I was there! When I was in high school a date took me to see an unknown band at the Tea Party - out came Led Zeppelin!!! We knew we were witnessing music history - it’s one of the best memories of my life
I heard about this show many times from my dad. Turns out I was there - my parents were 19 and my mom was pregnant with me, but they didn’t know yet. Pretty epic “first show”.
I'm 69 years old, and I am so happy I watch your video. Outstanding job putting it together. I am glad I got to listen to it before I leave this world!
In 1980, my guitar teacher, Doug, himself an incredible player, picked it out of my stack of records, held it up and said to me, "Do you know what this is? It's a guitarist's dictionary."
I remember going to the public pool with my older brother and sisters in the early 70's and hearing Plant's opening Viking war cry of Immigrant Song. The speaker was a giant megaphone in those days and although you could hear the music, it was the vocals that really carried. We all joined in when the song played and all across the pool it was AHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHH! Now THOSE were the days!!
I'm glad I was in high school in the mid 70s when they were at their full powers. And have enjoyed them since and now watch new generations fall for them the same way.
@@DianeLake-sw3ymI grew up and still live 20 miles south of Boston. In jr high 68-69 69-70, I had a young lady music class and young guy art class teachers that let us play the music of the day and we were exposed to all the rock genres of the time, an AMAZING time. Remember listening to listening to the first 2 Zeppelin albums. Back then the majority of music played on the radio were singles from albums and sold as 45s 😜😜 I still have Whole Lotta Love/Livin Lovin Maid on a 45 ‼️‼️ Saw them live July 21 1973 at the Providence Civic Center in Rhode Island the summer before my senior year in high school 🤘🤘🤘🤘 STILL the GREATEST show of the hundreds of concerts I’ve seen in now 50 years ‼️‼️‼️‼️ I listen to the shows available on TH-cam from various sources, Led Zeppelin Boots is probably the best here. I get reminded of being there as 17 year old teenager and can remember virtually the whole show ❤️‼️‼️ Truly the GREATEST Hard Rock Band EVAH 🤘🤘🤘🤘
Loved this James you really brought the story to life. ... Imagine being in a situation where you have to play 12 encores just to stop the crowd from ripping the place apart!. That said Led Zep were probably the perfect band to pull material out of thin air and pull it off. Planty and Bonzo would have had a lot of experience of playing covers from their time together in the Band of Joy and Jimmy and Jonesy would have played on half the hit records of the last five years between them. Lucky lucky crowd.
Thanks James for this Story of Led Zeppelin's 'Breakthrough Gig' at the Boston Tea Party!! I myself was a Witness to Led Zeppelin's Awesomeness on: Feb 6th, 1975 !!! In Montreal Canada !!
This little doc was SO well done. 👍 I had goosebumps on my arms during most of it out of excitement. I would happily give away one of my arms just to be able to go back in time to witness this gig myself (I was only 6 months old at the time lol) and count myself blessed to own a bootleg of the event. I've often wondered about this particular gig for decades now, only reading bits and pieces about it, hearing rumors about the wild crowd, the headbanging guys in front of the stage, Tyler and Hamilton being present, the 4 hour length, Grant breaking into tears - everything. This video sorted it out for me mostly. I will be coming back to revisit this one often. It was thoroughly enjoyable to watch and listen to. Thank you! 👍
LZ also played at the Tea Party in May of 1969 at the end of that first US tour. I was there. My friend and I hitchhiked from RI to Boston without even knowing where the Tea Party was. Fortunately some hip guy picked us up, got us completely stoned on some really good reefer, and drove us into Boston and dropped us off about a block from the TP. Tickets were about 5 or 6 dollars at the door. Another fantastic show when they were really trying to make their initial mark in America. They definitely succeeded. They played the whole first album. We hitchhiked back to RI after midnight, still high on the whole event.
The difference from today is that this guy was cool and got you stoned on good reefer. Today he'd have a butcher knife and rip you up. People just are no longer fun or cool
I assume the DJ was JJ Jackson. He had already been playing the first album on his show in preparation for the gigs, but when he saw them, he was blown away by how different the songs were from the album, the level of improvisation they were doing. On his radio show the next day, JJ told his audience that they needed to go see this band live. Zeppelin knew how much this did for their career, and were always grateful to JJ for his promotion of those gigs.
You did such an awesome job on this video. You captured all of the excitement that surrounded this landmark event in Led Zepp's history. Watching this, you can truly feel the incredible thrill of what it was to be there. Thanks! Chuck
You made this unbelievable gig come alive James. Thanks for reminding everyone the start of their journey and 😅that Led Zeppelin are still and forever will be the GOSTS.
