Led Zeppelin

Name	Led Zeppelin
Landscape	Yes
Background	group_or_band
Origin	London, England
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal, blues-rock, folk rock
Years active	1968–1980 (Reunions: 1985, 1988, 1995, 2007)
Label	Atlantic, Swan Song, Polydor (UK distribution on Atlantic's behalf, 1969-71)
Associated acts	Page and Plant, The Honeydrippers, The Yardbirds
Url	www.ledzeppelin.com
Past members	Jimmy Page John Paul Jones Robert Plant John Bonham

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, formed in 1968, consisting of Jimmy Page (guitar), Robert Plant (vocals, harmonica), John Bonham (drums, percussion) and John Paul Jones (bass guitar, keyboards, mandolin). With their heavy, guitar-driven blues-rock sound, Led Zeppelin are regularly cited as one of the progenitors of heavy metal and hard rock, even though the band's individualistic style drew from many sources and transcends any one music genre. Led Zeppelin did not release songs from their albums as singles in the United Kingdom, as they preferred to develop the concept of "album-oriented rock".

More than thirty years after disbanding following Bonham's death in 1980, Led Zeppelin continue to be held in high regard for their artistic achievements, commercial success, and broad influence. The band have sold over 300 million albums worldwide, including 111.5 million certified units in the United States, They have had all of their original studio albums reach the top 10 of the Billboard album chart in the US, with six reaching the number one spot. Led Zeppelin are ranked number one on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and Classic Rock's "50 Best Live Acts of All Time". Rolling Stone magazine has described Led Zeppelin as "the heaviest band of all time", "the biggest band of the '70s" and "unquestionably one of the most enduring bands in rock history." Similarly, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described the band as being "as influential in that decade [70s] as The Beatles were in the prior one."

In 2007, the surviving members of Led Zeppelin reunited (along with John Bonham's son, Jason) for the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert at The O₂ Arena in London. The band was honoured with the "Best Live Act" prize for their one-off reunion at MOJO Awards 2008, where they were declared the "greatest rock and roll band of all time."

History

Formation

The beginning of Led Zeppelin can be traced back to the English blues-influenced rock band The Yardbirds. The group never formed, although Page, Beck and Moon did record a song together in 1966, "Beck's Bolero", which is featured on Beck's 1968 album, Truth. The recording session also included bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones, who told Page that he would be interested in collaborating with him on future projects. Plant eventually accepted the position, recommending a drummer, John Bonham from nearby Redditch. When Dreja dropped out of the project to become a photographer (he would later take the photograph that appeared on the back of Led Zeppelin's debut album), John Paul Jones, at the suggestion of his wife, contacted Page about the vacant position. Being familiar with Jones' credentials, Page agreed to bring in Jones as the final piece.

The group played together for the first time in a room below a record store on Gerrard Street in London. Page suggested that they try playing "Train Kept A-Rollin'", a rockabilly song popularised by Johnny Burnette that had been given new life by the Yardbirds. "As soon as I heard John Bonham play," recalled Jones, "I knew this was going to be great... We locked together as a team immediately." Shortly afterwards, the group played together on the final day of sessions for the P.J. Proby album, Three Week Hero. The album's song "Jim's Blues" was the first studio track to feature all four members of the future Led Zeppelin.

The band completed the Scandinavian tour as The New Yardbirds, playing together for the first time in front of a live audience at Gladsaxe Teen Clubs in Gladsaxe, on 7 September 1968., It was clear to the band that performing under the old Yardbirds tag was akin to working under false pretences, and upon returning from Scandinavia they decided to change their name. One account of the band's naming, which has become almost legendary, has it that Keith Moon and John Entwistle, drummer and bassist for The Who, respectively, suggested that a possible supergroup containing themselves, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck would go down like a lead zeppelin, a term Entwistle used to describe a bad gig. The group deliberately dropped the 'a' in Lead at the suggestion of their manager, Peter Grant, to prevent "thick Americans" from pronouncing it "leed".

