This Day in Music

January 12th

A leaden balloon from idea to hall-of-fame, a tribute to an America that once was, and Elvis perfects his show, all on this day in music.

Releases

1969: Burgeoning heavy blues, semi-psychedelic, quasi-folk, all-Rock and Roll English band previously and temporarily known as The New Yardbirds releases their debut studio album, simply titled, “Led Zeppelin.”

Needing their own identity, legend has it that the band riffed on an insult by Keith Moon and John Entwistle of The Who, who claimed the band would go down like a ‘lead balloon.’ Just like that, Led Zeppelin was born, and the world would never be the same.

Following a tour of Scandinavia as The New Yardbirds, where they tested out original songs, the album was recorded in September and October of 1968 at Olympic Studios, before the band even had a record contract. The cost was borne entirely by Jimmy Page and band manager Peter Grant, totalling about £1,800, or approximately £27,500 adjusted for inflation. Page produced the eclectic collection of original material, blues covers, and reworking of folk tunes. From the start of the first song, “Good Times, Bad Times,” the album strikes a sonic blow and the listeners know they’re in for a great ride.

Contemporary reviews were surprisingly poor (and frankly, pretentious), with Rolling Stone essentially labeling Led Zeppelin a poor man’s Jeff Beck Group, Robert Plant as a ‘foppish’ Rod Stewart, and Jimmy Page as a producer with ‘limited’ talent. Retrospective reviews however, give the album its due, with Rolling Stone now rating it 5/5 stars along with AllMusic’s 5/5. Other criticisms compared the band as poor filler to the void left by Cream, completely overlooking, or not even understanding, the incredible musical talents of Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham, each of whom measure up to their counterparts in Cream.

For fans and casual listeners alike, “Led Zeppelin” remains one of the best debut records in history, and one of the best of Led Zeppelin’s works. Some of Zeppelin’s most-famous songs appear on the album, such as “Dazed and Confused,” “Your Time is Gonna Come,” “Communication Breakdown,” “How Many More Times, “ and the aforementioned “Good Times, Bad Times.”

The record-buying public obviously had greater taste than the critics, sending the album to No. 6 on the UK Albums chart, No. 10 on the Billboard 200, and No. 1 on the Australian Albums chart. It has sold over 10 million certified copies worldwide, making it 8x Platinum in the US, double-Platinum in the UK, double-Platinum in Australia, and a rare Diamond album in Canada.

Events

1974: Byron MacGregor's production of Canadian journalist Gordon Sinclair's commentary, "The Americans," set against the backdrop of "America the Beautiful" played by the Detroit Symphony, reaches No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on U.S. Cashbox Top 100.

The piece was a moving tribute to America, editorializing that when countries around the world faced natural disasters or economic crises, the United States would lead in its generosity of assistance. But when hard times befell the U.S., it faced those crises alone.

All proceeds went to the Red Cross, which at the time was providing post-disaster relief from tornadoes across the midwest and the Mississippi River in flood stage, while facing a solvency crisis of its own. The U.S. Dollar was near record lows after falling 41% on European exchanges, and gas was beginning to run short, leading to extensive lineups.

California governor Ronald Reagan would later credit the piece for giving comfort to America during difficult times. It's a beautiful and moving tribute to what the United States used to be.

1995: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces that its 1995 inductees will be Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers Band, Martha and The Vandellas, Neil Young, Janis Joplin, Al Green, and Frank Zappa.

1977: Record Label EMI releases a statement detailing its discomfort with promoting the Sex Pistols due to the negative publicity the band had generated over recent months. Upstart label Virgin Records would pick up the contract and release the album, "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols," including the visceral “diss” track, "EMI."

The Daily Elvis

1973: A full dress-rehearsal concert is undertaken by Elvis in preparation for the Aloha from Hawaii live-by-satellite performance scheduled for January 14, 1973. In addition to being a final rehearsal, it would be back-up in the event of technical issues during the live broadcast.

Pictured: Sex Pistols post-Glenn Matlock in 1977. From L to R: Johnny Rotten, Paul Cook, Sid Vicious, and Steve Jones.