"Immigrant Song" was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant during the band's European tour, which opened with a concert in Reykjavik. About the origins of his inspiration, Plant said the following:
There was nothing pompous about it. We really came from the "land of ice and snow". We were guests of the Icelandic government, as part of a cultural mission. We were invited to perform in Reykjavik, but the day before our arrival, all government employees of the country went on strike, which put the concert in danger of disruption.
The City University prepared a concert hall for our performance, it was phenomenal. The reaction of the audience was amazing, we had a lot of fun. "Immigrant Song" was written about this trip: it became the first track of the album, which was supposed to be radically different from the previous ones.
6 days after the performance in Reykjavik, Led Zeppelin performed the Immigrant Song for the first time on the stage of the Bat Festival.
The Immigrant Song was performed in the film "School of Rock" with Jack Black. Getting permission from Led Zeppelin to use it was not easy. Black videotaped himself singing in front of a huge crowd and begged the band to let him play their song in the film. It worked! The track is played in a scene where Black's character is driving in a car with his students, an Immigrant Song is playing on the radio, and he starts singing along.
In an interview included on the official DVD, Black says, "The moral of this story is that sometimes you have to put aside pride and beg."
Led Zeppelin opened all concerts with this song between 1970 and 1972.
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#GreatWomenOfRock Ann & Nancy Wilson: for over 50 years, these sisters have rocked as Heart, as The Love Mongers, and as solo artists. They embody Rock ‘n Roll, they ruled the pop charts, they have persevered. #Heart #AnnWilson #NancyWilson #RockHonorRoll 3/27
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