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


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On 2/2/2019 at 8:45 PM, ScarletMacaw said:

Thanks for the photos and all this info! I just recently returned to this site.

I attended the Zep tribute event at Carnegie Hall in March 2018. It was a lot of fun. Some of the acts were better than others, but they all put on a good show. The highlight was definitely the Rock and Roll cover by Living Colour. I wish I could go this year but I moved to California. 

Scarlet Macaw:  Yes, the Living Colour band members put on a great performance at the Led Zeppelin Tribute last March 2018 at Carnegie Hall.  Here is a photo I took of the band that night. Rock on!!

 AC2YSs-vvRadGlGHnNXlVtrcrtBA5P-_NN1IEjlxVNro4bmaSKWNmVOgEZcd69vM9QOLQliVVXiaLg-0j1FeOJo1IycGQe42pQmuxNG87CZ7MgOUTL4xrwxtKyaYyKYDIw~~?tw=3840&th=0&X-Client-Platform=WEB&X-Client-Identifier=WEBCS

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Steve Hoffman Music Forum had this commentary about the prospect of finding a bootleg recording of the Carnegie Hall Led Zeppelin concert:

If memory serves (and it's less and less these days) I asked Eddie Kramer about taking all those Zep photos at Carnegie Hall. Was he there taping the show and took the chance to snap some photos?

Unfortunately, he said no. I don't believe multis exist of that show.

Source: https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/led-zeppelin-live-versus-studio.346572/page-6   (see the commentary at the bottom of Page 6)

 

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On 2/4/2019 at 3:40 PM, drowan said:

Scarlet Macaw:  Yes, the Living Colour band members put on a great performance at the Led Zeppelin Tribute last March 2018 at Carnegie Hall.  Here is a photo I took of the band that night. Rock on!!

 AC2YSs-vvRadGlGHnNXlVtrcrtBA5P-_NN1IEjlxVNro4bmaSKWNmVOgEZcd69vM9QOLQliVVXiaLg-0j1FeOJo1IycGQe42pQmuxNG87CZ7MgOUTL4xrwxtKyaYyKYDIw~~?tw=3840&th=0&X-Client-Platform=WEB&X-Client-Identifier=WEBCS

Here is the photo of Living Colour at the March 7, 2018 Led Zeppelin Tribute held at Carnegie Hall:

 

image.png

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On 2/4/2019 at 3:40 PM, drowan said:

Here is a great interview of Eddie Kramer (EK) by Finding Zoso (FZ) about their experiences recording Led Zeppelin II during 1969 right before the Carnegie Hall concert was held in October of that year:

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The Carnegie Hall concert was held a week before the release of Led Zeppelin II and included a visit by the band to Atlantic's New York studio with Eddie Kramer to talk about their tour, the concert they were playing that night at Carnegie Hall and the release of the album.  Both Chris Wood (Traffic) and Dr. John were in the studio that day visiting with the Atlantic staff along with sound engineer Eddie Kramer and were subsequently invited to watch the Carnegie Hall concert back stage that night.  

 

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Here is some additional insight on why in 1968 and 1969, Eddie Kramer, who had already done studio mixing and production work for the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and others later became so enamored with Led Zeppelin and their fresh new sound.  Note Eddie's reference to John Paul Jones and the earlier days when he was originally know as John Baldwin:

 

 

 

FZ interview of Eddie Kramer.JPG

Source:  Interview of Eddie Kramer by Finding Zoso, posted August 2012 - see link below:

http://findingzoso.blogspot.com/2012/08/interview-with-eddie-kramer.html

 

 

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On 2/4/2019 at 3:40 PM, drowan said:

Here is an excerpt of Eddie Kramer talking with Chris Welch during the Led Zeppelin concert at Carnegie Hall:

image.png.558af43445856a8aa3c0d5e707d43628.png

Source:  Keith Shadwick, "Led Zeppelin:  The story of a band and their music:  1968 - 1980".

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On 2/4/2019 at 3:40 PM, drowan said:

No commentary on Atlantic Records would be complete without a mention of Ahmet Ertegun.  The Atlantic Records offices were located at 1841 Broadway, right off Columbus Circle at West 60th Street in Midtown Manhattan (see photo below).  It was there that Jimmy Page, Peter Grant and Ahmet signed up Led Zeppelin for their first record contract in 1968.  A description of Ahmet's involvement with the company at the time and how it evolved follows:

"At Wexler and Nesuhi's urging, Ahmet and company decided to sell Atlantic Records to what would become Warner Music Group in 1967. Fortunately for Ahmet, Warner requested that he, Wexler and Nesuhi still be involved in the company and Ahmet was able to negotiate a new deal on their behalf. In 1970, after a dramatic and intense courtship, Ahmet signed The Rolling Stones to Atlantic Records following the band's commitment to Decca. With the 70's came some of Atlantic Records definitive rock & roll releases from rock icons Led Zeppelin, Yes, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Cream, and Bad Company."

