The grounds of Knebworth House near the village of Knebworth had been a major venue for open air rock and pop concerts since 1974. In 1979, veteran promoter Freddy Bannister booked Led Zeppelin to play that year's concerts which took place on 4 August and 11 August after the bandleader of the Electric Light Orchestra, Jeff Lynne, turned down the offer to headline the festival.

Led Zeppelin had not performed live for two years, since the death of Robert Plant's son during the band's 1977 North American tour, and they had not performed in the United Kingdom for four years. Their manager Peter Grant decided that the band should perform at Knebworth instead of embarking on a lengthy tour, as explained by Dave Lewis:

The whole [Led Zeppelin touring] operation had become too big. Page's experience from the 1971 club tour ruled out any small dates. They had played the biggest indoor arena in the UK (Earls Court 1975) four years earlier. As Peter Grant saw it, they had to come back in the grandest style possible. Knebworth was the answer and after negotiations with promoter Freddie Bannister the 4 August date was scheduled with a second date on hold. The demand for tickets for the first date was enormous, leading to the second date being added.

The band's fee for performing was reportedly the largest ever paid to one single act at that time.

In the lead-up to the concerts Led Zeppelin undertook extensive rehearsals at Bray Film studios near London, and attended the venue at Knebworth in order to inspect the site, complete a publicity photograph shoot and perform a soundcheck. In addition, they performed two low-key warm-up shows in late July at the Falkoner Theatre, Copenhagen, Denmark.


"Black Dog" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the first track on the band's untitled fourth album (1971), which has become one of the best-selling albums of all time. The lyrics contain typical bluesman themes of lust, eroticism and betrayal. The song was released as a single and reached the charts in many countries. It is "one of the most instantly recognisable Zeppelin tracks", and was included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list (US), and ranked No. 1 in Q magazine's (UK) "20 Greatest Guitar Tracks".

The title is a reference to a nameless black Labrador Retriever the band used to see wandering the Headley Grange studio grounds. The dog would disappear in the evening and return exhausted in the early morning, before resting all day and repeating his evening sojourns. Robert Plant believed the lab was spending nights with his "old lady" (dog). Likewise the lyrics are narrated by a man obsessed with a woman, "got a flaming heart can't get my fill", he "can't keep away" from her "honey drip"; she reveals her true intention, spending his money, taking his car, "telling her friends she's gonna be a star", at which point the deception becomes clear and he turns cold, saying "a big-legged woman ain't got no soul". The story of lust, eroticism, and ultimately betrayal echoes the traditional reputation of the blues as being the music of the devil, alluded to in the lyric "eyes that shine a burning red".

The song opens with muted sounds of guitars warming up in the background, an idea by Jimmy Page, who also made curious opening sounds in "Immigrant Song" and "Friends", he was fond of starting songs in an unexpected way. The sounds are actually recordings of various guitar track openings played simultaneously, creating a "sonic collage" in which the tape can be heard spinning up to speed. Robert Plant then begins singing in a high strong voice, "Hey Hey Mama.." unaccompanied by music (a cappella). This sets the structure of the song, around a call and response dynamic, between the vocalist and the band, back and forth. It was Jimmy Page's idea to start and stop the music, and he was inspired by Fleetwood Mac's 1969 song "Oh Well".

Bassist John Paul Jones, who is credited with writing the main riff, said he was inspired by Muddy Waters' controversial 1968 album Electric Mud. However he retracted this, in 2007, saying that he was confused, and that his main inspiration was actually The Howlin' Wolf Album by Howlin' Wolf, particularly the repeating riff in "Smokestack Lightning". Jones and Page worked to refine the riff.

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