10 Facts About “Led Zeppelin IV” Most Fans Don’t Know

Led Zeppelin IV is a classic rock album that has been analyzed and dissected countless times. However, there are still some interesting and lesser-known facts about the album that are worth exploring. George Case, author of Led Zeppelin FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Greatest Hard Rock Band of All Time, shares some of these facts in his book. Here are ten things you probably didn’t know about Led Zeppelin IV.

1. The band’s decision to not include their name or faces on the album cover was a response to music critics who claimed their success was driven by hype rather than talent.

2. The opening sounds of “Black Dog” are a byproduct of studio technology. Jimmy Page left them in because he thought they sounded like “the massing of the guitar armies.”

3. The only sound recorded in natural time on “When the Levee Breaks” is Robert Plant’s voice. Everything else is slowed down just a little bit to make it heavy.

4. “Four Sticks” is probably the least popular song on the album, as it is rhythmically tricky and the least essential of all the songs on IV.

5. The album was recorded in several different places, including the reportedly haunted house known as Headley Grange, Island Studios, and Sunset Sound.

6. The band realized they needed to start crediting their lyrical inspirations, as they had taken much grief from blues fans for heavily relying on lyrics from other artists in their earlier work.

7. Contrary to rumors, there are no backward messages on “Stairway to Heaven.” The band did use backward sounds, but they weren’t trying to put any messages on there.

8. They weren’t the first to name a song “Stairway to Heaven.” Pop crooner Neil Sedaka beat them to it, including his own song by that exact same name on his 1960 album Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits, taking it all the way to No. 9 on the charts.

9. There could have been more than eight songs on IV. Led Zeppelin had a habit of holding onto material until they deemed it ready, and many of the songs that didn’t make it onto IV ended up on subsequent albums.

10. The iconic symbols on the album cover represent each member of the band: a feather for Plant, a trinity circle for John Bonham, a three-pointed crown for John Paul Jones, and the rune Zoso for Jimmy Page. However, the symbols were not intended to be personal logos for each member. Rather, they were chosen for their mystical and magical connotations and were meant to convey a sense of mystery and power.