Continuing my look at the albums of 1976…
My late 80s high school friend group was more into 70s rock bands than 80s pop and New Wave. Our favorites were The Who, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin.
That Led Zeppelin fandom, for me at least, spanned six albums: Led Zeppelin II, III, and IV, plus Houses of the Holy, Physical Graffiti, and In Through the Out Door. 1976’s Presence never broke through.
Rock bands, especially ones with a harder edge, have historically had a tough time dominating the singles chart. Perhaps no better example exists than Led Zeppelin.
The English rockers are one of the top-selling bands of all time, with more than 300 millions albums sold worldwide, and more than 110 million in the U.S. Of their eight studio albums, four went Diamond while the rest were merely multi-Platinum. Led Zeppelin IV is one of only 12 albums in history to go double Diamond.
All that record-breaking success, and yet Led Zeppelin has never had a #1 hit on the Hot 100.
Continuing my look at the albums of 1975…
Last week I named Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here as one of my favorite 1975 albums and noted that the band was a staple of my high school days. Well, the other band my friends and I obsessed over was, of course, Led Zeppelin. Forgive me for being a walking cliché.
Something about Floyd and Zeppelin, different as they are, made them catnip for teenage boys, at least in the late 80s.
In lieu of today’s Random Weekend selection, and ahead of my top ten movies of the 2010s kicking off tomorrow, I thought I’d offer up a few thoughts on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
I considered putting one of the Marvel films on my Top 20. I likely would have gone with Avengers: Endgame and used it as a catchall representing the whole 11-year achievement. I decided not to get cute with just one slot on the list when the rest was honoring individual films. And none of the individual Marvel movies placed in my top five in a given year.
I haven’t given Led Zeppelin much thought since I left high school. They are a rite of passage for high school kids (boys, in particular) and I was no exception.
Even back then, most of my focus was on Led Zeppelin IV, the classic 1971 album featuring ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ ‘Rock and Roll,’ ‘Black Dog,’ ‘Going to California’ and ‘When the Levee Breaks.’ What a motherlode of classic rock staples.
Meet Me In Montauk 