Grant also secured for the new band an advance deal of $200,000 from Atlantic Records in November 1968, then the biggest deal of its kind for a new band. Under the terms of the contract secured by Grant, the band alone would decide when they would release albums and tour, and had final say over the contents and design of each album. They also would decide how to promote each release and which (if any) tracks to release as singles,

Early days (1968–1970)

With their first album not yet released, the band made their live debut under the name "Led Zeppelin" at the Mayfair Ballroom, Newcastle upon Tyne on 4 October 1968. This was followed by a US concert debut on 26 December 1968 (when promoter Barry Fey added them to a bill in Denver, Colorado) before moving on to the west coast for dates in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities. Led Zeppelin's eponymous debut album was released on 12 January 1969, during their first North American tour. The album's blend of blues, folk and eastern influences with distorted amplification made it one of the pivotal records in the creation of heavy metal music. On their first album Plant receives no credit for his contributions to the songwriting, a result of his previous association with CBS Records.

In an interview for the Led Zeppelin Profiled radio promo CD (1990) Page said that the album took about 36 hours of studio time to create (including mixing), and stated that he knows this because of the amount charged on the studio bill. Peter Grant claimed the album cost £1,750 to produce (including artwork). By 1975, the album had grossed $7,000,000. Led Zeppelin met an interesting protest when Countess Eva von Zeppelin (granddaughter of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the creator of the Zeppelin airships) objected to the band's use of her family name and attempted to stop a March 1969 television appearance in Copenhagen. When the band returned to Copenhagen for a concert in February 1970, they were billed as "The Nobs" as the result of a threat of legal action from von Zeppelin. She is reported to have said: "They may be world famous, but a couple of shrieking monkeys are not going to use a privileged family name without permission."

In their first year, Led Zeppelin managed to complete four US and four UK concert tours, and also released their second album, entitled Led Zeppelin II. Recorded almost entirely on the road at various North American recording studios, the second album was an even greater success than the first and reached the number one chart position in the US and the UK. Here the band further developed ideas established on their debut album, creating a work which became even more widely acclaimed and arguably more influential. It has been suggested that Led Zeppelin II largely wrote the blueprint for heavy metal bands that followed it.

(left) and Jimmy Page performing live in Montreux, 7 March 1970]]

Following the album's release, Led Zeppelin completed several more tours of the United States. They played often, initially in clubs and ballrooms, then in larger auditoriums as their popularity grew.

For the composition of their third album, Led Zeppelin III, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant retired to Bron-Yr-Aur, a remote cottage in Wales, in 1970. The result was a more acoustic sound (including one entirely acoustic song, "Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp", misspelt as "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on the album cover), which was strongly influenced by folk and Celtic music, and revealed the band's versatility.

The album's rich acoustic sound initially received mixed reactions, with many critics and fans surprised at the turn taken away from the primarily electric compositions of the first two albums. Over time, its reputation has improved and Led Zeppelin III is now generally praised. It has a unique album cover featuring a wheel which, when rotated, displays various images through cut outs in the main jacket sleeve. The album's opening track, "Immigrant Song", was released in November 1970 by Atlantic Records as a single against the band's wishes. It included their only non-album b-side, "Hey Hey What Can I Do". Even though the band saw their albums as indivisible, whole listening experiences—and their manager, Peter Grant, maintained an aggressive pro-album stance—some singles were released without their consent. The group also increasingly resisted television appearances, enforcing their preference that their fans hear and see them in live concerts.

"The biggest band in the world" (1971–1977)

Led Zeppelin were one of the most commercially successful and influential groups of the 1970s. The band's popularity in the early years was dwarfed by their mid-seventies successes and it is this period that continues to define them. Although Led Zeppelin developed a reputation for trashing their hotel suites and throwing television sets out of the windows, some suggest that these tales have been somewhat exaggerated. Music journalist Chris Welch argues that "[Led Zeppelin's] travels spawned many stories, but it was a myth that [they] were constantly engaged in acts of wanton destruction and lewd behavior."