Yes absolutely. No other rock group comes close to Led Zeppelin to be honest, and I’m a fan of Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Who, and Jethro Tull
Bravo James! Now that was a great review of Led Zeppelin's first gig in the USA. The Boston Tea Party and the first F.M. Radio station in Boston WCBN helped make this new band from England a big success in America! What a great post and presentation James! Well done. DD. 😃💕🔊💥🥁🎸🎸🎤🎶🎵🤘
It wasn’t the first gig in the US, they first played one show December 30 or so (sorry don’t have definitive date location) then 3 nights in LA at the Whiskey A Go Go 😉 Made it to East coast later in January and played 3 nights at The Tea Party. Second US tour they were back here in May 🤘
This was a day that forever changed my life. To add a bit of color to this great story... They had one roadie hauling the equipment. His name was Clive Coulson. Henry, Richard Cole and others were doing other things. I was asked by the club to help Clive load in a van's worth of gear up a huge flight of stairs, and help set it up too. One factoid. If memory serves me well, John Bonham, under pressure by all around him allowed us to set up his two bass drums (instead of one plus a back up) for this added night. He kept pushing back saying he didn't need two... and he didn't. So this was rare indeed. Bonham's energy drove the whole evening too. You can hear it clearly in the pre-Moby Dick drum solo Pat’s Delight on the bootlegs from this night which I believe was fan recorded. His pedal work is insane!!! One more thing... The Tea Party, WBCN and the Phoenix were owned at the time by Ray Riepen, a true visionary who foresaw the cultural moment. Amazing. Don Law, another visionary was the manager. Also, the DJ host was the one and lonely Charlie Daniels, the Master Blaster. JJ came on board weeks later and was a huge influence and cheerleader for the band all the way to his MTV days.
That was a different cat. This Charlie Daniels was a Boston DJ (with Peter "Woofer Goofer" Wolf on WBCN, as well as Tea Party MC and just overall cool guy... and a great photographer too. @@mjt11860
Boston born I was 9 that year and already a huge rock fan, WBCN was my favorite station, I can't remember teachers names but I remember all the DJ's full names, their voices etched in my brain.
That was really a great presentation. All credit to the monster that Led Zep was. But, you gave one helluva presentation representing them. Thank you!!!
Okay this has me absolutely roaring 🤣🤣!! As a musician I am somewhat jealous that I am extremely unlikely to get that kind of reaction from a crowd but also cannot admiring the level of enthusiasm they provoked, thank you for making this video James, it's made my day!
Thanks for that. I knew all along you were talking about Tyler but, it never quite hit me when he was at their RnR hall of fame and he talked about the beautiful girl on Jimmy's arm. But, listening to the story full on here it really made me laugh out loud where before it would just get a smile. You really made the story come alive
This was a fascinating story. I am familiar with a lot of Led Zeppelins' history but this is the first time I have heard about the Boston Tea Party gig. The fact that Steven Tyler was in the audience makes the story that much better. Led Zeppelin will live on forever!
I entered high school when Led Zeppelin began in 1968. I bought and loved and partied with all their LPs for many decades. Thanks for this Legendary review of the Boston Tea Party gig that made Led Zeppelin. Pete Townstead of The Who gave them their name because he thought that they would fail so bad that they would go down like a LeAd Zeppelin (made of LEAD) meaning they would crash and burn. So they called themselves Led Zeppelin. They broke attendance records across America that The Beatles has set. They also had wild times in their hotels on trips. They were very popular at all of their shows.
My mate rang me up and held the telephone handset through the door into the lounge, where he had his father's expensive Hi-Fi playing Led Zep I. The downtown record shop I hastened to had abandoned the usual top shelf display of the current Top Twenty album covers and just had Led Zep I repeated all around the display. The person before me bought Led Zep I, and the person after me bought Led Zep I. Definitely a smash hit!
During that same tour, or soon after, I saw the Zeps, live in Columbia Maryland (1 hour north of my pad in Washington DC). An hour earlier, I hadn't planned to go , but a party girl named Vail called me and asked if I could get my mom's car. I was 17. I said yea. The girl's dad owned a radio station and was given 2 second row tickets for the show. I was already an R&B guitarist with my own band, so it was a doubly fun gig for me. The Zeps weren't even the headliners. They opened for The Who, who I'd seen before in London. After the show, I was backstage and ready to go into the backstage room with the musicians and groupies, but I couldn't find my date, so I had to search for her - to take her home - the gentlemanly thing to to. Darn.
I’ve never heard this story before. Thank you so much for the telling. The thread about Steven Tyler was a great way to weave in that intersection in rock history. I was a tad too young to have been able to attend. A few years later in ‘73 at age 16 I saw Zeppelin in Vancouver, BC, CA. Do I need to say it was an experience right up there with birthing my children? Didn’t think so.
Had the great opportunity to see Led Zeppelin in 1971 LA Forum,72 Tucson Az,1973 Albuquerque NM,and fourth and final time 3/5/75 in Dallas and believe it or not still have the LA,Tucson,and Dallas 🎟️ ticket stubs.
This was a fantastic video! I so enjoyed your depiction of this gig. You really brought it to life and I could see it in my mind while you described it. What an amazing moment and what an amazing band!
Truly excellent job! I really enjoyed this, especially being a longtime huge Zeppelin fan. I assumed Steven Tallerico would inevitably become Steven Tyler. Funny account from him as well!
What an awesome story!! The original "Headbangers Ball" . Heavy metal was not then what its is now, but I understand why they were called the "Heavy Metal Kings". Zeppelin and Aerosmith were my two favorite bands growing up. Sadly I never got a chance to see Zep live, but I was grateful to see Page and Plant tour in the 90's. LEGENDS!
Never got to see them live, but saw Page/Plant when they came to Boise Idaho. Most memorable concert I've ever seen. I actually got high and felt like I was floating, but I wasn't doing drugs. Their music was the drug. Magic filled the air. Just to be in the same room with them, was incredible. Now being a composer myself, my dream is to collaborate with each one of them. I can dream, can't I? World's greatest rock band, bar none.
