Led Zeppelin released their 8th studio LP “In Through the Out Door” on Aug. 15, 1979. It was recorded over a three-week period in November and December 1978 at ABBA’s Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. It was the last album released by the band before the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980.
The album was named by the group to reflect their recent difficulties following the death of Robert Plant’s son Karac in 1977 and their financial exile from the UK. This exile meant the band was unable to tour in Britain for more than two years, making the effort to regain public attention akin to “trying to enter through the ‘out’ door.”
Unlike earlier Led Zeppelin albums, “In Through the Out Door” saw a much more significant contribution from bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones and vocalist Robert Plant.
John Paul Jones has said it was “mainly because I had a new toy. I had this big new keyboard. And Robert and I just got to rehearsals early, basically. With Zeppelin writing, if you came up with good things, and everybody agreed that they were good things, they got used. There was no formula for writing. So Robert and I, by the time everybody turned up for rehearsals, we’d written three or four songs. So we started rehearsing those immediately, because they were something to be getting on with.”
The effort would prove to be a huge success, topping both the Billboard 200 and the UK Official Albums Chart.
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