Led Zeppelin is considered, and for good reason, one of the most influential bands in the history of rock and roll. The original members that made up the group were John Paul Jones, John Bonham, Robert Plant, and lastly Jimmy Page. Together these members made up a band that spanned twelve years, boasted approximately ten albums, and left a legacy that very few rock and roll bands ever live up to.
Jimmy Page was born in the year 1944 at the London, England suburb of Heston. Page began playing the guitar at the age of twelve and continued to do so without much formal teaching. Page’s influences on his style of guitar playing came from many different sources: rockabilly, folk music, and blues. Page began taking musical work as a session guitarist in the early 1960's for various bands, becoming a reliable session guitarist for record producer Shel Talmy.
In May of the year 1966, Jimmy Page had joined and toured with the rock group The Yardbirds. However once band members from the Yardbirds began leaving the group to peruse different options, Page began to search for musicians to fill in. One of the first members that Page found was Robert Plant.
Robert Plant was born in 1948 in the city of Kidderminster, Worcestershire of England. Plant left his home at age 16 in order to pursue a life of blues singing. It was through his travels that lead Plant to play in the group Band of Joy with drummer John Bonham. It was through this relationship with Robert Plant that lead to Bonham (born the same year as Robert Plant at Redditch, Worcestershire, England) joining the band.
Once those three members were set in place, they recruited John Paul Jones (a very talented multi-instrumental musician, born in 1946 of Sidcup, UK) and completed the band on August 5th, 1968. At first they called themselves the New Yardbirds, but later changed it to Led Zeppelin.
Jon Bream, creator of the 2008 book that covers Led Zeppelin Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin: The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of All Time, brings further insight into the band's iconic name.
“The new moniker came courtesy of either Keith Moon or John Entwistle, partners in the Who’s rhythm section. In 1966, Page, [Jeff] Beck, Moon, and keyboardist Nicky Hopkins had discussed forming a band. Moon or Entwistle – both claimed credit – then famously uttered something about the band going down ‘like a lead zeppelin’, a reference to the German airship designed by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 1900s, a forerunner to today’s blimps.”
Led Zeppelin released their first album, Led Zeppelin on January 12th, 1969 and soon went on tour. The band allegedly made almost no money on their first tour. However, tracks such as “Good Times, Bad Times”, “Dazed and Confused”, and even “Communication Breakdown” lead to enormous success with listeners. According to Bream, their album Led Zeppelin, “…is easily the most ragged and manic of Zeppelin albums, and all the more thrilling for it.”
Led Zeppelin’s sound was built on a foundation of blues, with folk music and storytelling mixed in with it to give the band its unique sound. With the success of the first album, Led Zeppelin continued their work through their next few albums, Led Zeppelin II (which was released October 22, 1969 and reached number one on both sides of the Atlantic.), Led Zeppelin III (released October 5th, 1970), and the Untitled album. This particular album is known by different names, such as Led Zeppelin IV. This particular album was released November 8th, 1971 and is the fourth best selling album in history. All of these fantastic albums grew the band notoriety even further making them the greatest rock band in the history of rock and roll.
It was through tragedy that Led Zeppelin disbanded on December 4th 1980. On September 25th of 1980, drummer John Bonham died via asphyxiation from vomit, due to Bonham indulging in many alcoholic beverages the day before. Soon after this, the band decided to cancel their North American tour they had planned and simply disband. Led Zeppelin was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, forever being immortalized in rock and roll history.
Led Zeppelin was a band that changed the shape of the rock and roll music scene. They were a band built on blues and folk music, but were not limited to those categories. They are loved by many fans all over the world, myself counting among them. I would, dear readers, like to leave you with one of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs.
Thank you again for being a loyal reader, and remember: Music has the ability to change lives, one note at a time!
Your friend and ally in the ongoing battle between good & evil,
Antonicus Maximus
The Ludic Lounge E.I.C.
Works Cited
Bream, Jon. Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin: The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of All Time. Minneapolis, MN: Voyageur, 2008. Print.