CARNEGIE HALL, NY 10-17-69 - Never Before Seen Fan Photos! First use of Black Beauty Les Paul

[drowan]

Here's a little more color on the LZ concert at the Schaefer Music Festival roughly 3 months prior to the 10/17/69 Carnegie Hall concert.

[drowan]

Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page seemed to have overlapping concert schedules at a number on New York metro area venues, including the Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park.  The perfomrances of both Led Zeppelin and The Jeff Back Group occurred during the month of July (1969) just three months prior to the LZ concert at Carnegie Hall on October 17, 1969.

[drowan]

Roughly one month after Led Zeppelin's NYC concert at the Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park, the band opted to play at Asbury Park rather than accepting an invitation to play at Woodstock.  Janis Joplin's schedule as shown below, was not a direct conflict with the Woodstock concert dates and allowed her to play a both venues.  Two months later almost to the day, Led Zeppelin came back to New York to play at Carnegie Hall on their fourth tour of the US in 1969.  It was also the first time in five years that Carnegie Hall management in 1969 started to allow rock concerts to be played again at this prestigious venue.

 

 

[drowan]

A Variety excerpt by Jem Aswad:

50 Years Ago, Led Zeppelin Held Its First Rehearsal: ‘The Whole Room Just Exploded’

"The group played an incredible 145 shows in 1969, and by the end of the year they had released the blockbuster “Led Zeppelin II” (featuring their breakthrough single “Whole Lotta Love”) and were headlining venues like London’s Royal Albert Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Boston Garden and Detroit’s Olympia Stadium.

From there, Zeppelin went on to become one of the most popular rock bands in history, dominating the 1970s, influencing countless thousands of musicians and, according to unofficial estimates, selling more than 200 million albums worldwide."

 

[drowan]

A quoted blog text from JonFox on June 14, 2014 providing some additional color and back-story:

The Paris concert from October 10, 1969, is the real hook for the Zep fanatic, as the recording captures the omnipotent Led Zeppelin from the stage just a few weeks before the release of the group's blistering second LP. Performing at the Olympia in Paris, and billed as a warm-up gig for the group's October 12th show at London's Lyceum Ballroom, followed by Zeppelin's fourth tour of the United States, beginning at Carnegie Hall in New York on the 17th, the Paris performance includes songs from the first two albums, with a brief intro of "Good Times Bad Times" giving way to the battering onslaught of "Communication Breakdown". Page produced the recording for the Led Zeppelin remastered offering, which was originally aired via French radio airwaves on November 2, 1969.

The live set showcases Zeppelin hitting hard, while accenting their on-stage presence with lighter moments. Featuring "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" and "Dazed and Confused", as well as the group's cover of "You Shook Me", and a preview of "Heartbreaker" and "Moby Dick", the gig culminates with a tight roll through "How Many More Times", which also closes out the legendary debut LP.
 

Source: https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/led-zeppelin/led-zeppelin-5/

 

Edited July 28, 2019 by drowan
Provided source of blog quote.

[drowan]

Some additional color on the approaching Led Zeppelin North American Tour in the fall of 1969 and the opening gig at Carnegie Hall on October 17:

Source: "No Quarter:  "The Three Lives of Jimmy Page", by Martin Power:

 

Edited August 4, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

Historical perspective on the 10/17/69 Led Zeppelin Concert at Carnegie Hall from Fine Art America:

"Rock and roll music first came to Carnegie Hall when Bill Haley & His Comets appeared in a variety benefit concert on May 6, 1955. Rock acts were not regularly booked at the Hall however, until February 12, 1964, when The Beatles performed two shows during their historic first trip to the United States. Promoter Sid Bernstein convinced Carnegie officials that allowing a Beatles concert at the venue "would further international understanding" between the United States and Great Britain. "Led Zeppelin became the first hard rock act to play Carnegie Hall since the Rolling Stones tore the place up some five years ago." Two concerts were performed October 17, 1969. Since then numerous rock, blues, jazz and country performers have appeared at the hall every season.Jethro Tull released the tapes recorded on its presentation in a 1970 Benefit concert, in the 2010 re-release of the Stand Up album. Ike & Tina Turner performed a concert April 1, 1971, which resulted in their album What You Hear is What You Get. The Beach Boys played concerts in 1971 and 1972, and two songs from the show appeared on their Endless Harmony Soundtrack. Chicago recorded its 4-LP box set Chicago at Carnegie Hall in 1971."

