May 9, 1969: Led Zeppelin plays Edmonton Gardens (May 9, 2014) EDMONTON - They weren’t rock legends yet, but Led Zeppelin were well on their way when they performed at the Edmonton Gardens during their second tour of North America. Edmonton and Vancouver were their only Canadian dates. Britain’s hottest and loudest new rock band must have made some ears bleed when they “let loose an earthquake of sound and frenzy,” wrote Journal reviewer Bob Harvey. “Their music’s loud, almost to the point of pain, but they don’t use volume to cover up deficiencies. “The volume is part of their attack. “Probably the most aggressive, masculine rock group anywhere. They batter at the mind and ear, insisting that they will penetrate.” Formed in late 1968, their first album, Led Zeppelin, was the result of their first two weeks together. It was No. 3 on the music chart at CHED, then a rock radio station. Tickets for the Gardens show were $3.50, $4, and $4.50. The band’s rock gods included 21-year-old singer Robert Plant, 23-year-old guitarist Jimmy Page, 22-year-old bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and 21-year-old drummer John Bonham. “Plant has a powerful voice that’s easily heard above the din of the instruments,” Harvey wrote. And Page is a “genius on the guitar … and is easily the most inventive, imaginative guitarist I’ve heard.” His 20-minute guitar solo got a standing ovation from the crowd of 5,200. Because of the Air Canada strike, it had taken the band 12 hours to fly to Edmonton from its previous stop in Santa Monica, Calif., but Harvey wrote they didn’t let any fatigue affect their performance. The Angus Park Blue Band and Papa Bear’s Medicine Show also appeared on the bill. Two months later Led Zeppelin came through Edmonton again — one of only three Canadian stops along with Vancouver and Toronto — and played for a standing-room-only crowd of 5,000 at the Kinsmen Field House on July 29th, along with Vanilla Fudge. Tickets were $4 in advance, $5 at the door. Led Zeppelin disbanded following Bonham’s death from alcohol-related asphyxia in 1980. Their more than 138 million certified record sales put the band in the same musical stratosphere as The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Elton John, and Pink Floyd. © Copyright © The Edmonton Journal http://www.edmontonjournal.com/1969+Zeppelin+plays+Edmonton+Gardens/9820541/story.html Original Review: Transcript: Hot Rock Band, Loud, Frenzied By Bob Harvey | The Journal Led Zeppelin is brutal. The hottest new rock band from Britain stalked on stage at the Gardens Friday and let loose an earthquake of sound and fury. Their music’s loud, almost to the point of pain, but they don’t use volume to cover up deficiencies. The volume is part of their attack. They don’t titillate, or tease audiences to share their inspiration. Instead they blast out with raw, jagged power, enough to bust a new door into your brain. They use their instruments like a brush and palette, creating frenzied visions that tumble through space and time. The visions have such deadly fascination that you can’t bear to blink an ear, but they’re flung out like hammers, so that it’s hard not to duck in self-protection. Led Zeppelin is probably the most aggressive, masculine rock group anywhere. They batter at the mind and ear, insisting that they penetrate. Because of the Air Canada strike, the group spent 12 hours getting to Edmonton, but they didn’t let fatigue affect their performance. Their whole approach depends on being able to roue themselves to a high pitch of excitement, and mounting an all-out war in an attempt to bring audience along with them. For every performance, they must wrench, and share what they have inside. Like other artists, rock musicians strive to lift up their audiences to a higher level whether it be of emotion or thought. Led Zeppelin compels excitement and involvement. If an audience retains detachment or any kind of objectivity their performance becomes meaningless. The most powerful members of the group on stage are guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant. Their movements are charged with quivering nerves, and the tension and complete accord between them heightens the electricity. Plant, 21, has a powerful, moaning voice that’s easily heard about the din of the instruments. Page, 23, is a genius on the guitar. He creates soaring pictures of the future by using a violin-bow on the guitar, plucks trumpets sounds out of the air, and is easily the most inventive, imaginative guitarist I’ve heard. He got a standing ovation for a 20-minute solo. Drummer John Bonham, 21, is almost as inventive as Page. He must have four arms to play the way he does. Bassist John Paul Jones, 22, plugs along at the bottom of the sound, adding a foundation. Led Zeppelin’s been together only since late last year. The result of their first two weeks together is the album Led Zeppelin, currently Number Three on CHED’s chart. Page started looking for musicians after the Yardbirds broke up in 1968. Besides Page, the Yardbirds produced Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. Both Page and Jones had been arrangers and studio musicians, working with people like Donovan, and the Rolling Stones. They got together while working on Donovan’s Hurdy Gurdy Man album. Then they heard Bonham and Plant, and Led Zeppelin was formed. Page said: “I can’t put a tag to our music. Every one of us has been influenced by the blues, but it’s one interpretation of it and how you utilize it. I wish someone would invent an expression, but the closest I can get is contemporary blues.” As Led Zeppelin plays it, it’s knock-down, drag-out blues. Two other rock groups, the Angus Park Blues Band, and Papa Bear’s Medicine Show appeared on the bill with Led Zeppelin at the concert, staged by Boyd Grafmyre of Seattle, and Fantasy Inc. ---- Timeline: http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/may-9-1969

