149) Houses of the Holy

Buy the album at Rhino.com

Led Zeppelin had stuck close to their core sound on earlier albums -- supercharged blues, celestial folk -- but on Houses of the Holy the band added a groove. "D'yer Mak'er" is their version of reggae, and "The Crunge" is inspired by James Brown. "We thought of putting steps on the cover to help you do the dance," said Jimmy Page. With the ballad "Over the Hills and Far Away," an FM staple, and "D'yer Mak'er" reaching the Top Twenty, Houses became Led Zeppelin's third album to hit Number One. That summer, Zeppelin's American tour broke box-office records established by the Beatles.

Total album sales: 11 million

Peak chart position: 1

Next: Santana

Back to RS 500 Albums!
Back to RS 500 Songs!