant) (Played on 6 through 16 February and 4, 12, 14, 20, 21, and 24 March) *"

Communication Breakdown "Communication Breakdown" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, from their 1969 self-titled debut album. It was also used as the B-side of the group's first single in the US, " Good Times Bad Times". A promotional video was released ...

" (Bonham, Jones, Page) (played on 20, 22, 24, and 29 January, 1, 3, and 13 February, and 21 March) * Performances of this song during the first leg of the tour included "

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

", while the band switched to "

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

" during the second leg. Also when performed, "Mars, Bringer of War", was included ;Notes In Uniondale from 13–14 February, Ronnie Wood joined the band during the encore of "

Tour dates

Sources

*Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) ''Led Zeppelin: The Concert File'', London: Omnibus Press. .

References

External links

Comprehensive archive of known concert appearances by Led Zeppelin (official website)
*
View in Google Earth
{{Led Zeppelin 1975 concert tours Led Zeppelin concert tours