40th Anniversary of Led Zeppelin IV

Forty years ago, in 1971, something incredible happened. The best rock band in the world became the most commercially successful band in the world. In November, Led Zeppelin releaed their fourth album. The band didn't even put their name on the album cover. They refused to do any of the usual "teeny bopper" marketing that was typical of the time. Regardless, the album's first single "Black Dog" made it all the way to 15 on the Billboard Top 40. At the end of side one, the band placed an 8 minute song. Music industry insiders scoffed, saying, "That song will never see the light of day... radio stations won't play it." That song went on to be the most played song of the modern era. Led Zeppelin's success seems an impossibility today. But we can bask in the glory that it happened once. Here's some audio of a rare demo of the 8 minute song "that wouldn't get radio play."