I was fortunate enough to see Page / Plant in '95. Best concert I've ever been to. Yes, was so completely high on the music. No drugs were necessary as I was 7 months pregnant at the time!
Hello, James. I am three minutes into this, and I want to comment right away. You packed so much great information into these three minutes, along with a great speaking accent, and excellent graphics. It's so nice to learn about some my greatest heroes hitting it big in the closest big city to where I grew up idolizing them and modeling my guitar style after Jimmy Page. Thank you so much. This is a real treat. I can't wait to see the rest of this great video you have made. Pete from Massachusetts
I was at that Gig! A few mon later they were at the carousel ballroom in Framingham mass. Aa few mon after that Boston Garden.. The second album was on sale at the venue! They went from 700-3000-20000 in 8 mon or so!
I can't believe I didn't get to either of the first two gigs in Boston...but I did see them at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1969...then after going to Woodstock (wish they had played there!) I did see them at the Carousel in Framingham...it was a rather small theater-in-the-round...they played in the center stage (playing mostly to just one half of the audience...luckily I was in that half)......they really tore the house down......did get the to the Boston Tea Party that November to see an awesome set by The Who.....and Led Zeppelin again in September 1970 at the Boston Garden...those where the days.......
WBCN should go down in history as one of the greatest all time influential radio stations. They helped break not only LZ, but J Geils Band, the Cars, Springsteen and U2 to name a few. They played a lot of early Oasis iirc and helped anchor their popularity stateside as well.
@@MJEvermore853 well, they ended up there, but only Joe Perry was born and raised in Massachusetts. Steven Tyler’s actually a New Yorker, so is Joey Kramer
I’ve heard of a multiple song encore, I’ve never heard of a multiple set encore. They were probably playing “Mary Had a Little Lamb” by the end. I’m sure it sounded bad ass too.
If ever there was a glitch in the matrix, is when we all got the album Physical Graffiti, and played that sucker over and over again until the groves were warn.
Eddie Phillips, with the band The Creation, was the first to use violin bow on his guitar in 1967. Jimmy Page started using one the next year with The Yardbirds. ✌️
Just to wonder if there would ever be Aerosmith if it wasn’t for this show. Listening to the entire show is incredible and gives hope that somehow the entire recording exists somewhere.
WBCN reached the Hilltowns at night, in early 1969 - through some freakish, never repeated, atmospheric conditions. Led Zeppelin, MC5 and SRC were playing. I was searching the dial for the hockey playoffs. Instead, I got some of the most amazing Rock 'n' Roll of a lifetime.
@@doctorrobert1339 He was very competitive as well, he was always trying to get one up on Beck. Remember he spent thousands of hours as an in demand session musician and writer in London studios before the Yardbirds.
Loving your classic rock vids. I have to be honest I'm not an Oasis fan at all but I've watched all your vids because of how interesting you make the topics. So selfishly I do love seeing you cover some of my favourite bands.
Yes this gig was and will forever be Notorius in not just the history of Led Zeppelin but in the history of Hard Rock & Heavy Metal .....this is when & where Headbanging began!!!
I always thought the big Zeppelin gig down in Mass was FRAMINGHAM. I must have been mistaken, I thought that was their premier. I learn something everyday. ( I was friends with an older fella that owned and ran a gas station. He was super cool and his stories of early shows he went to down in " the city" were captivating)
I would have loved living in Boston when that venue was open. There were so many legendary artists who played there during rocks best years. Great bands and cheap tickets.
I went to the first show of the tour. Page was playing a red Telecaster and was at the right (from the audience point of view) of the smallish stage. Broke their album on the college radio station and knew what to expect. Jeff Beck with Rod Stewart was either the week before or after Zep as I remember it. Saw them too. Good Times. Real good times. Then I got drafted. Bummer. Had a record called "Live Yardbirds with Jimmy Page", Keith Relf on vocals and Page on guitar. One of the songs was "Dazed and Confused." "White Summer" was on either that album or the studio album Little Games, but I think it was on both. Page played it at the Tea Party, maybe as a DADGAD medley with Black Mountain Side, as there was something different about it.
Would love to hear a little more about that first Zep gig. I've never known Jimmy to play a red telly-very interesting! I've got the Live Yardbirds album and that version of Dazed And Confused (actually titled 'I'm Confused' on that record) is one of the best live versions of that song I've ever heard and I've heard so many as I'm a bootleg collector. Great version!
I hear lots of stuff about rock music in the 60s and 70s.They always mention the greats like Page,Beck,Woody, John Mayhall ,Clapton and numerous others. But no one says anything about Jimmy McCulloch.Check this underrated master of the the guitar.He played with John Mayall and the blues breakers,Paul McCartney and wings,Stone the crows,Thunder Clap Newman.Please check this guy out. He also did the lead on "Say it ain't so"with Roger Daltrey, Kieth Moon,Entwistle .Absolutely fantastic.
I remember him. Scotman. He was just a young kid during the Wings Over America tour in '75 (?) and died pretty young from what I remember. I truly loved his performances, particularly on the song 'Medicine Jar'. Venus And Mars is a personal favorite album of mine. My older brother bought it for me for my 7th birthday and I wore the grooves out of it and have had to purchase subsequent copies of it on vinyl when I got older. I'll never forget Jimmy, he was a great musician. So sad that he died so young.
