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Carl Craft

Carl Craft

Carl Craft

Previously Unreleased Live Footage Of Led Zeppelin’s Final Tour

Author Carl Craft
British rock band Led Zeppelin, (left - right): John Paul Jones, John Bonham (1948 - 1980), Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, pose in front of an their private airliner The Starship, 1973. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Taking a step back into what seems like ancient history with this video of previously unreleased live footage of Led Zeppelin.  Recovering the video in The Pit was no easy task.  It comes from the band’s appearance during their final North American tour.

According to the Led Zeppelin archivist who released the video on social media this new video of Led Zeppelin was recorded in the Pontiac Silverdome (just outside of Detroit) on April 30th, 1977.  The tour wrapped up on July 24th of that year.  A reported 76,000 Led Zeppelin fans attended the show which was the final show on the first leg of the tour.  After this particular date, the band would get a break before performing again in mid-May.

Where’d The Previously Unreleased Led Zep Video Come From?

The archivist who captured the footage was Jim “Speedy” Kelly.  Kelly was a renowned personality in the North American concert filming scene.  Many of Speedy’s releases have been around for a very long time.  This particular release is 23 minutes of Led Zeppelin in their prime, not even a decade after the release of their first album.

The band played songs from their entire album catalog on this tour, although music from Zep 1 wasn’t usually highlighted until the encore.  The set list usually included songs like, “No Quarter”, “The Rover”, “Kashmir”, “Going To California” and “Stairway to Heaven”.

The video that was just discovered was pieced together from various lengths of film in Speedy’s collection.  There are no transitions, no commentary, just the performance which begins with the opening track, “The Song Remains The Same”.    In full disclosure, the technology that was available in Detroit in the late 1970s must have not been too great.  At times the sound comes across like the band was playing in the middle of a very large garbage can.  However, one thing is abundantly clear:  John Bonham was an absolute monster on the drum kit.  Just listen to the fills.  The man was freaking amazing.  That’s why when previously unreleased live footage of Led Zeppelin comes our way… we listen.

 

5 Best Led Zeppelin Songs Co-Written By John Paul Jones

Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones celebrates his birthday today (January 3.) While Jimmy Page and Robert Plant get a lot of attention for writing Zeppelin’s biggest hits, Jones has his share of songwriting credits on many fan favorites.

In honor of his birthday, we look at five of the best Zeppelin songs co-written by Jones.

  • 5. 'Trampled Under Foot'

    One of the best grooves Zeppelin ever produced.

  • 4. 'Black Dog'

    Following the more mellow, acoustic Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV brought a return to hard rock form and kicks off with this bold statement track.

  • 3. 'Rock and Roll'

    Some songs build up to the chorus, and some blast off one the first note. “Rock and Roll” is the latter.

  • 2. 'Good Times Bad Times'

    Zeppelin sure did know how to kick off an album, even on their debut!

  • 1. 'Whole Lotta Love'

    C’mon…could any other song be number one?

When Carl is not working at the greatest rock radio station known to mankind; a station known around the globe; a station that has the best music, co-workers, advertisers and most importantly THE BEST F'N LISTENERS you may find me doing any one of the following: Riding or making mountain bike trails. playing with his kids. playing sand volleyball on 5th Ave, cooking amazing food, including on his sweet smoker grill, going to concerts, swimming in the ocean, going to amusement parks with his kids, and other stuff that rocks!

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Author Carl Craft
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