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 ci ...

's Summer 1970 North American Tour was the sixth concert tour of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band. The tour commenced on 10 August and concluded on 19 September 1970.

Overview

This concert tour was a massive success for Led Zeppelin, as they played to wildly enthusiastic audiences. It was their highest-grossing tour to date (for the two

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

concerts alone, the band grossed $100,000).Chris Welch (1994) ''Led Zeppelin'', London: Orion Books. , p. 58.Michael Leonard, "Heaven Sent", Q Led Zeppelin Special Edition, 2003. With

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

off the road at the time, only

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

could now compete with Led Zeppelin for the title of the world's top concert attraction. The band were widely hailed as bigger than

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, dethroning them in the polls for the first time in rock history.Luis Rey (1997) ''Led Zeppelin Live: An Illustrated Exploration of Underground Tapes'', Ontario: The Hot Wacks Press, p. 126. This concert tour was originally scheduled to commence on 5 August at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. However, the first week was rescheduled due to the ill health of the father of bass player John Paul Jones. The itinerary was amended several times, leading to much confusion, with the band erroneously being billed to appear at the Strawberry Fields Festival on the weekend of August 8–9.Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) ''Led Zeppelin: The Concert File'', London: Omnibus Press. , pp. 52-53. The tour eventually commenced on August 10 at Hampton.Led Zeppelin official website: concert summary
/ref> During this tour the band mixed their third album at Ardent Studios, Memphis, in August 1970. The album was released in October 1970, shortly following the conclusion of this tour.

Tour set list

The fairly typical set list for the tour was: #"

Immigrant Song "Immigrant Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is built upon a repeating riff and features lyrical references to Norse mythology, with singer Robert Plant's howling vocals mentioning war-making and Valhalla. The song was i ...

" ( Page,

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 exclud ...

) #"

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 f ...

" ( Bonham, Page, Plant) #" Dazed and Confused" (Page) #" Bring It On Home" (Page, Plant,

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, Indi ...

) #" That's the Way" (Page, Plant) #" Bron-Yr-Aur" (Page) #" Since I've Been Loving You" (Page, Plant,

Jones Jones may refer to: People *Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname *List of people with surname Jones * Jones (singer), a British singer-songwriter Arts and entertainment * Jones (''Animal Farm''), a human character in George Orwell ...

) #"Organ Solo"/"

Thank You "''Thank you''" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of ...

" (Page, Plant) #"

What Is and What Should Never Be "What Is and What Should Never Be" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and was included as the second track on ''Led Zeppelin II'' (1969). Composition and recording "What is and What Should N ...

" (Page, Plant) #" Moby Dick" (Page, Jones, Bonham) #"

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 r ...

" (Bonham,

, Jones, Page, Plant) Encore: *" Communication Breakdown" (Bonham, Jones, Page) *" Out on the Tiles" (Page, Plant, Bonham) (On 4 September, 6 September (late), and 19 September) *"

How Many More Times "How Many More Times" is the ninth and final track on English rock band Led Zeppelin's 1969 debut album ''Led Zeppelin''. The song is credited in the album liner to Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham, but Robert Plant was later added to ...

" (Page, Jones, Bonham) (On 19 September) *" Train Kept A-Rollin' (Bradshaw, Kay, Mann) (On 2 September) *"

Blueberry Hill "Blueberry Hill" is a popular American song published in 1940, best remembered for its 1950s rock and roll version by Fats Domino. The music was written by Vincent Rose, the lyrics by Larry Stock and Al Lewis. It was recorded six times in 1940 ...

" (Lewis, Stock) (On 2 September and 4 September) *" Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (Bredon, Page, Plant) (On 6 September (late)) There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour.

Tour dates

The original itinerary before John Paul Jones' father's illness was: While the final tour dates were:

References

External links

Comprehensive archive of known concert appearances by Led Zeppelin (official website)

Sources

*Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) ''Led Zeppelin: The Concert File'', London: Omnibus Press. . {{Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin concert tours 1970 concert tours 1970 in North America