Editing Led Zeppelin (section)

=== Formation: 1966–1968 ===
[[File:Led Zeppelin logo.svg|thumb|upright=1.15|The band's logotype, used since 1973|alt=The name Led Zeppelin in irregular capitals in black and white]]

In 1966, London-based session guitarist [[Jimmy Page]] joined the blues-influenced rock band [[the Yardbirds]] to replace bassist [[Paul Samwell-Smith]]. Page soon switched from bass to lead guitar, creating a dual lead guitar line-up with [[Jeff Beck]]. Following Beck's departure in October 1966, the Yardbirds became a four-piece with Page as the sole guitarist. This new line-up recorded an album, ''[[Little Games]]'', in 1967, before embarking on a tour of the United States, during which they performed several songs which would later be part of Led Zeppelin's early repertoire, including covers of [[Johnny Burnette]]'s "[[Train Kept A-Rollin']]" and "[[Dazed and Confused (Jake Holmes song)|Dazed and Confused]]", a song originally written and recorded by [[Jake Holmes]].{{sfn|Yorke|1993|pp=56–59}} In early April 1968, the Yardbirds held a recording session at [[Columbia Records|Columbia Studios]] in New York City, recording a number of tracks including a Page-Relf composition initially titled "Knowing That I'm Losing You", which was eventually re-recorded by Led Zeppelin as "[[Tangerine (Led Zeppelin song)|Tangerine]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Russo |first=Greg |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sIYDAAAACAAJ |title=Yardbirds: The Ultimate Rave-up |date=March 2001 |publisher=Crossfire Publications |isbn=978-0-9648157-8-0 |language=en |access-date=15 August 2023 |archive-date=27 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927162936/https://books.google.com/books?id=sIYDAAAACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=January to July .... and everything in between |url=https://yardbirds68.blogspot.com/2015/04/fillmore-days.html |access-date=1 August 2023 |website=January to July .... and everything in between |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801011823/https://yardbirds68.blogspot.com/2015/04/fillmore-days.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Yardbirds' 1968 tour proved to be exhausting for the band. Drummer [[Jim McCarty]] and vocalist [[Keith Relf]] aimed to embark in a more acoustic direction, forming a [[folk rock]] duo which would eventually evolve into the group [[Renaissance (band)|Renaissance]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Together Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/together-mn0000520166/biography |access-date=25 June 2023 |website=AllMusic |language=en |archive-date=25 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625204405/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/together-mn0000520166/biography |url-status=live }}</ref> Page, on the other hand wanted to continue the heavier blues-based sound he had established with the Yardbirds. With the support of the Yardbirds' new manager [[Peter Grant (music manager)|Peter Grant]], Page planned to form a [[supergroup (music)|supergroup]] with Beck and himself on guitars, and [[The Who]]'s [[Keith Moon]] and [[John Entwistle]] on drums and bass, respectively.{{sfn|Wall|2008|pp=15–16}} Vocalists [[Steve Winwood]] and [[Steve Marriott]] were also considered for the project.{{sfn|Wall|2008|pp=13–15}} The group never formed, although Page, Beck, and Moon had recorded a song together in 1966, "[[Beck's Bolero]]", in a session that also included bassist-keyboardist [[John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones]].{{sfn|Davis|1985|pp=28–29}}

The Yardbirds played their final gig on 7 July 1968 at [[University of Bedfordshire|Luton College of Technology]] in Bedfordshire.{{sfn|Buckley|2003|p=1198}} They were still committed to several concerts in Scandinavia, so McCarty and Relf authorised Page and bassist [[Chris Dreja]] to use the Yardbirds' name to fulfill the band's obligations. Page and Dreja began putting a new line-up together. Page's first choice for the lead singer was [[Terry Reid]], but Reid declined the offer and suggested [[Robert Plant]], a singer for the [[Band of Joy]] and Hobbstweedle.{{sfn|Yorke|1993|p=65}} Plant eventually accepted the position, recommending former Band of Joy drummer [[John Bonham]].{{sfn|Erlewine|2011a}} John Paul Jones enquired about the vacant position of bass guitarist, at the suggestion of his wife, after Dreja dropped out of the project to become a photographer.{{sfn|Wall|2008|p=10}}{{refn|group=nb|Dreja would later take the photograph that appeared on the back of Led Zeppelin's debut album.{{sfn|Fyfe|2003|p=45}}}} Page had known Jones since they were both session musicians, and agreed to let him join as the final member.{{sfn|Yorke|1993|p=64}}