NY State Pavilion named ‘treasure’ On World’s Fair 50th anniversary, there’s joy in Flushing Meadows As the smell of sweet Belgian waffles wafted in the spring breeze, 2,500 spectactors gathered at the New York State Pavilion in Flushing Meadows Park on Tuesday morning to hear it declared a “National Treasure” and see for themselves what’s left of the hulking relic. The event was held to commemorate the opening of the World’s Fair in 1964 and give visitors a chance to see the decaying pavilion that has been chained off for years. People waited on line for hours to don a hard hat and take a quick peek inside the Tent of Tomorrow. They were joined by elected and Parks Department officials, but the big news came from Paul Goldberger, a board member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, who announced the “National Treasure” designation. Goldberger said the title “recognizes historically, culturally and architecturally important sites to raise awareness and funding for their preservation.” Only 44 locations in the United States have been awarded the designation since the program began four years ago. He called the Philip Johnson-designed pavilion “a remarkable piece of architecture” and “the finest architectural achievement of the fair.” The event was organized by Parks and the Pavilion Paint Project, volunteers who since 2009 have repainted the structure with the familiar red and white stripes that decorated it during the fair. John Piro, who helped organize the group, said he was overwhelmed by the response of the large crowd. “It shows people care about the pavilion and want it preserved,” Piro said. Earlier this year, Parks held listening sessions to find out what people wanted done with the pavilion. It’s been estimated that it would cost $72 million to fully restore it or $14 million to demolish it. But Borough President Melinda Katz has come out strongly in favor of saving the structure and said Tuesday that as far as she is concerned, the $14 million can go toward restoring it. Congressman Joe Crowley (D-Bronx, Queens) said he wants to make the pavilion a national landmark “and we should do all we can to save it.” Goldberger, noting that for years the future of it had been problematic, added: “For a long time the pavilion’s future was a question mark; in the future it will be an exclamation point.” The people who came for the opening were a mixed bag, from those who went to the fair and wanted to renew the positive feelings it invoked to restoration supporters and the curious who wondered what the hype was all about. Christopher Dean traveled from Boston. He grew up in New Haven, Ct. and remembers the transportation exhibits from the fair, including the Avis antique car ride. Artie DeGennaro and his wife, Lois, of Oceanside, LI, both grew up in Queens. He remembers singing with his school at the pavilion during Brooklyn-Queens Day. “I had a camera and I saw bandleader Guy Lombardo standing with Robert Moses and Mayor Robert Wagner, and I asked to take their picture, which they agreed to,” DeGennaro said. “I have lots of good memories.” DeGennaro, who was raised in Bayside, said he and his family went to the fair almost every weekend it was open for two years. “That was our vacation,” he said. Sueann Hoahng grew up in Chinatown and still lives in Manhattan. She came to the fair with the Henry Street Settlement House at the age of 6. “Everyone was well dressed and well behaved,” Hoahng said. “The Fountain of the Planets was amazing and I remember the Belgian waffles.” Valerie Barbarite grew up in Maspeth and went to the fair with her drum and bugle corps, performing at the pavilion. “We marched in formation and played our instruments,” Barbarite said. Barbarite now lives in Sea Cliff, LI, and is happy that saving the pavilion now looks more likely. David Steinberg hails from Bayside and said he has a vague memory of going up the elevator to one of the pavilion’s three observation towers. “I want the pavilion preserved,” Steinberg said. “It’s criminal that it was allowed to decay so long.” A food truck serving Belgian waffles, which became popular during the 1964-65 fair, was a hit with visitors on Tuesday, though the price has escalated from 99 cents then to almost $10 now. Most of the pavilion, which includes the observation towers, the Tent of Tomorrow and the Theaterama, now home to the Queens Theatre, has been deteriorating since the fair ended. For a time the tent was used as a roller skating rink and a concert venue for Led Zeppelin and other acts. But in the 1970s, the Plexiglas panels above it began falling and Parks said they posed a safety risk, so it removed the remaining panels and closed the site. Weather and time have eroded the Texaco terrazzo floor map of the state, and rust and decay can be seen everywhere. To conserve what’s left of the floor, Parks covered it, and only gravel is visible. But parts of the floor were on display Tuesday to help visitors imagine what it looked like 50 years ago. by Liz Rhoades, Managing Editor | http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/ny-state-pavilion-named-treasure/article_29949268-e22c-528d-9480-599a7abb4ae7.html http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/august-29-1969 http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/august-30-1969

Minneapolis 1977

Taken before the '73 US tour, published in NME April 21, 1973.

