Led Zeppelin exploded onto the rock scene with their self-titled debut album in January 1969. Before the year was out, the British hard-rock icons had already released a second studio effort, Led Zeppelin II. That record arrived in the U.S. on Halloween Day 1969, and on December 27, 55 years ago today, the album became the band’s first to top the Billboard 200.
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The album knocked The Beatles’ Abbey Road from the top of the chart, and went on to spend seven non-consecutive weeks at No. 1. Interestingly, Abbey Road regained the top spot of the Billboard 200 twice during Led Zeppelin II’s run. Led Zeppelin II’s stint at No. 1 came to end on March 7, 1970, when Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge over Troubled Water began a 10-week run atop the tally.
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Led Zeppelin’s sophomore effort featured six new original tunes co-written by singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page. It also included three songs that were adapted from blues tunes— two by Willie Dixon (“Whole Lotta Love” and “Bring It On Home”) and one by Howlin’ Wolf (“The Lemon Song”).
“Whole Lotta Love” was released as a single and, of course, has become one of Led Zeppelin’s signature songs. It is the highest-charting tune the band ever had, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Led Zeppelin II is packed with other enduring songs from Led Zeppelin’s catalog, among them “What Is and What Should Never Be,” “Thank You,” “Heartbreaker,” “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman),” and “Ramble On.”
About the Making of Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin II was recorded from April through August 1969 at various studios in the U.K. and North America while the band was on tour supporting its debut album. Page produced the album, which was engineered by famed Jimi Hendrix studio collaborator Eddie Kramer.
Among the facilities where recording took place were Olympic Studios and Morgan Studios in London; Mystic Studios and A&M Studios in Los Angeles; R&D Studios in Vancouver, Canada; and A&R Studios, Mayfair Studios, Groove Sound, and Juggy Sound Studio in New York City.
Led Zeppelin II’s Achievements and Legacy
In 1999, Led Zeppelin II was certified 12-times platinum for sales of more than 12 million copies in the U.S. In 2007, the album was ranked No. 47 on “The Definitive 200,” a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-sanctioned list of the most influential and popular albums ever.
Led Zeppelin II was ranked No. 123 on Rolling Stone’s 2023 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Other Chart-Topping Led Zeppelin Albums
Led Zeppelin II was the first of six led Zeppelin studio albums to top the Billboard 200. The others were Led Zeppelin III (1970), Houses of the Holy (1973), Physical Graffiti (1975), Presence (1976), and In Through the Out Door (1979).
The Led Zeppelin II album’s seven weeks at No. 1 on the chart was equaled by In Through the Out Door, which had a consecutive chart-topping run from mid-September to early November in ’79.
Led Zeppelin also topped the Billboard 200 with its 2003 archival live triple album How the West Was Won.
Led Zeppelin II Track List:
- “Whole Lotta Love”
- “What Is and What Should Never Be”
- “The Lemon Song”
- “Thank You”
- “Heartbreaker”
- “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman)”
- “Ramble On”
- “Moby Dick”
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