Source:  https://fineartamerica.com/featured/2-carnegie-hall-ed-weidman.html

 

[drowan]

John Mendelsohn, top writer and rock music critic for Rolling Stone magazine, less than two months after the 10/17/69 Carnegie Hall concert, concedes he got it all wrong about Led Zeppelin earlier that year and that the band is destined for, if not already arrived at, greatness as of December, 1969:

Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin II (Atlantic)

John Mendelsohn, Rolling Stone, 13 December 1969

Hey, man, I take it all back! This is one fucking heavyweight of an album! OK – I'll concede that until you've listened to the album eight hundred times, as I have, it seems as if it's just one especially heavy song extended over the space of two whole sides. But, hey! You've got to admit that the Zeppelin has their distinctive and enchanting formula down stone-cold, man. Like, you get the impression they could do it in their sleep.

 

 

[drowan]

Rock and roll music first came to Carnegie Hall when Bill Haley & His Comets appeared in a variety benefit concert on May 6, 1955.^[22] Rock acts were not regularly booked at the Hall however, until February 12, 1964, when The Beatles performed two shows^[23] during their historic first trip to the United States.^[24] Promoter Sid Bernstein convinced Carnegie officials that allowing a Beatles concert at the venue "would further international understanding" between the United States and Great Britain.^[25] "Led Zeppelin became the first hard rock act to play Carnegie Hall since the Rolling Stones tore the place up some five years ago." Two concerts were performed October 17, 1969.^[26] Since then numerous rock, blues, jazz and countryperformers have appeared at the hall every season.^[27] Jethro Tull released the tapes recorded on its presentation in a 1970 Benefit concert, in the 2010 re-release of the Stand Up album. Ike & Tina Turner performed a concert April 1, 1971, which resulted in their album What You Hear is What You Get. The Beach Boys played concerts in 1971 and 1972, and two songs from the show appeared on their Endless Harmony Soundtrack. Chicago recorded its 4-LP box set Chicago at Carnegie Hallin 1971.

Source:  https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Carnegie_Hall

 

 

 

[drowan]

Led Zeppelin at Atlantic Records in New York City in 1969 displaying their Gold Album awards for Led Zeppelin I a few months before their 4th North American Tour and kick-off Carnegie Hall concert in October of that year.

 

[Dirty Work]

On 1/26/2018 at 6:32 AM, sam_webmaster said:

Here are some never-before-seen fan photos from Led Zeppelin's legendary Carnegie Hall (October 17, 1969) appearance. A group of 15 year-old fans captured their experience at the 8:30pm (early show) from the 10th row. They describe a lack of security, except for Carnegie Hall ushers and were free to venture up to the front of the stage for a few pics as well.

Amazingly, these photos also reveal Jimmy Page's first photographed live use of his Black Beauty Les Paul during Led Zeppelin and confirms it was brought to North America for this fall 1969 tour.

http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/october-17-1969

 

Thanks!

[drowan]

Another firsthand witness account of the 10/17/29 Carnegie Hall concert from Jimmy Page's website:

Joseph Dera I was there. My crew would come into the city for some beers and mischief. Not much of a drinker I wandered around Manhattan and hit 7th and 57th. Saw that Zep were playing. Asked the box office if any tix left? Yes, front row balcony, $3.50. What a show. Will never forget it.

Source:  https://www.jimmypage.com/?fbclid=IwAR1I621zcDwLh9qro-yTNy1aOJKuJlOg-aLDTE3WsxNiEAScAdAc-BWBY0M

 

[drowan]

 

Jimmy Page in A&R Studios in 1969, the year they played at Carnegie Hall.

[drowan]

Jimmy Page recording LZ II at Olympic Studios in London a few months before the 10/17/69 Carnegie Hall concert.

[drowan]

On 4/4/2019 at 11:01 AM, drowan said:

Here's an excerpted report from the [London] Financial Times showing the significance of Led Zeppelin's highly successful concert at Carnegie Hall combined with chart topping record sales of both LZI and LZII.  In the process, the band started to attract growing attention back home in the UK, prompting the UK Board of Trade, represented by Gwyneth Dunwoody, to recognize Led Zeppelin for boosting the country's balance of trade.

