Fifty years ago today, November 8, Led Zeppelin released its classic fourth studio album, an untitled collection commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV.
The album is loaded with some of the band's best-known songs, including Q 104.3’s number one greatest classic rock song of all time, "Stairway to Heaven."
Led Zeppelin IV never topped the Billboard 200 chart, but the album has gone on to sell over 23 million copies in the U.S. That makes it one of the five best-selling studio albums ever in America.
A fun fact about the album is that it featured two guest artists. Former Fairport Convention singer Sandy Denny duets with Robert Plant on "The Battle of Evermore," and was the only guest vocalist ever to appear on a Led Zeppelin song. Original Rolling Stones keyboardist Ian Stewart plays piano on "Rock and Roll."
To celebrate, a video series profiling the making of Led Zeppelin IV has been posted on the band's YouTube channel.
Here's the album's full track list:
"Black Dog"
"Rock and Roll"
"The Battle of Evermore"
"Stairway to Heaven"
"Misty Mountain Hop"
"Four Sticks"
"Going to California"
"When the Levee Breaks"