1 Led Zeppelin Song Didn’t Make the Singles Charts Until 1997
Led Zeppelin stocked their albums with so many stellar songs that even the lesser-known and underrated songs in their catalog stand up against other bands’ best work. It feels like each of their eight studio albums contained hits up and down the track listing, but one Led Zeppelin song didn’t reach the charts in the United Kingdom until 1997, nearly 30 years after its release.
Led Zeppelin made album music from the start
Led Zeppelin earned a $2 million paycheck when they allowed one of their early songs to be in a movie, but the band was an album-oriented enterprise from the beginning. While their English counterparts in The Beatles recorded singles and EPs between albums, Zep was all about creating albums.
Zeppelin’s first two albums included several songs (“Good Times Bad Times” and “Communication Breakdown” from Led Zeppelin I and “Living Loving Maid” from Led Zeppelin II) that could have been pulled off the albums and turned into singles. Indeed, “Good Time Bad Times” reached No. 80 on the Billboard charts.
Still, the band focused their energies on recording albums and touring instead of creating singles. That’s why one Led Zeppelin song didn’t make the singles chart in England until 1997.
‘Whole Lotta Love’ was the first Led Zeppelin single to chart in the U.K. — in 1997
Despite achieving success throughout their career, Led Zeppelin never had a No. 1 single. The band in general, and founding guitarist Jimmy Page in particular, didn’t release many singles because they wanted fans to buy albums and concert tickets instead.
Zep released only a handful of singles in the United States. In the United Kingdom, where they had more control of their material, it took nearly 30 years for the band to put a song on the singles chart.
According to the Official Charts Company, “Whole Lotta Love” was the first Led Zeppelin single to reach the charts. It spent five weeks there and peaked at No. 21 in September 1997 once the band finally softened its no-singles stance 29 years after forming and 17 years after breaking up.
Led Zeppelin wasn’t even the first band to reach the English charts with “Whole Lotta Love.” Nor did Zep achieve the highest chart position. A Jethro Tull-like jazz-rock cover by CCS went to No. 13 in 1970. The band Goldbug produced a Madchester-inspired version that peaked at No. 3 in 1996.
Zep succeeded despite not releasing singles
Almost as soon as they dropped their first album in January 1969, Led Zeppelin took over the rock music world.
They criss-crossed the US in January and February 1969 and returned to the States and Canada in April and May. Led Zeppelin played hundreds of live dates every year during their first few years together. They broke a concert attendance record set by The Beatles in 1973.
Led Zeppelin didn’t make singles, but they still found success.
Zep had eight consecutive albums — Led Zeppelin II through 1979’s In Through the Out Door — reach No. 1 in the U.K., per the Official Charts Company.
Two of their studio albums didn’t reach No. 1 in the States, but Led Zeppelin had four straight albums spend a combined 17 weeks sitting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. All of their albums, including the live concert record The Song Remains the Same, achieved Recording Industry Association of America platinum status.
It took decades for one Led Zeppelin single to hit the U.K. charts, but the band’s no-singles stance never affected their success with fans.
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