Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1968–1969

Led Zeppelin's first concert tour of the United States and Canada opened on 26 December 1968 and ended on 16 February 1969. The dates came about after a Jeff Beck Group tour was cancelled: that band was run from the same office as Led Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant, who persuaded the promoters to book his new group instead.

Ahead of the shows Grant mailed white-label advance copies of the debut album to important FM radio stations; the record itself came out on 13 January, about halfway through the run. Led Zeppelin started out as the opening act for bands such as Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly and Country Joe & the Fish, but as the weeks went on they overshadowed the headliners, and by the time they reached San Francisco they were topping the bill. One celebrated night, the last of four at the Boston Tea Party, ran for more than four hours even though the band had only one album of songs.

The tour mattered a great deal: it built the band's audience in America quickly, and that success carried over into record sales elsewhere. It was also where John Bonham became close friends with Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice.