What is the title of Led Zeppelin's 4th album?

The reason I've done this page is to help those of you who are unsure how to refer to the title of this album. This can be rather confusing, since there appears to be no clear title to this album at first glance. Far too many people (friends, magazines, radio personalities) refer to this album with an inappropriate title, which is quite irritating to Led Zeppelin fanatics like myself. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind if you are one of the many people experiencing confusion.

I. The official title of Led Zeppelin's fourth album is: 

This title was made intentionally confusing and unpronounceable by Led Zeppelin. According to Jimmy Page, this was done to avoid criticism that the band had received for Led Zeppelin III. If nobody could pronounce the title, nobody could criticize it! For this title, each band member picked out an ancient symbol to represent himself. The 4 symbols in the title of this album stand for (in order): Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, and Robert Plant.

II. You should not call this album:

• Led Zeppelin - This is the title of Led Zeppelin's first album.
• Untitled - The album does have an official title, although it is unpronounceable.
• ZOSO - This is not a word, but a symbol used by Page. Also, this symbol is only one-fourth of the title.

III. You may call this album:

• Led Zeppelin IV - As long as one understands that this is the traditional title of the album, not the official title. Jimmy Page commonly refers to the album with this title, as do other former members of Led Zeppelin.
• "runes" or "symbols" - As long as one understands that this is a description of the album's title, rather than the actual title.
• Led Zeppelin's fourth album - This might be the safest route, but a bit more cumbersome than others.
• Led Zeppelin - This is, of course, the official title of this album. It cannot be spoken, but often useful when writing or printing the title.

Back to my homepage.