Henry Smith “the living myth” went on to tour with Aerosmith through the seventies as a road manager. I live not far, about 1/2 hour from Berkeley St., where the Tea Party was. My problem though is that I was only a year old at the time of this gig…and just couldn’t make into town. 😁
Was Henry Smith the guy that Steven Tyler had talked about during his induction of LZ at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? "Who was going to set up my drums at the Clam Shack?" 😅
Wow . Excellent post ! Steven Tarrarico would later become known as Steven Tyler , of Aerosmith fame . This definitely spawned an Age of Rock , untouched by most , to this day .
Crazy but I was there! I saw a bunch of breaking bands. Zeppelin, James Gang ( Lansdowne Street), Jethro Tull (Lansdowne Street), Jeff Beck and a lot more. The Tea Party was an amazing place.
I was in my Sophomore year in high school when a guy in my French class started talking about rhis new British band. Three of those guys were complete unknowns to me.But whem Greg mentioned the name Jimmy Page,that got my attention! I was a big fan of the Yardbirds but at that time,I was not aware of his prodigious studio work I saw them on their second American tour at the Baltimore Civic Center.Best concert that I've ever attended..👍
I was there! When I was in high school a date took me to see an unknown band at the Tea Party - out came Led Zeppelin!!!
We knew we were witnessing music history - it’s one of the best memories of my life
You mean it's not THE BEST memory? Lol.
That is absolutely amazing!
I saw them in MSG the night they got robbed. Filmed for movie song remains the same
you very very lucky bastard ; )
Very cool. What were the other best memories of your life?
I heard about this show many times from my dad. Turns out I was there - my parents were 19 and my mom was pregnant with me, but they didn’t know yet. Pretty epic “first show”.
You legendary music pumped right into your very genes!
So you were an insider. Smuggled in? 🤭😆
Your first rock concert was SICK!
Embryonic R&R? 😆 Rockin' in the womb? 🤣 Did you get a "contact buzz?" 😃😵💫
I'm 69 years old, and I am so happy I watch your video. Outstanding job putting it together. I am glad I got to listen to it before I leave this world!
there will not be and cannot be another Led Zeppelin. Hearing their first album was life changing.
In 1980, my guitar teacher, Doug, himself an incredible player, picked it out of my stack of records, held it up and said to me, "Do you know what this is? It's a guitarist's dictionary."
seminal moment for me too hearing that 1st led zep album : )
I own around 900 albums, Led Zeppelin being my favorite!
A band such as Zeppelin
Will never happen again.
I’m just glad I lived on this
Planet at the same time
They did… RIP Bonzo.
Agreed. I was fortunate enough to be a young guy in high school at the time.
I remember going to the public pool with my older brother and sisters in the early 70's and hearing Plant's opening Viking war cry of Immigrant Song. The speaker was a giant megaphone in those days and although you could hear the music, it was the vocals that really carried. We all joined in when the song played and all across the pool it was AHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHH! Now THOSE were the days!!
I'm glad I was in high school in the mid 70s when they were at their full powers. And have enjoyed them since and now watch new generations fall for them the same way.
@@DianeLake-sw3ymI grew up and still live 20 miles south of Boston.
In jr high 68-69 69-70, I had a young lady music class and young guy art class teachers that let us play the music of the day and we were exposed to all the rock genres of the time, an AMAZING time. Remember listening to listening to the first 2 Zeppelin albums. Back then the majority of music played on the radio were singles from albums and sold as 45s 😜😜 I still have Whole Lotta Love/Livin Lovin Maid on a 45 ‼️‼️ Saw them live July 21 1973 at the Providence Civic Center in Rhode Island the summer before my senior year in high school 🤘🤘🤘🤘 STILL the GREATEST show of the hundreds of concerts I’ve seen in now 50 years ‼️‼️‼️‼️ I listen to the shows available on TH-cam from various sources, Led Zeppelin Boots is probably the best here. I get reminded of being there as 17 year old teenager and can remember virtually the whole show ❤️‼️‼️
Truly the GREATEST Hard Rock Band EVAH 🤘🤘🤘🤘
never's a long time , i wouldn't bet my life on it.
Loved this James you really brought the story to life. ... Imagine being in a situation where you have to play 12 encores just to stop the crowd from ripping the place apart!. That said Led Zep were probably the perfect band to pull material out of thin air and pull it off. Planty and Bonzo would have had a lot of experience of playing covers from their time together in the Band of Joy and Jimmy and Jonesy would have played on half the hit records of the last five years between them. Lucky lucky crowd.
Yep. One of those moments I’d go visit if I had a Time Machine definitely
Thanks James for this Story of Led Zeppelin's 'Breakthrough Gig' at the Boston Tea Party!! I myself was a Witness to Led Zeppelin's Awesomeness on: Feb 6th, 1975 !!! In Montreal Canada !!
This little doc was SO well done. 👍
I had goosebumps on my arms during most of it out of excitement. I would happily give away one of my arms just to be able to go back in time to witness this gig myself (I was only 6 months old at the time lol) and count myself blessed to own a bootleg of the event.
