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

[drowan]

Here is a further clarification concerning the confusion about the correct venue for the August 29 and 30, 1969 Led Zeppelin concerts that were promoted by Howard Stein.  The Flushing Park concert series in the summer of 1969 was moved from the Singer Bowl to the New State Pavilion, because of complaints about the Singer Bowl's acoustics and the odd configuration of the Bowl for concerts.  Here is an explanation of the situation that summer:

"This fact has not escaped rock promoters. Last summer, two producers brought a number of major groups to the Singer Bowl, in Flushing Meadows. The concerts were an artistic flop; the stadium was too large, the sound was terrible, and the problem of musical theater-in-the-round was solved -- or, rather, parried -- by means of a revolving stage, which allowed each spectator to get a good look at the performers every three minutes or so, a system that does not facilitate rapport.
This year, the Singer Bowl concerts have been taken over by Music Fair Enterprises, the company that runs the Westbury Music Fair. Howard Stein, a young producer who was hired to organize the shows, has screened off a section of the arena and made improvements in the sound system, and prospects look good. At the same time, however, Music Fair Enterprises has outflanked itself by delegating Stein to take on a much more inspiring project -- a series of rock dances in the open-air (but roofed) New York State World's Fair Pavilion, also in Flushing Meadows. The first of these was held on Friday, July 11th. It featured the Grateful Dead and Joe Cocker, and it was quite simply fantastic. If the management continues to do the right things, rock at the Pavilion could become an institution. For the sake of the music and the culture -- and for the sake of Queens -- I hope it will."

EDITOR'S NOTE:  My thanks to "mickey g", for calling to my attention that the venue for the August 29 and 30, 1969 concerts in Flushing Meadows** was incorrectly listed.  It is great that we still have so many Led Zeppelin fans who attended these early concerts and can attest to what actually happened.  Though I did personally attend the Carnegie Hall concert, I did not attend the August Led Zeppelin concert at The Pavilion. So, thank you mickey g for the straight story!  D Rowan  

 

 

**It appears for a while during the summer of 1969, the "Singer Bowl Music Festival" and the "Pavilion" were co-branded in the process of transitioning the ultimate venue to the New York State Pavilion at Flushing Meadows.

 

Edited March 27, 2019 by drowan

[mickey g]

Thank you @drowan. Such great memories. Thank you for mentioning Howard Stein. I also saw a few concerts at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester; Mott the Hoople, Grand Funk, The Kinks, Yes, Humble Pie...It was a much more quaint place to see a show than the Fillmore East, although a lot further away to drive to from Long Island. Howard also opened the Academy of Music on 14th St & 3rd Ave in NY. Just a couple blocks away from the Fillmore. Great shows there, also !

[drowan]

Cash Box magazine was one of the first music industry magazines to recognize Led Zeppelin's incredible talent:

Source:  Cash Box magazine; November 1,, 1969.

Our Personal Thanks and Tribute to Bruce Harris:  Here is the masthead (below) of Cash Box magazine showing Bruce Harris as one of three associate editors working out of the New York office.  Bruce deserves substantial recognition and appreciation from Led Zeppelin fans for acknowledging the emerging talent and impact of Led Zeppelin.  And Bruce did this in clear and outspoken fashion when other writers and music critics at Rolling Stone magazine and other music trade papers were critical of the band or were simply "not getting" what so many of Led Zeppelin's fan's had experienced and recognized personally through listening to their music and attending their phenomenal concerts such as their "two hour plus showcase" at Carnegie Hall in 1969. 

Edited March 30, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

The NY Mets baseball team won the World Series the week Led Zeppelin played at Carnegie Hall on October 17, 1969.  Here is a photo that ran in the Northwest Arkansas Times the day of the concert showing the aftermath of a ticker tape parade on Wall Street (lower Manhattan) the day before the concert.

[drowan]

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.

Edited April 4, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

Under the "six degrees of separation" category, Graham Nash was on the flight with Led Zeppelin from London Heathrow Airport to New York in October 1969 to play at Carnegie Hall.  Roughly twenty-five years later, Graham's band mate, Neil Young, would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 13, 1995.  To help celebrate that induction, Led Zeppelin jammed with Neil Young on a 10 minute rendition of "When the Levee's Gonna Break".  Note that Neil Young is playing Jimmy Page's signature guitar, the Les Paul Black Beauty!! Even Robert Plant is cranking away on his own guitar.  This is a can't be missed video recording! The link to this absolutely awesome and timeless live in-concert recording at the Hall of Fame event is below:  

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

On 2/19/2019 at 5:11 PM, drowan said:

 

Ahmet Ertegun and Atlantic Records is where it all started during the meteoric rise of Led Zeppelin during 1969:

Source:  Rock and Roll Explorer Guide to New York City

 

Edited April 14, 2019 by drowan
Added source.

