5,000,000 is Dread Zeppelin's second full-length album. Recorded in early fall 1990, it was conceived and recorded during a three-week break from touring to support the surprisingly successful Un-Led-Ed. Produced by Jah Paul Jo and Rasta Li-Mon, the album once again featured their patented "Zeppelin-Inna-Reggae-Style" hybrid plus 3 original songs and a cover of Bob Marley's "Stir It Up" and "Train Kept A'Rollin'" by The Yardbirds. The album was released worldwide by I.R.S. Records in 1991. The title is a reference to the Elvis Presley album 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong. The cover image is an homage to the Led Zeppelin album Led Zeppelin IV.
"Stairway to Heaven" and "Stir It Up"
A Led Zeppelin song notable for its inclusion on 5,000,000* is "Stairway to Heaven." Producer/guitarist Jah Paul Jo had said that they left the Zeppelin classic off of Un Led-Ed on purpose so people would have to buy the second album, too. "Stairway to Heaven" was edited to be released as a single in the UK. It was also offered as a 3" CD in Japan. Dread Zeppelin's version of Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" is the B-side of the UK single. A video to promote "Stairway to Heaven" was proposed but never finished due to copyright considerations. The concept was a take-off on the Japanese film, "King Kong Versus Godzilla." This time, it was going to be a gargantuan Tortelvis fighting Godzilla. Many of Dread Zeppelin's 1991 Japanese performances were filmed for inclusion in the video, but it was never completed. "Stir It Up" by Bob Marley also got the Dread Zeppelintreatment. "Stir it up, Charlie... put it in a blender and get real gone," vocalist Tortelvis is heard to mutter on the fade. The song also features electric sitar and a Moog Synthesizerthe band claimed to find in Dave Stewart's attic. A video of "Stir It Up" was released in 1991 to promote the album. In it, various members of Dread Zeppelin appear as themselves and also as a backup singing group and Tortelvis as Bingo Master in Lederhosen at an Elk's Lodge.
Album cover
Whereas Led Zeppelin had the picture of a mystic man holding sticks on the cover of Led Zeppelin IV, Dread Zeppelin featured Tortelvis' towel and water man, Charlie Haj holding various pool cues and cleaning gear. The inside of the album is a telethon with people manning the telephones and the band posing beside a large-size mock up of a check. The credits for the album are pictured as a tear-stained thank-you speech presumably never given. In the USA, the cover is in color on the outside but black and white on the inside. UK and Japanese versions are full color inside and out. In the UK, the album was released on vinyl and CD.
