Led Zeppelin II is the second studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 22 October 1969 in the United States and on 31 October 1969 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at several locations in both the United Kingdom and North America from January to August 1969. The album's production was credited to the band's lead guitarist and songwriter Jimmy Page, and it was also Led Zeppelin's first album on which Eddie Kramer served as engineer.
Led Zeppelin II
The World War I photograph on which the album sleeve was based
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are cited as one of the progenitors of hard rock and heavy metal, although their style drew from a variety of influences, including blues and folk music. Led Zeppelin have been credited as significantly impacting the nature of the music industry, particularly in the development of album-oriented rock (AOR) and stadium rock.
Clockwise from upper left: Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones.
A 1937 photograph of the burning LZ 129 Hindenburg taken by news photographer Sam Shere, used on the cover of the band's debut album and extensively on later merchandise
Bron-Yr-Aur, near Machynlleth, the Welsh cottage to which Page and Plant retired in 1970 to write many of the tracks that appeared on the band's third and fourth albums
Plant and Page perform acoustically in Hamburg in March 1973, just before the release of the band's fifth album, Houses of the Holy.
