In August 1968, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham played together for the first time, and by September they were already on stage in Gladsaxe, Denmark, as The New Yardbirds, fulfilling the Yardbirds’ remaining contractual obligations. That very same month, upon their return, the group changed their name to Led Zeppelin and began recording their eponymous debut album after signing a contract with Atlantic Records. The self-financed recording sessions took place at London’s Olympic Sound Studios and, for cost reasons, were self-produced by Jimmy Page with the support of sound engineer Glyn Johns. Studio time was expensive, so they recorded their debut album largely live in just over 30 hours, spread over a couple of weeks. Although all the musicians were from the UK, the band and above all their manager Peter Grant initially focused on the US market.

The debut album, featuring the burning Hindenburg airship and designed by Hipgnosis cover artist George Hardie, was released in the US as early as 12 January 1969. It proved very popular with American radio stations, resulting in a significant surge in popularity and rising sales figures, enabling the album to reach number 10 in the Billboard charts. Released on 28 March 1969 in England (with turquoise lettering) and other countries worldwide, its breakthrough in Europe took a little longer, partly due to negative reviews in the music press. While success in England came after a few live performances, with the album reaching number 6 in the album charts, reactions on the European mainland were initially very reserved. However, this soon changed and today, despite all the (justified) accusations of plagiarism, it is described as a „turning point in the development of hard rock and heavy metal“. The high demand for this landmark album has also caused the price of the rare German first pressing to rise immensely.