I've often wondered about this particular gig for decades now, only reading bits and pieces about it, hearing rumors about the wild crowd, the headbanging guys in front of the stage, Tyler and Hamilton being present, the 4 hour length, Grant breaking into tears - everything.
This video sorted it out for me mostly.
I will be coming back to revisit this one often. It was thoroughly enjoyable to watch and listen to.
Thank you! 👍
Thanks for your comment, and you're very welcome :)
LZ also played at the Tea Party in May of 1969 at the end of that first US tour. I was there. My friend and I hitchhiked from RI to Boston without even knowing where the Tea Party was. Fortunately some hip guy picked us up, got us completely stoned on some really good reefer, and drove us into Boston and dropped us off about a block from the TP. Tickets were about 5 or 6 dollars at the door. Another fantastic show when they were really trying to make their initial mark in America. They definitely succeeded. They played the whole first album. We hitchhiked back to RI after midnight, still high on the whole event.
Cool story man!….7 years later I hitchhiked…from Wisconsin to New York but got busted in Jersey!
The difference from today is that this guy was cool and got you stoned on good reefer. Today he'd have a butcher knife and rip you up. People just are no longer fun or cool
@@jamesmack3314😂
The 60’s opened to floor for the 70’s. By the mid 80’s disco had done its damage to live music and great bands. Lucky we were there ❤🙏👍🏻👍🏻
@@wingchun-simplekungfu7584 rap has done way worse I’ll take disco over there any day
The greatest band to ever grace the planet! They were so in synch...they were magical! Each of them were pure talent and genius!
True. Very true. Not even close.
Plant’s shit singing broke America.
One of the dullest, most boring bands live
Have to agree with you. Saw them live in Sydney, Feb72. I'm still in awe of the experience.
Youre GD right!!!!!
If I've run across this story before, it was never in such detail. I thank you, kind sir, for this presentation!
Thank you for covering some Zeppelin, James! I was hoping this would happen. Very well covered as you do!
My pleasure!
I assume the DJ was JJ Jackson. He had already been playing the first album on his show in preparation for the gigs, but when he saw them, he was blown away by how different the songs were from the album, the level of improvisation they were doing. On his radio show the next day, JJ told his audience that they needed to go see this band live. Zeppelin knew how much this did for their career, and were always grateful to JJ for his promotion of those gigs.
JJ followed Zep around till the end even adopted a English accent sometimes ... He use to talk in both in the same sentence. 👍🏼
Or Charles Laquidera. He did a lot of heavy lifting. 🎵
WBCN 🤘
You did such an awesome job on this video. You captured all of the excitement that surrounded this landmark event in Led Zepp's history. Watching this, you can truly feel the incredible thrill of what it was to be there. Thanks! Chuck
You made this unbelievable gig come alive James. Thanks for reminding everyone the start of their journey and 😅that Led Zeppelin are still and forever will be the GOSTS.
They are a part of me.. since around 1972... So, this is one the best videos I have ever watched.
And, my favorite Rock story!!
James that was Fantastic!!!! Thank you for this Story!! Made me Smile! Best Band Ever!!!
Excellent video, actually quite surprised you've covered Zeppelin! They are the G.O.A.T.
NOT ...No Such Thing ...
@@davidmontgomery5047 Please elaborate?
Yes absolutely. No other rock group comes close to Led Zeppelin to be honest, and I’m a fan of Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Who, and Jethro Tull
Bravo James! Now that was a great review of Led Zeppelin's first gig in the USA. The Boston Tea Party and the first F.M. Radio station in Boston WCBN helped make this new band from England a big success in America! What a great post and presentation James! Well done. DD. 😃💕🔊💥🥁🎸🎸🎤🎶🎵🤘
It wasn’t their first gig in the US …
It wasn’t the first gig in the US, they first played one show December 30 or so (sorry don’t have definitive date location) then 3 nights in LA at the Whiskey A Go Go 😉 Made it to East coast later in January and played 3 nights at The Tea Party. Second US tour they were back here in May 🤘
Their first night in America was on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) in Denver, CO. 👍😎
This was a day that forever changed my life. To add a bit of color to this great story... They had one roadie hauling the equipment. His name was Clive Coulson. Henry, Richard Cole and others were doing other things. I was asked by the club to help Clive load in a van's worth of gear up a huge flight of stairs, and help set it up too. One factoid. If memory serves me well, John Bonham, under pressure by all around him allowed us to set up his two bass drums (instead of one plus a back up) for this added night. He kept pushing back saying he didn't need two... and he didn't. So this was rare indeed.
Bonham's energy drove the whole evening too. You can hear it clearly in the pre-Moby Dick drum solo Pat’s Delight on the bootlegs from this night which I believe was fan recorded. His pedal work is insane!!! One more thing... The Tea Party, WBCN and the Phoenix were owned at the time by Ray Riepen, a true visionary who foresaw the cultural moment. Amazing. Don Law, another visionary was the manager. Also, the DJ host was the one and lonely Charlie Daniels, the Master Blaster. JJ came on board weeks later and was a huge influence and cheerleader for the band all the way to his MTV days.
Of the Charlie Daniels band?
