On July 29, 1973 Led Zeppelin was robbed of more than $200,000 in cash from a safety-deposit box while on tour in New York City in one of the greatest Rock and Roll heist ever.
The cash went missing on the back end of Led Zeppelin’s US tour that began on May 4 of the same year. The tour saw attendance records shattered and box-office records set. To commemorate the tour, Zeppelin’s management team decided to shoot footage of the final three nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden, which was released in 1976 as “The Song Remains the Same.”
It was during their three night, sold out stint that the cash from Zeppelin’s hotel, the luxurious Drake Hotel, mysteriously vanished. According to tour manager Richard Cole, all of the money was accounted for at 1 a.m. on July 29. By 7:30 p.m. the money was gone. The mystery surrounding the disappearance stemmed from the lack of evidence left behind. According to police, there were no signs of forcible entry or tampering of the safe-deposit box. But luckily for Zeppelin, whoever stole the cash left behind their five passports.
Hardly considered a loss on a tour that generated more than $4 million, the mystery of the stolen cash has never been solved, nor was the cash ever recovered.