Led Zeppelin IV further refined the band's unique formula of combining earthy, acoustic elements with heavy metal and blues emphases. The album included examples of hard rock, such as "Black Dog" and an acoustic track, "Going to California" (a tribute to Joni Mitchell). "Rock and Roll" is a tribute to the early rock music of the 1950s. In 2007, the song was used prominently in Cadillac automobile commercials—one of the few instances of Led Zeppelin's surviving members licensing songs.

Led Zeppelin IV is one of the best-selling albums in history and its massive popularity cemented Led Zeppelin's superstardom in the 1970s. To date it has sold 23 million copies in the United States. The track "Stairway to Heaven", although never released as a single, is sometimes quoted as being the most requested, and most played album-oriented rock FM radio song. In 2005, the magazine Guitar World held a poll of readers in which "Stairway to Heaven" was voted as having the greatest guitar solo of all time.

Led Zeppelin's next album, Houses of the Holy, was released in 1973. It featured further experimentation, with expanded use of synthesisers and mellotron orchestration. The song "Houses of the Holy" does not appear on its namesake album, even though it was recorded at the same time as other songs on the album; it eventually made its way onto the 1975 album Physical Graffiti. climbing up the Giant's Causeway (in County Antrim, Northern Ireland). Although the children are not depicted from the front, this was controversial at the time of the album's release, and in some areas, such as the "Bible Belt" and Spain, the record was banned.

The album topped the charts, and Led Zeppelin's subsequent concert tour of North America in 1973 broke records for attendance, as they consistently filled large auditoriums and stadiums. At Tampa Stadium, Florida, they played to 56,800 fans (breaking the record set by The Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965), and grossed $309,000. It was never recovered.

In 1974, Led Zeppelin took a break from touring and launched their own record label, Swan Song, named after one of only five Led Zeppelin songs which the band never released commercially (Page later re-worked the song with his band, The Firm, and it appears as "Midnight Moonlight" on their first album). The record label's logo, based on a drawing called Evening: Fall of Day (1869) by William Rimmer, features a picture of Icarus. The logo can be found on much Led Zeppelin memorabilia, especially t-shirts. In addition to using Swan Song as a vehicle to promote their own albums, the band expanded the label's roster, signing artists such as Bad Company, The Pretty Things, Maggie Bell, Detective, Dave Edmunds, Midnight Flyer, Sad Café and Wildlife. The album was a massive fiscal and critical success. Shortly after the release of Physical Graffiti, all previous Led Zeppelin albums simultaneously re-entered the top-200 album chart, and the band embarked on another North American tour, again playing to record-breaking crowds. In May 1975, Led Zeppelin played five highly successful, sold-out nights at the Earls Court Arena in London, footage of which was released in 2003, on the Led Zeppelin DVD.

Following these triumphant Earls Court appearances Led Zeppelin took a holiday and planned a series of outdoor summer concerts in America, scheduled to open with two dates in San Francisco. The recording of Presence coincided with the beginning of Page's heroin use, which may have interfered with Led Zeppelin's later live shows and studio recordings, although Page has denied this. Despite the original criticisms, Jimmy Page has called Presence his favourite album, and its opening track "Achilles Last Stand" his favourite Led Zeppelin song. In an interview with a Swedish TV programme, Plant stated that Presence is the album that sounds the most "Led Zeppelin" of all their LPs.

Plant's injuries prevented Led Zeppelin from touring in 1976. Instead, the band finally completed the concert film The Song Remains The Same, and the soundtrack album of the film. The recording had taken place during three nights of concerts at Madison Square Garden in July 1973, during the band's concert tour of North America. The film premiered in New York on 20 October 1976, but was given a lukewarm reception by critics and fans.

In 1977, Led Zeppelin embarked on another major concert tour of North America. Here the band set another attendance record, with 76,229 people attending their Pontiac Silverdome concert on 30 April. It was, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest attendance to date for a single act show.