When Gwyneth Dunwoody entered Parliament for the first time in 1966, as MP for Exeter, a promising future lay before her. Then a slim brunette, she added a touch of glamour to the Labour benches. Within 17 months Harold Wilson had made her a junior minister at the Board of Trade, where she succeeded in combining a hectic political schedule with a full family life. Her husband, John Dunwoody, Labour MP for Falmouth and Camborne, had entered Parliament with her; they had three young children.

Here's the actual picture of Dunwoody making the Gold and Platinum Albums presentation (a month and a half after the Carnegie Hall concert).

Edited August 19, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

Another picture from the 1969 Olympic Studio recording session for LZ II in 1969 just prior to the Carnegie Hall concert in NYC in October 1969.

[drowan]

On 8/19/2019 at 3:40 PM, drowan said:

Here's the actual picture of Dunwoody making the Gold and Platinum Albums presentation (a month and a half after the Carnegie Hall concert).

Here is an interview with Phil Carson (shown in the photo above to the left), Atlantic label manager in London who interestingly used to be asked by Led Zeppelin occasionally to play base guitar when John Paul Jones was playing keyboards during some of their concerts in the London area!  Phil Carson talks about it in the excerpted interview that follows.  He was also witness to the "mudshark" incident.

Gus: Tell us about your relationship with the Ertegun’s both brothers Ahmet and Nesuhi.

Phil: It was Nesuhi that hired me originally and he was in charge of the worldwide operations of Atlantic outside of America and also incidentally ran the Jazz department. He hired me to take over the label in London initially, and as time went by I got promoted to all of Europe. Then eventually globally outside of America. So that’s how that took place.

Gus: You had a long, obviously lasting relationship with the brothers. Tell us about your working relationship with both brothers?

Phil: Well, it was first with Nesuhi. Then I gradually started gravitating to working more with Ahmet because Ahmet was really running the rock signing of the label in those days. We still have Jerry Wexler at the label, of course, who was principally concerned with signing and producing our R&B side. Ahmet, by then, had carved a path of particularly signing English Rock and Roll artists. Of course that’s where I say it was more a fortune that I was in the right place at the right time. There I was in England, an ex musician that knew some of the real artists that were emerging from the days when I was playing alongside them. So that’s the very fortunate position. Ahmet immediately recognized that there was a guy there that could be a big help. My relationship with Led Zeppelin is very important to that too because back in the early days they’d even allow me onstage at live shows to play bass and John Paul Jones was to play keyboards. I hated to say that John Paul Jones could play better bass with his feet on the Hammond organ than I could ever play. They used to think it was amusing to have me up there. Actually it didn’t hurt me, believe me. I enjoyed every moment of it.

Gus: That was one of my questions I was going to ask actually but since you brought it up now, I will ask how you got involved with Led Zeppelin and bringing them to America, where they bludgeoned into this enormous outfit.

Phil: I don’t take any credit whatsoever for breaking Led Zeppelin nor should anyone else. Led Zeppelin was an unstoppable force. I have put this down to something that Jerry Wexler actually told me back in the day about how to sign a band. He said listen, you sign any band you can that has got a virtuoso musician in it, because virtuoso musicians don’t play with good musicians, they only play with excellent musicians. So if there’s any virtuoso, try to sign the band, because it will always work. Led Zeppelin had four virtuoso musicians and that’s why it worked. It was just like I said, an unstoppable force of nature and that’s why, to this day, Led Zeppelin is still where it is, the number one most played rock band in the world on radio. So no one should take credit for breaking them. Obviously we did everything we could at Atlantic to enhance what they were already doing. There were some pretty good people in Atlantic in the early days and we were very, very successful with the band

Gus: I think you had a lot to do with it. You’re being very kind and discreet by saying it was a team effort but I’m sure you had a lot to do with it. You actually did play bass live on a couple tracks. I think you played bass in Osaka in ’71 on “C’Mon Everybody” and I think you played with them on June 30th, 1980, and played “Money.” You kind of elaborated on those experiences but you know, it’s just amazing that you got to participate, not only behind the scenes, you actually got to partake in the scene as well, so to speak.

Phil: It was a good moment to be there and they were terrific to me and Robert Plant remains one of my best friends to this day. So, you know, it’s just the way it was. It was a great relationship and to an extent still flourishes.

Gus: I have to ask about some infamous road stories I hear you were a part of. This would include the mud shark and the motorcycle down the hallway. Do you wan’t to elaborate on that?

