On this day (September 8) in 1979, Led Zeppelin topped the UK Albums Chart with In Through the Out Door. It spent two weeks at No. 1 in the band’s home country. The LP also went to the top of the charts in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. It topped the Billboard 200 for seven weeks.

The three years between Presence and In Through the Out Door were not good ones for Led Zeppelin. The band took a tax exile to avoid incredibly high income taxes in the United Kingdom. This kept them from touring in their home country for more than two years. The album’s title was a reference to how difficult they found getting back into the public eye after returning. However, that was just the tip of the iceberg.

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The music world had changed drastically in the years since they released the heavy, guitar-driven Presence. Punk rock had risen to prominence. As a result, Zeppelin was unsure where they would fit in the new landscape. At the same time, they were dealing with personal issues. Robert Plant lost his son, Karac, in 1977. John Bonham was drinking heavily, and Jimmy Page was dealing with substance abuse issues.

The issues within the band become clear when one looks at the writing credits for In Through the Out Door. It is the first album on which Bonham received no writing credit. Additionally, it was the first to feature John Paul Jones as a heavy creative contributor. He co-wrote all but one song on the LP. Page and Plant wrote “Hot Dog.”

Led Zeppelin Finds a New Sound

If Presence was Led Zeppelin’s heaviest album, In Through the Out Door is their most experimental. Robert Plant wanted to take the band in a new direction. At the same time, John Paul Jones had started writing songs on his newly acquired Yamaha GX-1 synthesizer. As a result, the album was synth-driven and sounded unlike anything the band had released before.

While In Through the Out Door was a commercial and chart success, selling more than a million copies around its initial release and more than six million to date, many longtime Led Zeppelin fans were unimpressed. Many hoped that the band would go back to a sound close to their previous records, but that never happened.

Bonham died in September 1980. Led Zeppelin disbanded three months later.

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