On this date in 1969, Led Zeppelin began three days of recording and mixing sessions at A&R Studios in New York City, during which they recorded “Heartbreaker” and various other parts for new tracks for their upcoming second album. The band was under pressure to finish sessions for their second album so they could release it in time for the autumn market.
Finally released in October 1969 under the title Led Zeppelin II, the album was a commercial success. It has been described as the band’s heaviest album, and it was Led Zep’s first album to reach number one on charts in the UK and the US.
Led Zeppelin II has since been regarded as the quintessential hard rock and heavy metal album. AllMusic said it “provided the blueprint for all the heavy metal bands that followed it.” According to Robert Santelli’s The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia, Led Zeppelin “had already begun to move beyond its blues-rock influences, venturing into previously unexplored hard-rock territories.”
Spin magazine ranked Led Zeppelin II #5 on its list of The 25 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
The video here via G C/YouTube, Led Zep performing “Heartbreaker” at Madison Square Garden, New York City, in 1973. Rick Rubin has remarked, “One of the greatest riffs in rock. It starts, and it’s like they don’t really know where the ‘one’ is. Magical in its awkwardness.” While Eddie Van Halen once stated that his adoption of the tapping technique he later popularised was inspired by the “Heartbreaker” solo.
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Featured image by Chris Walter/Getty Image.