Phil: Well, it’s not worth it really. Yes I was there. I will have to own up to that on a number of these legendary moments. I’m glad I was there and I’d rather release the chatter on the music part of it really. With the occasional little aside, that won’t get me into too much trouble.

Gus: (laughs) Just saying you were there and maybe partaken and that’s good enough for us.

Phil: (laughs) That’s good to hear (laughs).

Source:  https://backstageaxxess.com/2015/05/phil-carson-phil-carson-associates-interview/

 

 

[drowan]

Here is another photo of Jimmy Page from the Olympic Studios LZ II recording session in London several months prior to the band's Carnegie Hall concert in NYC.

[drowan]

Here is a commemorative reproduction of Led Zeppelin's first press kit prepared in January 1969 that was re-issued one year after the LZ Carnegie Hall concert in October 1969.

[drowan]

Photo of Led Zeppelin preforming at the Singer Bowl in Queens, NY roughly two months prior to the Carnegie Hall concert in October 1969.

[drowan]

Jimmy Page at Olympic Studios in London in 1969 working on a recording for LZ II just a few months prior to the Carnegie Hall concert on October 1969.

 

Edited September 6, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

Rock and roll music first came to Carnegie Hall when Bill Haley and his Comets appeared in a variety benefit concert on May 6, 1955.^[21] Rock acts were not regularly booked at the Hall, however, until February 12, 1964, when The Beatles performed two shows^[22] during their historic first trip to the United States.^[23]Promoter Sid Bernstein convinced Carnegie officials that allowing a Beatles concert at the venue “would further international understanding” between the United States and Great Britain.^[24] “Led Zeppelin became the first hard rock act to play Carnegie Hall since the Rolling Stones tore the place up some five years ago.” Two concerts were performed October 17, 1969.^[25] Since then numerous rock, blues, jazz and country performers have appeared at the hall every season. ^[26]

Source:  http://www.theatregold.com/carnegie-hall/

Edited September 13, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

Music History Events: MEMORABLE CONCERTS

October 17, 1969 Led Zeppelin's third US tour opens at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

 “They took the stage on October 17, 1969—five days before the release of Led Zeppelin II as one of the first hard rock bands to play at this prestigious venue. Even up against Donovan’s show at Madison Square Garden, Led Zeppelin sold out Carnegie Hall and, as a review in Cashbox put it, ‘stunned the audience with the driving sound’ of now classic songs including ‘Heartbreak’ and ‘Dazed and Confused.’“ purpleclover.com

They missed their initial flight and arrived hours before the first show. They were bound and determined to make it a gig to remember, especially Bonzo, who apparently did a solo that was unbelievable. Supposedly, there’s a boot of the concert, but it’s not seen the light of day. Oh, how I would love for it to surface.

[drowan]

Led Zeppelin triumphs in 1969.  The Carnegie Hall concert in October of that year was a definitive watershed moment!!!

Led Zeppelin soon became a headliner in their own right.  Within eight months of their official debut, Led Zeppelin were at the top of the bill at the Playhouse Theater in London, and the Pop Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London.  On October 17, ’69, a year and two days from the bands conception, Led Zeppelin played in Carnegie Hall, ending a ban on rock groups at the concert hall, originally caused by the Rolling Stones in 1965.  While playing in Denmark, Eva von Zeppelin, relative of the designer of the airship, Ferdinand von Zeppelin, threatened to sue the band if they used the name in the country.  Led Zeppelin played under the alias The Nobs.

The first album Led Zeppelin climbed to #10 in the US and to #6 in the UK.  Album two, entitled Led Zeppelin 2, moved up to #1 in both the US and the UK, staying on the charts for 98 in the States and an astounding 138 weeks in Britain.

Edited September 16, 2019 by drowan
Added more detail.

[drowan]

Led Zeppelin plays at the Olympia Theater in Paris a week before the Carnegie Hall concert in NYC which kicks off their 4th North American Tour of 1969!

Note:  Robert Plant appears to be wearing the same "all black" outfit at Olympia as he performed in at Carnegie Hall.  There has been some confusion in the press coverage as to whether Carnegie Hall kicked off the band's 3rd tour of North America or their 4th.  For the record - it was clearly their 4th.  They went on two tours in the spring of 1969, one in the summer and a final 4th tour in the fall.

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by drowan
Additional note about Plant's outfit. Clarification about 4th tour.