That was a different cat. This Charlie Daniels was a Boston DJ (with Peter "Woofer Goofer" Wolf on WBCN, as well as Tea Party MC and just overall cool guy... and a great photographer too. @@mjt11860
Boston born I was 9 that year and already a huge rock fan, WBCN was my favorite station, I can't remember teachers names but I remember all the DJ's full names, their voices etched in my brain.
Great Great Job James! You captured the night so well.
I grew up on WBCN. The whole attitude of that station was about the music. It’s amazing how all the threads came together for that magical night.😊
Greatest radio station ever. Hey Rangoon.
I've lived in Boston, absolutely rabid rock n'roll town. Love their rock and their beer, the crowds there are incredible
I'm from Boston and know a couple of people that were there. They say OH YAH SO AWESOME!✌
Excellent job pulling this together and presenting it. I'm a huge fan and learned a lot from this. Thank you very much.
This is a great video. If you have any interest in Zeppelin at all or even if you don’t you should watch this. Very professionally done. 👍🏻
Outstanding analysis as per usual, James. Plse do more Zep & also Stones if poss. Lovin' your work ❤
More to come 👍👍
Thanks, James. This is an excellent presentation!
Cool, thx for using my clip...long live Led Zepp
Wow what a great documentary! Thank you so much!
That was really a great presentation. All credit to the monster that Led Zep was. But, you gave one helluva presentation representing them. Thank you!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Okay this has me absolutely roaring 🤣🤣!! As a musician I am somewhat jealous that I am extremely unlikely to get that kind of reaction from a crowd but also cannot admiring the level of enthusiasm they provoked, thank you for making this video James, it's made my day!
Thanks for that. I knew all along you were talking about Tyler but, it never quite hit me when he was at their RnR hall of fame and he talked about the beautiful girl on Jimmy's arm. But, listening to the story full on here it really made me laugh out loud where before it would just get a smile.
You really made the story come alive
This was a fascinating story. I am familiar with a lot of Led Zeppelins' history but this is the first time I have heard about the Boston Tea Party gig. The fact that Steven Tyler was in the audience makes the story that much better. Led Zeppelin will live on forever!
This a great, great video about a truly epic story. Thank you thank you.
Very enjoyable James, thanks so much!
I entered high school when Led Zeppelin began in 1968. I bought and loved and partied with all their LPs for many decades. Thanks for this Legendary review of the Boston Tea Party gig that made Led Zeppelin. Pete Townstead of The Who gave them their name because he thought that they would fail so bad that they would go down like a LeAd Zeppelin (made of LEAD) meaning they would crash and burn. So they called themselves Led Zeppelin. They broke attendance records across America that The Beatles has set. They also had wild times in their hotels on trips. They were very popular at all of their shows.
Awesome, always loved the story of this gig. More Zepp content please!!!
My mate rang me up and held the telephone handset through the door into the lounge, where he had his father's expensive Hi-Fi playing Led Zep I. The downtown record shop I hastened to had abandoned the usual top shelf display of the current Top Twenty album covers and just had Led Zep I repeated all around the display. The person before me bought Led Zep I, and the person after me bought Led Zep I.
Definitely a smash hit!
During that same tour, or soon after, I saw the Zeps, live in Columbia Maryland (1 hour north of my pad in Washington DC). An hour earlier, I hadn't planned to go , but a party girl named Vail called me and asked if I could get my mom's car. I was 17. I said yea. The girl's dad owned a radio station and was given 2 second row tickets for the show. I was already an R&B guitarist with my own band, so it was a doubly fun gig for me. The Zeps weren't even the headliners. They opened for The Who, who I'd seen before in London. After the show, I was backstage and ready to go into the backstage room with the musicians and groupies, but I couldn't find my date, so I had to search for her - to take her home - the gentlemanly thing to to. Darn.
I’ve never heard this story before. Thank you so much for the telling. The thread about Steven Tyler was a great way to weave in that intersection in rock history.
I was a tad too young to have been able to attend. A few years later in ‘73 at age 16 I saw Zeppelin in Vancouver, BC, CA. Do I need to say it was an experience right up there with birthing my children? Didn’t think so.
Had the great opportunity to see Led Zeppelin in 1971 LA Forum,72 Tucson Az,1973 Albuquerque NM,and fourth and final time 3/5/75 in Dallas and believe it or not still have the LA,Tucson,and Dallas 🎟️ ticket stubs.
Steven Tyler's story at the end is priceless!
Tyler was the wormy little pro that unplugged other band's amps during performance to make his act appear more competent.
@@davidcollin1436
Holy cow. When did he do that?
Great story well told
I was only 8yrs old... I was just out of reach to see this band live....DAMN !
My brother is a year older than me and was there that night! I saw them the next few times they came to Boston. Great band!
This was a fantastic video! I so enjoyed your depiction of this gig. You really brought it to life and I could see it in my mind while you described it. What an amazing moment and what an amazing band!
Truly excellent job! I really enjoyed this, especially being a longtime huge Zeppelin fan. I assumed Steven Tallerico would inevitably become Steven Tyler. Funny account from him as well!
Could you imagine seeing and hearing this iconic band live at their beginning for a mere $3.50?
I can not imagine paying $1500 to see Taylor Swift
I think the Thursday and Sunday shows were cheaper
Hard to believe this was 55 years ago.
