On This Day in 1969, Led Zeppelin Made Non-Contiguous U.S. History with ‘Led Zeppelin II’ in Tow

On a pleasantly warm, rain-free Tuesday of May 13, 1969, British rock band Led Zeppelin made non-contiguous U.S. history as one of the first bands of its kind to perform in Hawaii. It was the band’s first time on the sunny island state, and they couldn’t have asked for better weather or crowd reception.

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While there were some rock ‘n’ rollers who preceded the band in trips to the archipelago, press reviews describe the moment as a singular event in the young state’s history. (By the time Led Zeppelin crossed the Pacific and landed in Honolulu, the state of Hawaii had only been a part of the U.S. for ten years.)

Led Zeppelin Makes Non-Contiguous U.S. History In 1969

Led Zeppelin made non-contiguous U.S. history as being one of the first rock bands to perform in Hawaii on May 13, 1969, as part of their 1969 North American Spring tour. The tour, which spanned just over one month, began on the West Coast with a four-day stint in San Francisco, California, before heading further south to Los Angeles, Irvine, Pasadena, and Santa Monica. The British rock band then went up to the Pacific Northwest to play Portland, Seattle, and a couple of Canadian dates before taking a plane to Honolulu, Hawaii.

When Led Zeppelin arrived at the Honolulu Airport, islanders bestowed the visitors with leis. In 2021, Jimmy Page shared a photo of the band’s arrival on Facebook, a Pan-Am plane still in the background and an impressively blue sky just beyond that. Each member of the band, save the bassist, John Paul Jones, had a box of multitrack tapes tucked under their arms. As Page explained in his Facebook post, “On the 1969 tour, the second album was in the process of being recorded. For the sake of security, the multitrack tapes were being carried as hand luggage. It seemed a good idea to have each member carrying one of the boxes for the photograph. However, at the time, few people would have understood the significance of this picture.”

The significance, of course, being that the band was safeguarding what would become their first No. 1 album in the U.K. and the U.S. Led Zeppelin II featured iconic cuts like “Whole Lotta Love,” “Ramble On,” “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman),” which would cement themselves as defining tracks of the band’s career.

Hawaii Welcomed The British Rockers With Open Arms

With only ten years of statehood under its metaphorical belt, Hawaii hadn’t had much experience hosting notable rock bands of the time. Led Zeppelin was one of the first groups of its genre to perform on the island when they played Honolulu’s Civic Auditorium in mid-May 1969. But Jimi Hendrix had preceded them by just under a year, performing at the Honolulu International Center with Times Music Co. on October 5, 1968. As reporter K. Rosene wrote in a press review of Led Zeppelin’s performance, “The showmanship exceeded any rock performance here to date,” adding, “with the possible exception of Jimi Hendrix.”

Comparisons to Hendrix aside, the review was nothing short of a rave. “The very British way of stage appearance really made for an interesting show,” Rosene wrote. “At times, Robert Plant looked almost feminine, but he retained his masculinity with powerful gestures and a voice that was always clear, whether singing low or screaming. Jimmy Page blew everybody out with his unbelievable guitar work. I really wondered before the concert if Led Zeppelin could sound as good as their Atlantic album. They sounded better.”

“Local promoters want to book Led Zeppelin again in August at the H.I.C. [where Hendrix played],” Rosene continued. “But if the heat and light problems aren’t corrected, no one will want to play there. Because it was a Tuesday night, [the Led Zeppelin promoters] probably lost money. But musically, Indica Music Productions put on the best rock show ever.”

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