After a 23 July show at the "Days on the Green" festival at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California, John Bonham and members of the band's support staff (including manager Peter Grant and security coordinator John Bindon) were arrested after a member of promoter Bill Graham's staff was badly beaten during the band's performance. A member of the staff had allegedly slapped Grant's son when he was taking down a dressing room sign. This was seen by John Bonham, who came over and kicked the man. Then, when Grant heard about this, he went into the trailer, along with Bindon and assaulted the man while tour manager Richard Cole stood outside and guarded the trailer. The following day's second Oakland concert would prove to be the band's final live appearance in the United States. Two days later, as the band checked in at a French Quarter hotel for their 30 July performance at the Louisiana Superdome, news came that Plant's five year old son, Karac, had died from a stomach virus. The rest of the tour was immediately cancelled, prompting widespread speculation about the band's future. Press speculation arose that Bonham's problem was caused by an excess of alcohol and drugs, but the band claimed that he had simply overeaten, and they completed the show.

On 24 September 1980, Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals at Bray Studios for the upcoming North American tour, the band's first since 1977, scheduled to commence on 17 October. Page himself has described the performance as "pretty shambolic" and "clearly wasn't good enough," while Plant was even harsher, characterising it as an "atrocity". To demonstrate their support for the campaign Page and Plant pledged proceeds from their forthcoming Page and Plant DVD release and John Paul Jones pledged the proceeds of his then-current North American tour with Mutual Admiration Society to the project.

The three members reunited again on 14 May 1988, for the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert, with Bonham's son, Jason Bonham, on drums. The reunion was again compromised by a disjointed performance, particularly by Plant and Page (the two having argued immediately prior to coming on stage about whether to play "Stairway to Heaven"), and by the complete loss of Jones' keyboards on the live television feed. Page later described the performance as "one big disappointment", and Plant said unambiguously that "the gig was foul". When asked where Jones was, Plant had replied that he was out "parking the car".

On 12 January 1995, Led Zeppelin were inducted into the United States Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - their first year of eligibility - by Aerosmith's vocalist, Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry. Jason and Zoe Bonham also attended, representing their late father. At the induction ceremony, the band's inner rift became apparent when Jones joked upon accepting his award, "Thank you, my friends, for finally remembering my phone number", causing consternation and awkward looks from Page and Plant. Afterwards, they played a brief set with Tyler and Perry (featuring Jason Bonham on drums), and with Neil Young and Michael Lee replacing Bonham.

On 29 August 1997, Atlantic released a single edit of "Whole Lotta Love" in the US and the UK, making it the only Led Zeppelin UK CD single. Additional tracks on this CD-single are "Baby Come On Home" and "Travelling Riverside Blues". It is the only single the band ever released in the UK. It peaked at #21. 11 November 1997 saw the release of Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions, the first Led Zeppelin album in fifteen years. The two-disc set included almost all of the band's recordings for the BBC. Page and Plant released another album called Walking into Clarksdale in 1998, featuring all new material. The album was not as successful as , and the band slowly dissolved.

On 29 November 1999 the Recording Industry Association of America announced that the band were only the third act in music history to achieve four or more Diamond albums. In 2002, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones reconciled after years of strife that kept the band apart. This was followed by rumours of reunion, quickly quashed by individual members' representatives. 2003 saw the release of a triple live album, How the West Was Won, and a video collection, Led Zeppelin DVD, both featuring material from the band's heyday. By the end of the year, the DVD had sold more than 520,000 copies.

Led Zeppelin were ranked #14 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", and the following year the band received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In November 2005, it was announced that Led Zeppelin and Russian conductor Valery Gergiev were the winners of the 2006 Polar Music Prize. The King of Sweden presented the prize to Plant, Page, and Jones, along with John Bonham's daughter, in Stockholm in May 2006. In November 2006, Led Zeppelin were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. The television broadcasting of the event consisted of an introduction to the band by various famous admirers, a presentation of an award to Jimmy Page and then a short speech by the guitarist. After this, rock group Wolfmother played a tribute to Led Zeppelin, performing the song "Communication Breakdown". Despite having gained a reputation with the band for "raising hell" in the 1970s, Robert Plant was awarded a CBE by Prince Charles for "Services to Music" in July 2009, which followed Jimmy Page's OBE four years previously.