[drowan]

 

 

[drowan]

Here's an excerpt from an oral history interview with Eddie Kramer about his experience with Led Zeppelin in the A&R Studio just two months prior to the Carnegie Hall concert in New York:

 

EDDIE KRAMER: The first time I heard "Whole Lotta Love" was in August '69, when Jimmy and I started working on the album's final mix at New York's A&R Recording. Jimmy and I had first met in 1964, when he was playing on the Kinks' first album [Kinks] at Pye Studios and I was the assistant engineer. I also had heard Led Zeppelin early on in '68, when John Paul Jones played me an acetate of Led Zeppelin's first album, before it was released. I was blown away — it sounded so hard and heavy.

In New York, the recording console at A&R was fairly primitive. It had only twelve channels, with old-fashioned rotary dials to control track levels instead of sliding faders, and there were just two pan pots [control knobs] to send the sound from left to right channels. But as Jimmy and I listened to the mix, something unexpected came up.

At the point where the song breaks and Robert slowly wails, "Way down inside . . . woman . . . you need . . . love," Jimmy and I heard this faint voice singing the lyric before Robert did on the master vocal track. Apparently Robert had done two different vocals, recording them on two different tracks. Even when I turned the volume down all the way on the track that we didn't want, his powerful voice was bleeding through the console and onto the master.

Some people today still think the faint voice was a pre-echo, that we added it on purpose for effect. It wasn't—it was an accident. Once Jimmy and I realized we had to live with it on the master, I looked at Jimmy, he looked at me, and we both reached for the reverb knob at the same time and cracked up laughing. Our instincts were the same—to douse the faint, intruding voice in reverb so it sounded part of the master plan.

 

[drowan]

A great review of the Carnegie Hall October 17, 1969 concert in New York by Ritchie Yorke: 

 

[drowan]

Ritchie Yorke, who started out as a disc jockey and music critic eventually became a rock musician/rock band biographer, wrote a definitive biography of Led Zeppelin.

Music journalist and author Ritchie Yorke, who served as Billboard’s Canadian editor for a decade in the 70s and went on to pen books on Led Zeppelin, Van Morrison, and most recently John and Yoko, died in his native Australia, from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on Feb. 6. He was 73.

When Yorke fixed his sights on something he believed in, his support was dogged. The New Yardbirds had become Led Zeppelin and he began championing their debut album, when positive reviews for it were still scarce. The band never forgot and he went on to tour with them, introduced them on stage, wrote a biography and even appeared in their feature film. Their bassist John Paul Jones described him as "Zeppelin's champion".

That decade [the 1970’s], he put out Into The Music: The Van Morrison Biography, The Led Zeppelin Biography, and The History Of Rock ‘n’ Roll. In the 80s, he returned to Brisbane. He worked as an announcer and producer for ABC Radio for two years until 1989, and wrote for Brisbane’s Sunday Mail until 2007. In 1991, re-issued his Led Zeppelin book under the title Led Zeppelin: The Definitive Biography.

Edited April 20, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

Here is a picture of rock music writer, Ritchie Yorke, interviewing John Lennon in May of 1969, just 5 months prior to the Led Zeppelin concert at Carnegie Hall in October 1969.

 

Ritchie Yorke with John Lennon at the King Eddie hotel in Toronto discussing the location for John and Yoko's second bed-in for peace which ultimately took place in Montreal, May 1969.

Ritchie Yorke (left) alongside John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Toronto, 1969.

Edited April 22, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

Here is an excerpt from a 2013 interview of Ritchie Yorke by Bradley Scott in Vice.com, "Ritchie Yorke on Rock and Roll":

You were the first media personality to predict the success of Led Zeppelin after everyone else dismissed them. You went on to write more words on the band than anyone else, including “The Definitive Biography of Led Zeppelin”. How long did you spend with the band writing the book?

