The Led Zeppelin Concert That Made Manager Peter Grant Cry

Crying would probably be pretty far down the list of emotions Led Zeppelin elicited with their music. Sure, they wrote several delicate songs that proved they had a soft side, but many of their tunes were hard-driving rock. Yet Led Zeppelin made their manager, Peter Grant, cry from joy after one monumental concert.

Led Zeppelin made Peter Grant weep after an epic concert

To understand why Grant cried at a Led Zeppelin concert, you first need to understand a little bit about his showbiz journey.

Grant started as an actor. He then operated a transportation company that drove bands to concerts. He briefly managed some notable artists, including the short-lived Jeff Beck Group and the late-stage Yardbirds. When the latter band disintegrated, Grant’s prospects for talent management were slim.

Then Jimmy Page formed Led Zeppelin from the Yardbirds’ ashes with Grant as the manager. It might have been his last shot at making his management dream happen. 

Any classic rock fan worth their salt knows how that story turned out. That’s why Grant — a former wrestler with an intimidating stature and outward persona to match — cried after Led Zeppelin’s Jan. 26, 1969, concert in Boston, according to John Paul Jones (via the Led Zeppelin website): 

“Peter was absolutely ecstatic. He was crying, if you can imagine that, and hugging us all. You know, with this huge grizzly bear hug. I suppose it was then we realized just what Led Zeppelin was going to become.”

Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones

That was one of the band’s first U.S. concerts, and it clearly made an impact. The Boston fans refused to let Led Zeppelin leave. Encore after encore extended the concert to more than four hours (per Zep’s website). Jones said the band ran through all its material and played Beatles and Yardbirds covers to fill the time. It proved the band had a dedicated group of fans who clamored to hear more music from them in the future.

Grant wasn’t alone in understanding that the favorable reception in the United States portended a bright future. Singer Robert Plant said an earlier concert in San Francisco proved to him that Led Zeppelin might mean something special to fans. He was more right than he could have known.

Led Zeppelin shows went on to become monumental and record-breaking events

Zep’s epic Boston gig in 1969, which concluded a four-night run at the Boston Tea Party venue, was an early milestone, but it wasn’t the last.

England’s more begrudging acceptance countered Led Zeppelin’s rapid rise in the U.S. Yet playing at the 1970 Bath Festival in their home country helped them achieve more popularity that lasted throughout the decade. Led Zeppelin sent every 1970s album to No. 1 in England (per the Official Charts Company), and all they had to do was turn down a $250,000 payday in the U.S. to play Bath instead.

Led Zeppelin’s U.S. fans never turned their backs on the band. They helped the band break a record set by The Beatles in 1973. Several concerts worked the crowds into such a frenzy that fans rioted. Heck, Led Zeppelin was banned in Boston after fans rioted while waiting for tickets. The band ended a two-year concert drought when they played two sets a week apart to massive crowds at the 1979 Knebworth Festival.

The raucous reception following a marathon concert made Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant cry tears of joy. That 1969 show in Boston was a pivotal moment, but other shows were monumental moments for the band, too.

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