On 27 July 2007, Atlantic/Rhino and Warner Home Video announced three new Led Zeppelin titles to be released in November 2007. Released first was Mothership on 13 November, a 24-track best-of spanning the band's career, followed by a reissue of the soundtrack to The Song Remains the Same on 20 November which includes previously unreleased material, and a new DVD. On 15 October 2007, it was reported that Led Zeppelin were expected to announce a new series of agreements that make the band's songs available as legal digital downloads, first as ringtones through Verizon Wireless then as digital downloads of the band's eight studio albums and other recordings on 13 November. The offerings will be available through both Verizon Wireless and iTunes. On 3 November 2007, a UK newspaper the Daily Mirror announced that it had world exclusive rights to stream six previously unreleased tracks via its website. On 8 November 2007, XM Satellite Radio launched XM LED, the network's first artist-exclusive channel dedicated to Led Zeppelin. On 13 November 2007, Led Zeppelin's complete works were published on iTunes.

2007 reunion

On 10 December 2007, the surviving members of Led Zeppelin reunited for a one-off benefit concert held in memory of music executive Ahmet Ertegün, with Jason Bonham taking up his late father's place on drums. It was announced on 12 September 2007 by promoter Harvey Goldsmith in a press conference. According to Guinness World Records 2009, Led Zeppelin hold the world record for the "Highest Demand for Tickets for One Music Concert" as 20 million requests for the reunion show were rendered online. The concert was to help raise money for the Ahmet Ertegün Education Fund, which pays for university scholarships in the UK, US and Turkey. Music critics praised the band's performance. Hamish MacBain of NME proclaimed, "What they have done here tonight is proof they can still perform to the level that originally earned them their legendary reputation...We can only hope this isn't the last we see of them." Page suggested the band may start work on new material, and stated that a world tour may be in the works. Meanwhile, Plant made his reluctance regarding a reunion tour known to The Sunday Times, stating: "having to live up to something is terribly serious." He also made it known that he could be in favour of more one-off shows in the near future: "It wouldn't be such a bad idea to play together from time to time."

Reunion tour reports (2008–2010)

Following the reunion concert and the press coverage it generated, speculation on the future of the band and the possibility of a tour with Jason Bonham on drums increased to a level not seen in several years. In an interview promoting the release of the Mothership compilation in Tokyo early in 2008, Jimmy Page revealed that he was prepared to embark upon a world tour with Led Zeppelin, but due to Robert Plant's tour commitments with Alison Krauss, such plans would not be announced until at least September. Showing enthusiasm for continued performing, in late spring Page and Jones joined Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and drummer Taylor Hawkins onstage at Wembley Stadium to perform Led Zeppelin tracks "Rock and Roll" (Hawkins on vocals and Grohl on drums), followed by "Ramble On" (Grohl on vocals and Hawkins on drums).

Plant continued to remain focused on his recent work and tour with Krauss. Their duet album Raising Sand  became certified platinum in March, and their recordings received awards including a Grammy for the song "Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)" and Album of the Year from the Americana Music Association. Along with concentrating on the duo's American tour, Plant remained evasive on the subject of a Led Zeppelin reunion tour, and expressed displeasure at the process leading up to the 2007 reunion show during an interview with GQ Magazine, saying "The endless paperwork was like nothing I've experienced before. I've kept every one of the emails that were exchanged before the concert and I'm thinking of compiling them for a book, which I feel sure would be hailed as a sort of literary version of Spinal Tap."

After the BBC reported in late August that Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Jason Bonham had been recording material which could become a new Led Zeppelin project, the rumours of a reunion began to accumulate through the remaining summer. On 29 September Plant released a statement in which he called reports of a Led Zeppelin reunion "frustrating and ridiculous". He said he would not be recording or touring with the band, before adding, "I wish Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham nothing but success with any future projects."