I wrote about them for many years and I'm still doing it. They were always grateful for my support at the beginning, as I’d written a pretty favorable review on their first album when everyone else was writing disparaging things about them. For example, Rolling Stone were calling them “a bunch of limey lemon squeezers” and smartass shit like that. I took them pretty seriously and it was obvious they were going to break out—I mean if you listen to their first album it is unstoppable.

Plenty of people jumped on the bandwagon but the band and management remembered who'd done it initially, when it really mattered. They would invite me along on tour whenever they were in North America but I could only ever spend a few days on the road with them—it was pretty intense. During the filming of The Song Remains the Same at Madison Square Gardens they gave me a spot on stage with them, you can see me in the video. Because I had to get on stage before their show started, and couldn’t get off till the end, they just put me on this riser off to the side, handed me a bunch of joints and said, “You go and stay up there mate, we’ll pick you up after the show.” It was incredible. They were always very kind and gracious to me—I’m still good friends with all of them.

A few years back we filmed John Paul Jones, the Zep bassist and keyboards player, in Byron Bay, saying that I had been “Zeppelin's champion”. I had been the original media guy who supported them. I was very grateful to have that recognition.

What was your most memorable night on tour with Led Zeppelin?
Probably the night I introduced them at The Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. To go out on stage when everything is pitch black, have this little spotlight come on you and then hear the roar of 18,000 people who are just dying for the show to begin. When I announced it—“Ladies and Gentlemen, the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world…. LED ZEPPELIN”—and the whole crowd started screaming, it was just this burst of energy.

Is there a difference between today’s music and the music made back in the late 60s/early 70s? What do you think of today’s music?
I think back then music was made from the heart. People made it cause they felt it and they needed to. It was much more experimental—it was more about getting a groove happening and just going for it. There’s a lot more restraint on everything now. Nowadays it seems to be driven by money. Money was obviously a factor back then as well, but the record companies were run by great music men that released the music they felt good about. The people running the labels today tend to be accountants or lawyers. I think there’s still some people that care about the music but it’s become much more of a business now—they play it safe rather than take risks.

Edited April 22, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

While Led Zeppelin was coming off an electrifying 10/17/69 Carnegie Hall concert performance and were days away from releasing their second highly successful album, the Beatles were trying to convince the world that Paul McCartney was not dead:

Rebuttal

 

The magazine report that rebutted the rumor

On 21 October 1969, the Beatles' press office issued statements denying the rumor, deeming it "a load of old rubbish"^[13] and saying that "the story has been circulating for about two years—we get letters from all sorts of nuts but Paul is still very much with us."^[14] Rumors started to decline when,^[15] on 7 November 1969, Life magazine published a contemporary interview with McCartney in which he said,

Perhaps the rumor started because I haven't been much in the press lately. I have done enough press for a lifetime, and I don't have anything to say these days. I am happy to be with my family and I will work when I work. I was switched on for ten years and I never switched off. Now I am switching off whenever I can. I would rather be a little less famous these days.^[5]

[The Only Way To Fly]

I read that the Life Magazine reporters sneaked onto Paul's farm, took a bunch of crappy photo's in an effort to prove Paul was alive (or his double) was living as Paul in Scotland. Paul confronted the reporters and chased them off the property. When he got a look at the photo's they'd taken they were not very good. As a result and in exchange for a proper interview with photos Paul said give me the negatives and you can come back for a legit interview and shoot a few photos.  

[drowan]

Only Way to Fly:  Thanks for the back story and "added color" on the Life Magazine photo coverage and story on the rumored death of Paul McCartney.  Much appreciated!

[drowan]

LZ Fans:  I wanted to add this photo from the Carnegie Hall concert on October 17, 1969.  The source is some other photographer whose photo was posted to the LZ.com website.  Interestingly, the way to confirm that this is from that night in NYC is the stage backdrop behind the bank - the signature accordion-style backdrop that is so plain, yet distinctive!

[drowan]

Just three months prior to the 10/17/69 Carnegie Hall concert, Jimmy Page spent part of the day on July 13, 1969 with Jeff Beck and his band, The Jeff Beck Group at the Singer Bowl, the site of the former NY Worlds Fair in Queens.  This probably coincided with Jimmy's engineering sessions in NYC involving final studio production and mixing efforts with LZ II.

 

Edited May 5, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

As a follow up to the commentary about Paul McCartney, it should be noted that Led Zeppelin was intrigued with the idea of playing at Carnegie Hall after the Rolling Stones and the Beatles had played there.  On page 4 of this Forum posting, I highlighted some of the details of the the Rolling Stones concert.  Below are the promotional poster and a photo from that of the Beatles Carnegie Hall concert.