The Atlantic office in New York was conveniently located only a couple of blocks from Carnegie Hall (photo of front door is below), making it easy for the Led Zeppelin to stop there in the afternoon prior to their concert that evening.  Below is a picture of Jimmy Page, Peter Grant and Ahmet Ertegun taken on November 11, 1968 (11 months prior to the Carnegie Hall concert) the day that Led Zeppelin signed their record contract:

Image result for Ahmet Ertegun photos with Led Zeppelin Peter Grant Jimmy Page Robert Plant

image.thumb.png.48ac375a00315a77c4231124d0dbd23c.png

 

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Another key player in the early years of Led Zeppelin's success is the band's attorney, Steve Weiss.  Interestingly, Jeff Beck was in the Atlantic office the day Jimmy Page signed their contract with the recording label company.  Shown here are two photos that include Steve taken the year prior to the Carnegie Hall concert held in October 1969.  The first photo was taken the day on the record contract signing on 11/11/68.  The second was taken six months later in New York at the Plaza Hotel, presumably during the last week of May in 1969 when the band played at the Fillmore East on May 30 and 31 of that week.

 

Related image

Image result for Ahmet Ertegun photos with Led Zeppelin Peter Grant Jimmy Page Robert Plant

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On 2/24/2019 at 6:36 PM, drowan said:

Here's another photo of LZ attorney, Steve Weiss, with Peter Grant taken at some point well after (year unconfirmed) the Carnegie Hall concert in 1969.

image.jpeg

I wondered for a while who the bloke is with the camera. He bears a remarkable resemblance to George Harrison, which means it surely can't be 1969. 😃

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On 2/18/2019 at 6:18 PM, drowan said:

For all of us sentimental fans hoping to one day find a bootleg from the Carnegie Hall Led Zeppelin concert, here is a 1969 video recording of "Baby, I'm Gonna Leave You - 1969":

 

Here"s a little more color on the Led Zeppelin rendition of "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" that talks about Page's acoustical guitar style and the musical interplay between Page and Plant:

 Jimmy Page explained how he adapted the song for Led Zeppelin in Daniel Rachel's The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters: "I worked out this arrangement using a more finger-style method and then having a flamenco burst in it. Again, it's light and shade and this drama of accents; using the intensity of what would be a louder section for effect."

  • There is a Led Zeppelin drinking game where you have to take a swig every time Robert Plant sings "baby." This song leads to inebriation in that one, since he repeats "babe" or "baby" 31 times.
  • In his 2012 Rolling Stone interview, Jimmy Page cited this song as one that showed the empathy he and Robert Plant had when working together. "I knew exactly how that was going to shape up," he said. "I set the mood with the acoustic guitar and that flamenco-like section. But Robert embraced it. He came up with an incredible, plaintive vocal."
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On 2/18/2019 at 8:19 PM, drowan said:

image.png.558af43445856a8aa3c0d5e707d43628.png

Source:  Keith Shadwick, "Led Zeppelin:  The story of a band and their music:  1968 - 1980".

Here is a little more background and color from Jimmy Page about why and how Eddie Kramer got involved with the production of the Led Zeppelin II album.  It came together in the early part of 1969, roughly six months prior to the Carnegie Hall concert, when LZ had already started planning their concert tours of the US that year.  During trips to the US, Page and Plant were able to carve out time at several studios to begin mixing and producing the album.  Here is Page's recollection of how Kramer's earlier collaboration on the engineering work for the LZ II recordings later led to his further involvement with the album and continued his growing relationship with the band:

PAGE: The theremin's eerie sound [for example, on "Whole Lotta Love"] begged for more experimentation. To get my guitar to sound surreal, I detuned it and pulled on the strings for a far-out effect. I was playing a Sunburst 1958 Les Paul Standard guitar I had bought from [James Gang guitarist] Joe Walsh in San Francisco when we were out there on tour. The Standard had this tonal versatility, allowing me to get a blistering high pitch. Robert's vocal was just as extreme. He kept gaining confidence during the session and gave it everything he had. His vocals, like my solos, were about performance. He was pushing to see what he could get out of himself. We were performing for each other, almost competitively.

When we toured the U.S. again in May and June [of 1969], we took the rough-mix tapes along with us in a large trunk. In Los Angeles, we'd work at studios like Mirror, Mystic, and A&M to overdub material. In New York, we worked at Mayfair, Groove, and Juggy studios. Today, digital files are e-mailed all over the place, but back then you actually had to take your tapes if you wanted to work on the road.