What an awesome story!! The original "Headbangers Ball" . Heavy metal was not then what its is now, but I understand why they were called the "Heavy Metal Kings". Zeppelin and Aerosmith were my two favorite bands growing up. Sadly I never got a chance to see Zep live, but I was grateful to see Page and Plant tour in the 90's. LEGENDS!
The only description piece I ever watched in full. Wonderful presentation
Thank you for posting this 🙃I am just reading the book by Bob Spitz, it´s all in there ... definetely worth buying, it´s amazing
Thank you, growing up in the late 70's into & thru the 80's i just missed the early days of Zeppelin.
BRILLIANT work pulling all that together 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
Never got to see them live, but saw Page/Plant when they came to Boise Idaho. Most memorable concert I've ever seen. I actually got high and felt like I was floating, but I wasn't doing drugs. Their music was the drug. Magic filled the air. Just to be in the same room with them, was incredible. Now being a composer myself, my dream is to collaborate with each one of them. I can dream, can't I? World's greatest rock band, bar none.
I was fortunate enough to see Page / Plant in '95. Best concert I've ever been to. Yes, was so completely high on the music. No drugs were necessary as I was 7 months pregnant at the time!
Hello, James.
I am three minutes into this, and I want to comment right away. You packed so much great information into these three minutes, along with a great speaking accent, and excellent graphics. It's so nice to learn about some my greatest heroes hitting it big in the closest big city to where I grew up idolizing them and modeling my guitar style after Jimmy Page. Thank you so much. This is a real treat. I can't wait to see the rest of this great video you have made.
Pete from Massachusetts
What an amazing documentary, thank you!
I was at that Gig! A few mon later they were at the carousel ballroom in Framingham mass. Aa few mon after that Boston Garden.. The second album was on sale at the venue! They went from 700-3000-20000 in 8 mon or so!
I can't believe I didn't get to either of the first two gigs in Boston...but I did see them at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1969...then after going to Woodstock (wish they had played there!) I did see them at the Carousel in Framingham...it was a rather small theater-in-the-round...they played in the center stage (playing mostly to just one half of the audience...luckily I was in that half)......they really tore the house down......did get the to the Boston Tea Party that November to see an awesome set by The Who.....and Led Zeppelin again in September 1970 at the Boston Garden...those where the days.......
WBCN should go down in history as one of the greatest all time influential radio stations. They helped break not only LZ, but J Geils Band, the Cars, Springsteen and U2 to name a few. They played a lot of early Oasis iirc and helped anchor their popularity stateside as well.
Right, and I think J. Geils was a Boston band.
@@bruceb5481they were but Aerosmith were technically not
R.I.P. Progressive Free From FM Radio, before the corporate conglomerates took over FM Radio Playlists.
@@jamesmack3314....Aerosmith wasn't a Boston band? Interesting...
I had always assumed that they were.
@@MJEvermore853 well, they ended up there, but only Joe Perry was born and raised in Massachusetts. Steven Tyler’s actually a New Yorker, so is Joey Kramer
I’ve heard of a multiple song encore, I’ve never heard of a multiple set encore. They were probably playing “Mary Had a Little Lamb” by the end. I’m sure it sounded bad ass too.
LOL! Love your comment, & yes I’m sure it would be bad ass, imagine Plants vocals on that lol.
Terrific story.
LZ: THE best band of them all.
Great job on this video. I haven’t heard of this before. Thanks for putting this together ❤
Thank you for such a great historical compilation! Never heard about this and just discovering the group.
If ever there was a glitch in the matrix, is when we all got the album Physical Graffiti, and played that sucker over and over again until the groves were warn.
Another fine film Jimothy
Cheers sir 👍👍
Legends indeed.
Dear Sir, you have such a nice guy demeanour and you speak and present well!! Thanks for this enjoyable document!!
Right on. Thanks for sharing.
Eddie Phillips, with the band The Creation, was the first to use violin bow on his guitar in 1967. Jimmy Page started using one the next year with The Yardbirds. ✌️
As suggestd to Jimmy, the session musician, by Mr. David McCallum Sr. (thae father of that David McCallum!)
Yep, it was Mccallum's father.
From what I understand, Phillips had begun bowing his guitar as far back as 1963.
Fortunately he didn't use it in every dam solo, like Ed Van Halen did his gimmicky tapping
@@edsnotgod Also, Jimmy never used drills on his guitar...
Just to wonder if there would ever be Aerosmith if it wasn’t for this show. Listening to the entire show is incredible and gives hope that somehow the entire recording exists somewhere.
I heard it does exist but the owner never wanted to give it up. I am sure he is dead now so someone related has it or it is destroyed.
July 6, 1969 Led Zeppelin played the world famous Newport(Rhode Island, USA) Jazz Festival. just an hour, south of Boston
Wow amazing story I did not know. Thank you
WBCN reached the Hilltowns at night, in early 1969 - through some freakish, never repeated, atmospheric conditions. Led Zeppelin, MC5 and SRC were playing. I was searching the dial for the hockey playoffs. Instead, I got some of the most amazing Rock 'n' Roll of a lifetime.
Seen in concert,many albums awesome 😎😎😎😎💯💯
How the industry has changed... the pace of their releases and development was insane... totally different times of course...
Great observation!!! 👍👍👍
It also helps that Page was on a mission as well, with his enthusiasm to keep playing music after The Yardbirds split up.
