Via UCR 45 years ago today, the mighty Zeppelin kick off a massive U.S. Tour following the March release of Houses of the Holy. 50,000-strong packed the Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta. The next gig in Tampa had more than 55,000 fans, grossing $309,000 and breaking the record for a one-day event for one act, previously held by The Beatles for their legendary 1965 Shea Stadium show.
At the time Manager Peter Grant marketed Led Zep as the "biggest and most profitable Rock & Roll tour in the history of the United States," the group eventually set more records and grossed over $4 million from the concerts alone. This tour afforded the band the luxury of flying between gigs in "The Starship," a legendary, customized, flying party, Boeing 720 passenger jet.
At the height of their success that tour, Jimmy Page was quoted as saying “We can’t allow ourselves the luxury of becoming fascinated with our own popularity. The way I look at it, if the Beatles were to get back together, they’d forget all about us again.”