LED ZEPPELIN III was one of the most anticipated longplayers of 1970. On top of it came the fact that the release date was delayed by 2 months because of technical problems with the design and production of the front, inner and back sleeves. Despite this issue problem, the advance orders in the US alone were close to the million mark. The LP topped the UK as well as the US albums chart on the same day, 18 November 1970, 49 years ago today. By 1999 the blockbuster record went 6 times platinum. The remastered version came out in 2014.

AllMusic wrote: “Led Zeppelin III provided the band with the necessary room to grow musically. While there are still a handful of metallic rockers, III is built on a folky, acoustic foundation that gives the music extra depth. And even the rockers aren’t as straightforward
as before…” . Full review here. Score: 5/5.

Faithful to the band’s day one principle, no single was released in their home country to promote the LP. But, as it did happen before, also this time a single came out in several countries outside the UK, including the United States (peaked at #16). It was the album’s opener, the giant riff monster ‘IMMIGRANT SONG’, that got a 7″ vinyl treatment. Here’s that wall-breaking knockout…

Album in full here…

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LED ZEPPELIN: Website