(Credits: Far Out / Album Artwork)
Wed 18 February 2026 1:00, UK
Led Zeppelin wasted no time in ascending on their meteoric rise to the very top of the music mountain.
In their first calendar year as a band, 1969, they released two albums, their self-titled record, along with Led Zeppelin II. Those two records combined showcased enough music to make them rock royalty, with the likes of ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’ and ‘Whole Lotta Love’ delivering a powerful brand of rock that captured music-hungry audiences.
But this steamroller of rock music never seemed to stop, and in the following year, 1970, the band released their follow-up record, Led Zeppelin III. Despite the fact that the band seemed somewhat immune to criticism, the record was released to something of a mixed reception.
It was perhaps a more crafted approach to record-making for the band. Recorded in three locations across the previous 12 months, it gave them added space to inject a more expansive style of creativity into their otherwise bona fide brand of rock and roll, which seemed to mystify their critics and fan base. A mix of synthesisers, double bass, and the mandolin were entered into the fray and saw the band focus a little more on songwriting craftsmanship, which was unfairly reduced by critics as a simple acoustic album.
Ultimately, the end result was anything but, and the petty criticism was nothing more than a music-loving community showing their reluctance to change. This wasn’t uncharted territory, though, given how much The Beatles and Bob Dylan pivoted their sound to antiquated boos. And so Zeppelin continued on with their sonic pursuit.
But the rather underwhelming responses to the album were largely rooted in anticipation. With the first two records from the year prior, Led Zeppelin had become the biggest band in the world by knocking The Beatles off their throne and defining a bold new era. The result was a mass order of advance copies, somewhere to the tune of 1million in the US alone. It meant that their place at the top of the charts was all but confirmed, and so the band purchased a full-page spread in Melody Maker in September, saying, “Thank you for making us the world’s number one band.”
The album was then released in the US in early October and later in the UK, where it topped the charts immediately before sales dropped off quickly and the contemporary audience began to question the new Zeppelin sound.
Who knocked Led Zeppelin off the number one spot?
As public faith in the band started to briefly dwindle, fans turned to a musician whom they felt they could trust. Bob Dylan’s record New Morning stepped in and took the number one spot on November 28th, where it stayed for a week.
The subtle doubt in Led Zeppelin was then left to fester for an entire year, with their follow-up record, Led Zeppelin IV, not coming out until November of 1971. But when it did, any questions over the band’s greatness were soon answered, and critics were left with egg on their face, as that fourth record saw them crowned once again, as the royal saviours of rock and roll.
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