Is This the Best Led Zeppelin Opening Song Ever?

2025-06-28

Led Zeppelin III

Led Zeppelin is a band that has a ton of great songs, and that includes album openers. So, what’s the greatest? – Author: Cat Badra, album cover from Atlantic Catalog Group

Led Zeppelin is a band that has a ton of great songs, and that includes album openers. There are few bands with as many classic hits as Led Zeppelin, and that’s apparent throughout the band’s discography.

Led Zeppelin formed in 1968 in London and featured guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bass player John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. The band is largely credited for defining the hard rock sound of the late-1960s and 1970s, being the main pioneer in that genre. Zeppelin, of course, is also often given credit for being one of the first metal bands, along with Black Sabbath.

Zeppelin was only around about 12 years, because they officially broke up when Bonham sadly passed away in 1980. But, they still had so much influence in the music world, and it’s really hard to imagine them having even more power if they had gone past 1980.

Now, in a June 27 feature from Ultimate Classic Rock, Nick DeRiso names the best opening songs for Led Zeppelin albums, in order, and picks the best. It’s all subjective, but it’s difficult to argue with him on the picks.

The Greatest Led Zeppelin Opening Album Song

“Led Zeppelin’s album opening songs are as varied and interesting as the LPs that followed,” he notes in the feature. “Together, they provide a road map as the band quickly transcended their foundational influences to redraw the rules for what hard rock could be.”

For No. 1, he goes with “Immigrant Song” off 1970’s “Led Zeppelin III.” It’s truly an iconic piece of music and putting it at No. 1 isn’t a bad move.

“Plant unleashes an unforgettable wail before this galloping song gets underway, giving little hint of the more acoustic turn that III soon takes. Page, Jones and Bonham honed the relentless basic track at Olympic Studios, with the rest completed at Headley Grange,” he notes in the piece. “Plant found inspiration for the ‘Immigrant Song’ during a recent tour to Iceland in which he couldn’t sleep because of the summer months’ endless sun. His thoughts inevitably turned to ‘Vikings,’ he said, and ‘big ships.’ Countless future heavy metal acts followed him there.”

As Far Out magazine notes of “Immigrant Song,” “Led Zeppelin were reticent to release singles during their run, but the power of ‘Immigrant Song’ just couldn’t be ignored. The band were under constant pressure from their label, Atlantic, to release singles, and most of the time, they were able to fend off these requests.”

In a feature for Audio Ink Radio about “Immigrant Song,” writer Charles Ken noted, “Rhythmically, Led Zeppelin wanted to switch it up to fit this heavy song. So, John Bonham created the galloping drum pattern that propels the song and helped cement Bonham’s status as a legendary drummer. His right foot, known for its ferocious bass drum stomp, is particularly noteworthy on ‘Immigrant Song.'”

He added, “Led Zeppelin always stayed true to their heavy music roots, even though they were hesitant to be labeled as ‘heavy metal.'” For another classic, find the story of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” here.

Cat Badra
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Posted by Cat Badra | Music, Rock, Rock News

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