  

Edited May 6, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

Led Zeppelin at Carnegie Hall on October 17, 1969 revisited.   One night, two shows, LZ is the only gig.  A ticket on the floor three rows from the stage costs $5.50.  The mind-blowing experience:  priceless!!!

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

The promotional staff for Led Zeppelin's 1969 and early 1970 concerts used the same graphic image of the band members that was used for the Carnegie Hall 10/17/69 poster (far right) as shown below:

[drowan]

On 1/27/2019 at 8:57 PM, drowan said:

Dr. John (Malcolm John Rebbenack, Jr., aka "The Night Tripper") who had just a year earlier (1968) recorded his first album, Gris-Gris, was also backstage at the Carnegie Hall concert in October 1969.  Led Zeppelin and Dr. John had run into each other during the day of the concert  when the band was visiting Atlantic's recording studios with Chris Welch and Eddie Kramer in Manhattan.  Here is a brief profile of Dr. John's long and productive career in music.  There is even a link below to a Led Zeppelin studio recording of "Royal Orleans" from the Presence album in which Robert Plant is described as singing the song in a "Dr. John style" - in deference to Dr. John's New Orleans roots! 

Dr. John was born on November 21, 1940, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Having played as a guitarist and pianist for years in both his home city and Los Angeles, the splashy musician made his album debut with Gris-Gris in 1968. He had a hit single a few years later with "Right Place, Wrong Time," and over the decades, with many albums, has continued to share and shape the tradition of New Orleans R&B.

From the Presence (Deluxe Edition) Disc 2, Track 4. This is the reference version of the studio performance on November 12, 1975 at Musicland Studios, Munich, West Germany (Germany today). Engineered by Keith Harwood. And yes that is Robert Plant, singing in the style of Dr. John or Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack.  See the link below of the music cut:

Source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDUIxy8za4w

Also:  Interesting "back story" from Ed White about the subject of this song:

 Ed White1 year ago (edited)

"This song is about JPJ picking up a young lady in Nawlins, after a show, and they passed out on the honeymoon suite bed - the next morning there was a small fire, and the cops and firemen kept snickering as they walked around the room, by the bed...where Mr. Jones and his lady friend Stephanie were sleeping....when the est of the band arrived, they were curious as to all the giggling..."

 

 

In memory of John Rebbenack (aka Dr. John), who passed away yesterday (06/06/2019).  He "hung out with the band" and stood in the wings of the Carnegie Hall stage the night of October 17, 1969 watching Led Zeppelin play through both of their dazzling shows.  He was joined by Eddie Kramer, Lord Sutch, Chris Wood and Chris Welch.  Dr. John will be missed and now joins John Bonham as another distinctive musician leaving behind a legacy of great music for us to enjoy for many years to come!  Rest in peace Dr. John - your fans still love you and will always remember your "larger than life" stage presence, sense of style and charismatic personality. 

Edited June 7, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

On 5/6/2019 at 4:59 PM, drowan said:

As a follow up to the commentary about Paul McCartney, it should be noted that Led Zeppelin was intrigued with the idea of playing at Carnegie Hall after the Rolling Stones and the Beatles had played there.  On page 4 of this Forum posting, I highlighted some of the details of the the Rolling Stones concert.  Below are the promotional poster and a photo from that of the Beatles Carnegie Hall concert.

  

Here is another picture of the early 1960's Beatles performance at Carnegie Hall taken from one of the balconies.  Check out the fans actually seated on the stage!!!

 

[drowan]

Compare the balcony shot of the Beatles Carnegie Hall performance in 1964 (above) with the shot of the March 7, 2018 Led Zeppelin Carnegie Hall tribute concert below:

 

 

Note that Carnegie Hall still uses the 1960's vintage, bland, accordion style backdrop for concerts even today!  

 

Edited June 13, 2019 by drowan

[drowan]

Roughly 3 months prior to the Carnegie Hall 10/17/69 LZ concert, Led Zeppelin played in New York at the Wollman Skating Rink Theater (Central Park) along with B.B. King as part of the Schaeffer Music Festival summer concert series.  Tickets were $1.00 and $1.50!  The band used these concert tours through New York in 1969 to also get some studio time to finish up recording, mixing and final production of the Led Zeppelin II album.