Following Plant's statement, authoritative but divergent views of the possibility of a Led Zeppelin reunion tour the next year were offered by John Paul Jones and promoter Harvey Goldsmith. In late October, Jones confirmed to BBC Radio Devon in Exeter that he, Page, and Bonham were seeking a replacement for Plant. The bassist remarked: "We are trying out a couple of singers. We want to do it. It's sounding great and we want to get on and get out there." The next day, Goldsmith commented on the prospect of a Led Zeppelin reunion, casting doubt on the possibility or wisdom of such a venture. In an interview with BBC News, Goldsmith stated "I think that there is an opportunity for them to go out and present themselves. I don't think a long rambling tour is the answer as Led Zeppelin." The Ertegün Concert promoter felt the result of the ongoing plans of Jones, Page, and Bonham would not be "called Led Zeppelin". A spokesman for guitarist Jimmy Page later confirmed this, telling RollingStone.com that a new band featuring Page, bassist John Paul Jones and drummer Jason Bonham would not go by the name Led Zeppelin due to the absence of singer Robert Plant. The singer that was strongly rumoured to be working with Jones, Page, and Bonham was Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy. However, Kennedy, while confirming that he did write songs and briefly play music with them, later denied that he would be in a band with them. Another report from Aerosmith guiarist Joe Perry suggested that his bandmate, singer Steven Tyler, had tried out for the role, with disappointing results.

On 7 January 2009, MusicRadar reported that Jimmy Page's manager Robert Mensch said that the band had "tried out a few singers, but no one worked out, that was it. The whole thing is completely over now. There are absolutely no plans for them to continue." In a radio interview, Plant cited a fear of disappointment as a major factor for not continuing a reunited Zeppelin. "The disappointment that could be there once you commit to that and the comparisons to something that was basically fired by youth and a different kind of exuberance to now, it's very hard to go back and meet that head on and do it justice."

On 23 March 2010, Led Zeppelin turned down an offer to headline Download Festival taking place at Donington Park, England in June. While talking to XFM, promoter Andy Copping stated: "If I could get Led Zeppelin to play at Download, it would be phenomenal. If that's not going to happen, I'm more than happy with what we've got. Every single festival in the world approaches Led Zeppelin or their management to get them to play at their festival. Loads of money gets thrown out. It's not what they want to do at the moment and that's fine. They probably never will, but everyone has a stab at it."

Legacy

Awards, honours and accolades

Led Zeppelin are widely considered to be one of the most powerful, innovative, successful, and influential bands in the history of rock music. including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, and the Polar Music Prize in 2006. Led Zeppelin were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. The band are ranked #1 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock In February 2002, Led Zeppelin were ranked the third-greatest band of all time by Spin magazine. The four members of Led Zeppelin were voted the United Kingdom's ideal supergroup in a 2005 Planet Rock radio poll. Led Zeppelin are ranked no. 1 on Classic Rock's "50 Best Live Acts of All Time". In June 2010, at the end of the BBC Two series "I'm in a Rock 'n' Roll Band!", Led Zeppelin were named the best Rock & Roll band of all time.

|alt= Jimmy Page at Mojo Awards 2008.]] The band have sold over 300 million albums worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Led Zeppelin are the fourth highest selling music act in United States, and one of the only three acts in music history to achieve four or more Diamond albums – the other two being The Beatles and Garth Brooks. Hilary Rosen, then-president and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, said in 1999 that "Led Zeppelin is one of the most popular and influential rock bands of all time. Thirty years after their debut, the band’s appeal is as strong as ever. It’s fitting that these rock icons are multiple Diamond winners." Rock critic Mikal Gilmore said, "Led Zeppelin—talented, complex, grasping, beautiful and dangerous—made one of the most enduring bodies of composition and performance in twentieth-century music, despite everything they had to overpower, including themselves". noted in 1988 that "Other than the Beatles, for album radio they're the most important band. Nobody seems to get tired of them, and a lot of the new bands in that genre obviously owe a debt to them." Similarly, John Kalodner, then-A&R; executive of Geffen Records, remarked in 1988 that "In my opinion, next to the Beatles they're the most influential band in history. They influence the way music is on records, AOR radio, concerts. They set the standards for the AOR-radio format with 'Stairway to Heaven,' having AOR hits without necessarily having Top 40 hits. They're the ones who did the first real big arena concert shows, consistently selling out and playing stadiums without support. People can do as well as them, but nobody surpasses them."

