Studio Album · No. 3
Led Zeppelin III Songwriting Credits by Led Zeppelin
Produced by Jimmy Page · Engineered by Andy Johns, Terry Manning
Holds writing credit on 8 of 10 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 8 / 10 documented
Scored across the 10 tracks with documented writers, by whether Led Zeppelin carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 10 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
Led Zeppelin III was written primarily by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, with John Paul Jones contributing to the blues showcase 'Since I've Been Loving You.' The album marked a deliberate turn toward acoustic and folk material, much of it sketched at the Bron-Yr-Aur cottage in Wales. Two tracks adapt older material honestly: 'Gallows Pole' is an arrangement of the traditional folk ballad 'The Maid Freed from the Gallows' (Child 95), credited 'Traditional, arranged by Page and Plant,' while 'Hats Off to (Roy) Harper' is credited to the in-joke pseudonym 'Charles Obscure' and is built on Bukka White's blues 'Shake 'Em On Down.' The result balances Page and Plant's original hard rock writing against rearranged folk and blues sources.
Led Zeppelin III is the 1970 third studio album by Led Zeppelin and marked a shift toward folk rock and acoustic arrangements alongside the band's hard rock foundation. Recorded between November 1969 and August 1970 at locations including Headley Grange with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, Island Studios, and Olympic Studios, it was produced by Jimmy Page and mixed at Ardent Studios in Memphis. Robert Plant sang lead while Page played guitar, banjo, and pedal steel, John Paul Jones added keyboards and mandolin, and John Bonham played drums, across tracks such as "Immigrant Song", "Since I've Been Loving You", and "Gallows Pole". The album reached number 1 on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart and was certified 6 times platinum in the United States. Although it received mixed reviews at release, it is now recognized as a milestone in the band's artistic direction.