The world of rock and roll is often filled with behind-the-scenes events that remain hidden from the public eye. One such event revolves around Led Zeppelin‘s third studio album, ‘Led Zeppelin III,’ and its guitarist Jimmy Page‘s discontent regarding the album’s cover art which didn’t meet his expectations.
When ‘Led Zeppelin III’ was in the works, the band, or more specifically, Page, had a specific vision for its cover. However, this vision didn’t translate as intended due to various factors, resulting in disappointment.
In a candid revelation during a 1993 interview with Guitar World, Page took responsibility for the album cover art that, according to him, wasn’t what he pictured. Page’s dissatisfaction with the Led Zeppelin III cover art was not just about the artwork itself. It was also about the process of its creation, the interaction with the artist, and the eventual outcome, which was not what Page had initially anticipated.
Jimmy Page’s words about the artwork that he took responsibility for read:
“A disappointment. I will take responsibility for that one. I knew the artist and described what we wanted with this wheel that made things appear and change. But he got very personal with this artwork and disappeared off with it. We kept saying, ‘Can we take a look at it? Can we see where it is going?’ Finally, the album was actually finished, and we still did not have the art. It got to the point where I had to say, ‘Look, I have got to have this thing.’
I was not happy with the final result — I thought it looked teeny-boppers. But we were on top of a deadline, so of course, there was no way to make any radical changes to it. There are some silly bits–little chunks of corn and nonsense like that. But it is no worse than my first meeting with an artist from Hipgnosis, who were the people that designed Pink Floyd covers.”
He added:
“We had commissioned them to design ‘Houses of the Holy,’ and this guy Storm came in carrying this picture of an electric green tennis court with a tennis racquet on it. I said, ‘What the hell does that have to do with anything?’ And he said, ‘Racket — don’t you get it?.’ I said, ‘Are you trying to imply that our music is a racket? Get out!’
We never saw him again. We ended up dealing with one of the other artists [laughs]. That was a total insult — racket. He had some balls! Imagine. On a first meeting with a client!”
Page’s statement revealed his clear frustration with the final outcome of the album cover. His vision for the cover was not realized, and he was left disappointed with the teeny-bopper appearance of it. His interaction with the artist, who took the artwork in a personal direction and disappeared, added to his disappointment. Furthermore, the pressing deadline made it impossible to make any significant changes to the artwork.
Disappointment with ‘Led Zeppelin III’s cover art wasn’t the only time as they also had problems with ‘Houses of the Holy’s artwork, where they were insulted by the artist that regarded them as ‘racket.’ Despite Jimmy’s dissatisfaction with the cover art, ‘Led Zeppelin III’ remains a classic, and its cover art is integral to its identity.