[[File:Hindenburg disaster.jpg|alt=A black and white photograph of an airship near a mooring mast exploding at its stern.|left|thumb|A 1937 photograph of the burning [[LZ 129 Hindenburg]] taken by news photographer Sam Shere, used on the cover of the band's debut album and extensively on later merchandise]]

In August 1968, the four played together for the first time in a room below a record store on [[Gerrard Street, London|Gerrard Street]] in London.{{sfn|Lewis|1994|p=3}} Page suggested that they attempt "[[Train Kept A-Rollin']]", originally a [[jump blues]] song popularised in a [[rockabilly]] version by [[Johnny Burnette]], which had been covered by the Yardbirds. "As soon as I heard John Bonham play", Jones recalled, "I knew this was going to be great&nbsp;... We locked together as a team immediately".{{sfn|Welch |Nicholls|2001|p=75}} Before leaving for Scandinavia, the group took part in a recording session for the [[P. J. Proby]] album ''[[Three Week Hero]]''. The album's track "Jim's Blues", with Plant on harmonica, was the first studio track to feature all four future members of Led Zeppelin.{{sfn|Wall|2008|p=54}}

The band completed the [[Led Zeppelin Scandinavian Tour 1968|Scandinavian tour]] as the New Yardbirds, playing together for the first time in front of a live audience at Gladsaxe Teen Club at the Egegård School (today Gladsaxe School) festive hall, [[Gladsaxe Municipality|Gladsaxe]], Denmark, on 7 September 1968.{{sfn|Wall|2008|p=54}} Later that month, they began recording their first album, which was based on their live set. The album was recorded and mixed in nine days, and Page covered the costs.{{sfn|Wall|2008|pp=51–52}} After the album's completion, the band were forced to change their name after Dreja issued a [[cease and desist]] letter, stating that Page was allowed to use the New Yardbirds moniker for the Scandinavian dates only.{{sfn|Wall|2008|pp=72–73}} One account of how the new band's name was chosen held that Moon and Entwistle had suggested that a supergroup with Page and Beck would go down like a "lead balloon", an idiom for being very unsuccessful or unpopular.{{sfn|Shadwick|2005|p=36}} The group dropped the 'a' in ''lead'' at the suggestion of Peter Grant, so that those unfamiliar with the term would not pronounce it "leed".{{sfn|Davis|1985|p=57}} The word "balloon" was replaced by "[[zeppelin]]", a word which, according to music journalist Keith Shadwick, brought "the perfect combination of heavy and light, combustibility and grace" to Page's mind.{{sfn|Shadwick|2005|p=36}}

Grant secured a $143,000 advance contract (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|143000|1968|r=-3}}}} today) from [[Atlantic Records]] in November 1968—at the time, the biggest deal of its kind for a new band.{{sfn|Wall|2008|p=84}} Atlantic was a label with a catalogue of mainly blues, soul, and jazz artists, but in the late 1960s, it began to take an interest in British [[progressive rock]] acts. At the recommendation of British singer [[Dusty Springfield]], a friend of Jones who at the time was completing her first Atlantic album, ''[[Dusty in Memphis]]'', record executives signed Led Zeppelin without having ever seen them.{{sfn|Fortnam|2008|p=43}} Under the terms of their contract, the band had autonomy in deciding when they would release albums and tour and had the final say over the contents and design of each album. They would also decide how to promote each release and which tracks to release as singles. They formed their own company, Superhype, to handle all publishing rights.{{sfn|Lewis|1994|p=3}}