They also played 4 hour gigs, amazing.
For insight into the music industry’s change, Frank Zappa’s book: “The Real Frank Zappa” is a great read.
@@doctorrobert1339 He was very competitive as well, he was always trying to get one up on Beck. Remember he spent thousands of hours as an in demand session musician and writer in London studios before the Yardbirds.
Thanks for this report- a great piece of history.
Loving your classic rock vids. I have to be honest I'm not an Oasis fan at all but I've watched all your vids because of how interesting you make the topics. So selfishly I do love seeing you cover some of my favourite bands.
Thanks for that :) much appreciated
Yes this gig was and will forever be Notorius in not just the history of Led Zeppelin but in the history of Hard Rock & Heavy Metal .....this is when & where Headbanging began!!!
If not for LZ music would not be what is today.
Forever a fan
Saw them 10 times, first time when i was 14, grew up not far from where planty lived 🧡💚💙💛
Great presentation. You did them proud. . .
I love this story, & so glad my favorite band, became the greatest band ever.
And the magic began.....only wish I was old enough to have been there.
I remember shaking Jimmy's hand as he left the stage saying "You're gonna be famous, man!" He said, "Thanks Buddy"...
So cool! 👍😎
I always thought the big Zeppelin gig down in Mass was FRAMINGHAM.
I must have been mistaken, I thought that was their premier.
I learn something everyday.
( I was friends with an older fella that owned and ran a gas station. He was super cool and his stories of early shows he went to down in " the city" were captivating)
I would have loved living in Boston when that venue was open. There were so many legendary artists who played there during rocks best years. Great bands and cheap tickets.
I went to the first show of the tour. Page was playing a red Telecaster and was at the right (from the audience point of view) of the smallish stage. Broke their album on the college radio station and knew what to expect. Jeff Beck with Rod Stewart was either the week before or after Zep as I remember it. Saw them too. Good Times. Real good times. Then I got drafted. Bummer.
Had a record called "Live Yardbirds with Jimmy Page", Keith Relf on vocals and Page on guitar. One of the songs was "Dazed and Confused." "White Summer" was on either that album or the studio album Little Games, but I think it was on both. Page played it at the Tea Party, maybe as a DADGAD medley with Black Mountain Side, as there was something different about it.
Would love to hear a little more about that first Zep gig.
I've never known Jimmy to play a red telly-very interesting!
I've got the Live Yardbirds album and that version of Dazed And Confused (actually titled 'I'm Confused' on that record) is one of the best live versions of that song I've ever heard and I've heard so many as I'm a bootleg collector. Great version!
I hear lots of stuff about rock music in the 60s and 70s.They always mention the greats like Page,Beck,Woody, John Mayhall ,Clapton and numerous others. But no one says anything about Jimmy McCulloch.Check this underrated master of the the guitar.He played with John Mayall and the blues breakers,Paul McCartney and wings,Stone the crows,Thunder Clap Newman.Please check this guy out. He also did the lead on "Say it ain't so"with Roger Daltrey, Kieth Moon,Entwistle .Absolutely fantastic.
I remember him. Scotman. He was just a young kid during the Wings Over America tour in '75 (?) and died pretty young from what I remember. I truly loved his performances, particularly on the song 'Medicine Jar'. Venus And Mars is a personal favorite album of mine. My older brother bought it for me for my 7th birthday and I wore the grooves out of it and have had to purchase subsequent copies of it on vinyl when I got older.
I'll never forget Jimmy, he was a great musician. So sad that he died so young.
Henry Smith “the living myth” went on to tour with Aerosmith through the seventies as a road manager. I live not far, about 1/2 hour from Berkeley St., where the Tea Party was. My problem though is that I was only a year old at the time of this gig…and just couldn’t make into town. 😁
You could have tried. You could have crawled there. 😝
... I’m literally belly laughing right now!
Was Henry Smith the guy that Steven Tyler had talked about during his induction of LZ at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
"Who was going to set up my drums at the Clam Shack?" 😅
@@luvbasses5487
✌😁Best wishes mate.
@@lyndoncmp5751 and you, my friend.
Well done.
Wow . Excellent post ! Steven Tarrarico would later become known as Steven Tyler , of Aerosmith fame . This definitely spawned an Age of Rock , untouched by most , to this day .
Jimmy was doing the whole violin bow thing with the old Yardbirds. Dazed was listed as "I'm Confused" back then
Great video friend
Crazy but I was there! I saw a bunch of breaking bands. Zeppelin, James Gang ( Lansdowne Street), Jethro Tull (Lansdowne Street), Jeff Beck and a lot more. The Tea Party was an amazing place.
Fleetwood Mac live at the BTP February1970 is incredible,especially their epic jam “ Rattlesnake shake “
My exact birthday, year and day. I am a huge Zeppelin fan. I have hundreds of bootlegs
I was in my Sophomore year in high school when a guy in my French class
started talking about rhis new British band.
Three of those guys were complete unknowns to me.But whem Greg mentioned the name Jimmy Page,that got my attention!
I was a big fan of the Yardbirds but at that time,I was not aware of his prodigious studio work
I saw them on their second American tour at the Baltimore Civic Center.Best
concert that I've ever attended..👍
Typo: this new British...
Best band ever!