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01-10 The Zeppelin Crashes
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Almost everybody has heard of Led Zeppelin. They might not have heard their music, but they'll know the name. And probably the name of a certain song (you know the one). This is because Led Zeppelin are singly one of the most influential, groundbreaking, and iconic musical ensembles of modern times, and have had a lasting impact on the development of Rock, Hard Rock, and Metal (in particular, drummer John Bonham has been highly instrumental in the development of rock drumming), and their record sales in the US alone number at around 300 milion, placing them second in line in popularity ...read more
Almost everybody has heard of Led Zeppelin. They might not have heard their music, but they'll know the name. And probably the name of a certain song (you know the one). This is because Led Zeppelin are singly one of the most influential, groundbreaking, and iconic musical ensembles of modern times, and have had a lasting impact on the development of Rock, Hard Rock, and Metal (in particular, drummer John Bonham has been highly instrumental in the development of rock drumming), and their record sales in the US alone number at around 300 milion, placing them second in line in popularity only to the Beatles.
After The Yardbirds (One of the top 5 bands in the world at the time) broke apart in 1968, they had several large touring venue contracts to fulfill. The burden of completing these contracts fell upon the shoulders of non-other than guitarist James Patrick Page (better known to the world as Jimmy). His original choice for vocalist, Terry Reid, declined the opportunity, but selflessly recommended the young Robert Plant. Prospective drummers included Procol Harum's BJ Wilson, but Plant introduced Page to his friend John Bonham (who was hastily recruited after five minutes of playing in front of Page). The band's original bassist, Chris Dreja, left shortly after the start of the project and became a photographer (he took the photo of the band that appears on the back cover of the band's debut album). He was replaced by John Baldwin (a.k.a John Paul Jones); an acquaintence of Page from their session playing days. This was a fortunate cameradery, as Jones was one of the most in-demand session musicians around at the time. The group maintained this lineup for the rest of its twelve year life. The band members where told they would only play together until the touring contracts had been fulfilled, but as the concerts unfolded, Page and his bandmates began to realise that they were on to a winning formula, and began playing new songs at their gigs. When questioned about Jimmy's new project, then Who drummer Keith Moon was quoted saying that Page's band would "Go down like a Lead Balloon". After hearing the interview, the group jokingly renamed themselves "Led Zeppelin" (with the deliberate misspelling of "Lead" intended to avoid mispronounciation of the word as "Leed").
Led Zeppelin then rushed into the studio in late 1968 to record their 8 song, self titled debut. (Led Zeppelin I, 1969, Atlantic Records) Because they had been playing some of the largest venues in the world (The ones The Yarbirds would have played) they were immediately skyrocketed into super stardom in England with the song "Good Times Bad Times" (released as a single on 3/10/69). But Zep didn't really crack the U.S. (the single only reached #80 in the US pop charts) until the release of their second album later that year (Led Zeppelin II, 1969, Atlantic records) with the single "A Whole Lotta Love" (possibly the band's most regularly played song, it was released as a single against the group's wishes, with the infamous central medley of the album version removed).
In their earlier years, the band's music was very heavily blues influenced, with many songs on their first album being covers of popular blues artists. Page and Plant were heavily influenced by such artists as Willie Dixon and Howlin' Wolf, and The Lemon Song on Volume II is a reworking of one of the latter's most famous tracks (Killing FLoor). There was also some controversy over A Whole Lotta Love, which was found to be almost identical to an earlier Willie Dixon number, and it was not until after a court battle that the group grudgingly conceeded to give royalties and a writer's credit to Dixon for the song.
Zeppelin released only one other single; "The Immigrant Song" on Led Zeppelin III of 1970. This third album was greeting fairly badly by critics. The band then released the album that would make them international superstars. After the "failure" of Led Zeppelin III in the previous year, the group decided to leave the album untitled consisting of four stylised symbols sybolic of each of the band members. This album, usually referred to as "Led Zeppelin IV", "Fours Symbols", or "Zoso" sported the highest charting song in the world's history, "Stairway to Heaven". After this Zep created their own record label, Swan Song, and went on to become the 2nd most popular and best selling band in the world. (The Beatles are number one in both areas).
However, on September 25 1980, John Bonham tragically died by asphyxiation after consuming 49 measures of alcohol at Page's house. (shortly before embarking on an American tour). The surviving members decided that they could no longer play or record as Led Zeppelin. The group disbanded in December of that year. Despite their relatively short tenure, Zeppelin have earned a deeply engrained place in western culture, and it is likely that their influence on music will remain visible for many years to come. « hide |
Similar Bands: The Yardbirds, Deep Purple, Leaf Hound, Spirit, Blue Cheer
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