Houses of the Holy

Led Zeppelin recorded “Houses of the Holy” in 1972 at Olympic Studios in London during the sessions for the album that would share its title, though the track was held back until Physical Graffiti. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote the song, Page produced the recording, and Eddie Kramer was among the engineers working with the band during the period. Released by Swan Song in 1975 on Physical Graffiti, it repurposed a strong outtake from the previous album sessions into part of the band’s expansive double-album statement. Its tight riff, layered guitars and celebratory lyric showed Led Zeppelin folding funkier rhythmic movement into their heavy rock framework. The track remains a prominent Physical Graffiti album cut and a reminder of the strength of the material Led Zeppelin had accumulated across several recording periods. Its title connection to the earlier Houses of the Holy album has kept it central to discussions of the band’s early-1970s studio archive.