Gwyneth Dunwoody, Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, who presented Led Zeppelin with Gold Record awards for sales of $5 million in the United States. Jimmy Page arrives late for the actual ceremony... December 11, 1969Gold & Platinum Record Awards - Savoy Hotel (UK) http://www.ledzeppelin.com/event/december-11-1969

SAN BERNARDINO: The man behind the name of the Swing Auditorium Fred Bauman/The Press-Enterprise The Rolling Stones caused a commotion when they arrived at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, in spring 1964, for their first American concert. A Text Size BY MARK MUCKENFUSS | April 11, 2014; 04:08 PM Anyone who spent time as a teenager in San Bernardino in the 1960s or 1970s knew Ralph Swing. Well, maybe they didn’t know Swing so much as they did his auditorium. Swing was a native son of the city who had a local law practice before becoming one of California’s most influential state senators. He also was one of the local citrus industry’s biggest boosters; he helped found the first National Orange Show and served as manager and later board president. So when a large auditorium was constructed on the show grounds in 1949, officials slapped Swing’s name on it. He retired from the state Senate in 1950 after 28 years of service that earned him the stature of dean of the senate. (Some references say he served 24 years, but others, including the political archives of JoinCalifornia, show Swing winning his first election in 1922 and every election after that through 1946.) But the kids who lined up waiting for Alice Cooper or KISS to blow out their tender eardrums probably had no idea who Ralph was. In fact, no one called it the Ralph Swing Auditorium. It wasn’t even called the Swing Auditorium. It was known simply as The Swing. It wasn’t the greatest venue for sound quality, but it was the best the region had, and it drew plenty of worthwhile acts. Most famously, it was the site of the first American concert by the Rolling Stones, in 1964. The group returned the following year. Later on, rock ’n’ roll legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin and Elton John visited its stage — John, on his first American tour, was actually second bill to Leon Russell. In earlier years, performers of a different generation entertained the crowds. Jack Benny, Louis Armstrong and Sammy Davis Jr. were among the. Davis performed in a benefit there for San Bernardino Community Hospital, where had been treated after a serious automobile accident on Cajon Boulevard, Route 66. Davis lost his left eye in the crash. And for a run of 13 years, Bob Hope appeared at The Swing as part of the entertainment for the National Orange Show. That string of shows would have started before Swing died in 1961, at age 86. The Swing Auditorium died in 1981, when a twin-engine Cessna crashed into it, killing the pilot and his passenger. Beyond repair, it was torn down. Swing’s name doesn’t adorn anything else of significance in the city. Maybe it should. In addition to his promotion of the Orange Show, Swing had a big impact on San Bernardino. Some is still felt today. In the 1910s, he represented San Bernardino in the city’s landmark legal battle with Riverside over control of local water. He was a leader in establishing the Metropolitan Water District in the mid-1920s. When Swing introduced that legislation with Hiram Johnson, the Los Angeles Daily Times called it "one of the most radical and socialistic proposals ever submitted to the State Legislature." And Swing was a Republican. He also was very non-Republican (at least by today’s standards) in how he saw the role of government. Instead of trying to eliminate it, he disseminated it, decentralizing state offices in Sacramento and establishing satellites in counties. “We must take the government to the people, not require the people to come to the government,” he said. He also took it upon himself to complete a petition for redress of a grievance written by Col. Isaac Williams, the original owner of the Chino Rancho, in 1850, but which had never been filed. Swing got the Legislature to restore Williams’ good name and considered it one of his most significant accomplishments. Well, that and the Stones. http://www.pe.com/local-news/san-bernardino-county/san-bernardino-county-headlines-index/20140411-san-bernardino-the-man-behind-the-name-of-the-swing-auditorium.ece Led Zeppelin: Swing Auditorium - August 8, 1969 Swing Auditorium - June 22, 1972

Japan article on the '77 tour, published Oct. '77:

The Hammerwood article is July 1981, not sure of the exact date or publication.

Brussels 1980 1981...

Japan '77 press

USA 1977 - A Midnight Ride With Led Zeppelin

http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/august-29-1969 http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/august-30-1969

Q magazine - April 2014

For LZ77 (Tony): This photographer shot these exclusively for Mexican press. Los Angeles 6-22-77

Led Zeppelin - Лестница В Небо

Led Zeppelin - The Ride (2008)

New York - September 3, 1971 Madison Square Garden

Hamburg 1970

I asked the publisher - They said there is one of Robert Plant in "Seize the Time", from Vancouver '69 at the Agrodome.

It's a combination of two different pics, not a photo shoot.

I have a Canadian first pressing (supposed to be anyway) and it doesn't have the "Do what thou wilt" / "So mote be it" etchings.....

Here's the original article w/ that photo. (New Musical Express, published: Jan. 18, 1975)

Atlanta 1973 - video cameraman: