Led Zeppelin IV

The untitled fourth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV, was released on 8 November 1971 by Atlantic Records. It was produced by guitarist Jimmy Page and recorded between December 1970 and February 1971, mostly in the country house Headley Grange. The album contains the band's most well-known recording, the eight-minute-long "Stairway to Heaven".

Untitled
Studio album by
Released8 November 1971 (1971-11-08)
RecordedDecember 1970 – February 1971
Studio
Genre
Length42:37
LabelAtlantic
ProducerJimmy Page
Led Zeppelin chronology
Led Zeppelin III
(1970)
Untitled
(1971)
Houses of the Holy
(1973)
Singles from untitled
  1. "Black Dog" / "Misty Mountain Hop"
    Released: 2 December 1971
  2. "Rock and Roll" / "Four Sticks"
    Released: 21 February 1972

The informal recording environment inspired the band, allowing them to try different arrangements of material and create songs in various styles. After the band's previous album Led Zeppelin III (1970) received lukewarm reviews from critics, they decided their fourth album would officially be untitled and represented instead by four symbols  one chosen by each band member  without featuring the name or any other details on the cover. Unlike the prior two albums, the band was joined by guest musicians: vocalist Sandy Denny on "The Battle of Evermore", and pianist Ian Stewart on "Rock and Roll". As with prior albums, most of the material was written by the band, though there was one cover song, a hard rock re-interpretation of the Memphis Minnie blues song "When the Levee Breaks".

The album was an instant critical and commercial success and is Led Zeppelin's best-selling album, having shipped over 37 million copies worldwide. It is one of the best-selling albums in the US and of all time in general, while critics have regularly placed it highly on lists of the greatest albums of all time. In 2010, Led Zeppelin IV was one of ten classic album covers from British artists commemorated on a UK postage stamp issued by the Royal Mail.

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