When we were ready to mix all the songs for the album, I wanted Eddie Kramer to do it. Eddie had engineered several of the album's songs from scratch in London, and he had worked with us in the American studios. He also had engineered Jimi Hendrix's albums. But by the summer [of 1969] Eddie had relocated to the States, so when we were in New York in August, we called him. "Whole Lotta Love" was all there on tape, but it needed a big, polished mix for the album.

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Here is a picture of the Mayfair Studio in New York City where Led Zeppelin did some of their production work on LZ II 3-4 months prior to the Carnegie Hall concert in October 1969.

image.png.199a776001ee41bbfe7b83ba7738b70c.png 

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The Mayfair Studio, which was located at 701 7th Avenue was in a building that was later torn down and redeveloped as 20 Times Square.

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On 2/25/2019 at 3:20 PM, 76229 said:

I wondered for a while who the bloke is with the camera. He bears a remarkable resemblance to George Harrison, which means it surely can't be 1969. 😃

Well, he has long hair and a moustache. 😐

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Here's a photo taken of the Grove Sound Studios in NYC, owned by Art Talmadge, during the recording of "Ramble On" on LZ II in 1969 several months prior to the Carnegie Hall Concert:

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Detail of caption from photo above:

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15 hours ago, drowan said:

Here is a photo of A&R's recording studio building at 322 West 48th Street in NYC and a receipt from a May 22, 1969 recording session for LZ II :

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What is that note? "I'm sorry we have no filters"?

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In 1969, Led Zeppelin also recorded and mixed part of LZ II at Juggy Sound Studio, owned by Juggy Murray Jones and located at 265 West 54th Street in New York City (see picture of the studio).  Skip Juried was a chief engineer there.  A year later, the studio was sold to Orville Green and renamed as the "Sound Exchange".  The original building in which the studio was located has since been demolished and replaced with a new modern structure.

 Sound Exchange Studios on Discogs

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Another photo of Skip Juried in the Juggy Sound Studio (subsequently sold by Juggy Murray and renamed the Sound Exchange) where Led Zeppelin did some of their additional guitar overdubs in "What is and What Should Never Be" on June 2, 1969.

Skip Juried

In 1969 and 1970, this same studio was used by Jimi Hendrix to record the Band of Gypsy's album.  As a gift, Jimi gave Skip one of his guitars that he kept stored at the studio as an act of friendship.  Not only was Skip an engineer, but he was also a session guitarist for various bands.  Jimi's relationship with Juggy Murray Jones goes back to roughly 1965 when he recorded some of the the Electric Ladyland tracks there.  Here is some additional color on this relationship:

"In 1965, Jimi Hendrix was then known as Jimi James, he recorded frequently with Henry "Juggy" Murray at Juggy's studios in New York City. On July 27th 1965, Jimi signed his first exclusive recording artists contract with Sue Records at the Sue offices on 265 West 54th Street, New York City, with Juggy Murray. Skip Juried was the chief engineer at Juggy Sound studios. He was a very good friend of Jimi Hendrix and Skip kept this special guitar for Jimi at the studio on his request. After Jimi's success with the Experience he returned to Juggy Sound to complete the Band of Gypsys album that was to be given to Ed Chalpin."

 

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Here is a little more insight about Led Zeppelin's recording studio activity at Juggy Sound Studio in NYC in July and August of 1969 to complete LZ II: 

"It seemed that Zep would record whenever they had a moment to spare. Other studios used during this period included New York’s small independent set-up Juggy Sound, which was used to lay down the Tolkien inspired Ramble On." 

Source:  Dave Lewis, Classic Rock:  "Led Zeppelin: The Story Behind Led Zeppelin II"

 

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It’s worth noting that for the Led Zeppelin II sessions Page had now switched to using a Gibson Les Paul guitar as opposed to a Telecaster that had dominated his late Yardbirds and early Zeppelin work. He was already in possession of a vintage 1958 Les Paul, but added another model during the early American tours. “I had been mainly using the Telecaster, both on stage and in the studio,” Page remembered. “We were at the Fillmore at the time, and Joe Walsh, who was then playing guitar with his outfit The James Gang, said he had a Gibson Les Paul for sale – a 1959 model . He wanted to sell it for five hundred dollars – a right price at the time. Once I started playing it, that was it.”

Unbeknownst to many rock music concert reviewers and authors, Jimmy Page payed that 1959 Gibson Les Paul the night of the Carnegie Hall concert (shown below):

1969-10-17-carnegie-hall--03.jpg

Source of quoted text above:  Dave Lewis, Classic Rock:  "Led Zeppelin: The Story Behind Led Zeppelin II"

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