Led Zeppelin remain one of the most bootlegged artists in the history of rock music. In August 1999, the band topped the list of Britain's most bootlegged musicians with 384 bootleg titles, compiled by the Anti-Piracy Unit of British Phonographic Industry.

Influence on other musicians

When asked in 2006 what his biggest accomplishment was with Led Zeppelin, Page made reference to the band's legacy, particularly the way the band influenced and has been recognised by their musical peers:

It's been a great legacy. That's what I'm proud of is the legacy of it. The fact that it's turned so many people on to want to play. That's what pulled me into playing, is hearing musicians who really really sent shivers down my spine. So that's it. That's the legacy and that's what I'm really proud of.

One of the most influential rock acts in history, the influence of Led Zeppelin has been continuous for more than three decades and has affected several genres of popular music. The band are often cited as one of the progenitors of heavy metal and hard rock, as well as being an important influence on the development of alternative rock. Similarly, The New Rolling Stone Record Guide mentioned that "Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" became a starting point for Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses and Van Halen, among others. It’s an amazing song not just for its seismic riff and bingeing-on-lust vocal performance, but for its mind-bending midsection, in which Page orchestrates the aural equivalent of an orgasm (Theremin included)." The groundbreaking song pattern of “Stairway to Heaven”, especially the approach of starting out with a relatively quiet, often acoustic opening, and building up to a powerful electric climax, is recognized as being influential to later songs such as “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Hotel California” by The Eagles, and “Dreamer Deceiver” by Judas Priest. Rolling Stone music critic Steven Pond noted in 1988: "Nearly a decade after the band's demise, Led Zeppelin's musical influence lives on and on. Yeah, its been a long time since Led Zeppelin rock & rolled, but when it comes to modern mainstream rock music, Zep still has the touch of the gods...... just about every hard-rock and heavy-metal band that ever tromped onstage has borrowed something from its style and sound."

Many notable hard rock and heavy metal bands, from Black Sabbath to Megadeth – and Queen to Velvet Revolver, have been influenced by Led Zeppelin. Several alternative rock and grunge bands have adapted elements from the "Zeppelin sound" of the mid-1970s, including The Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Led Zeppelin are noted for having influenced some early punk and post-punk bands, including Ramones and The Cult. The band have influenced various progressive rock and progressive metal acts, including Tool, Rush and Dream Theater. Several other bands and artists from diverse genres have also acknowledged the influence of Led Zeppelin, such as Madonna, Shakira, and Katie Melua.

Brian May of Queen has praised the band's creative effort and musicianship: "I'm the world's biggest Led Zeppelin fan. The music, the way they conducted themselves, their whole management structure – they were the blueprint. Queen always used to play The Immigrant Song in sound-checks just for the glory of the sound." Ian Astbury of The Cult stated "I think they're probably the greatest British live rock band. The one that had a real mystique, a real aura and presence about the band. It wasn't like a band; it was like some kind of moving spiritual roadshow" Ozzy Osbourne commented in 1990 that "Led Zeppelin. I still get goosebumps. That middle section [of Whole Lotta Love] – fucking unbelievable! Those early Zeppelin albums were incredible productions. Nobody seems to do it anymore. I'd never heard anything like it before. There's so many people trying to imitate Zeppelin now." Donovan has described Led Zeppelin as "the greatest Pagan British rock Band". Record producer Rick Rubin has remarked, "[Led] Zeppelin completely changed how we look at what popular music can be."

The band have spawned dozens of tribute acts and cover bands, notable amongst them being Lez Zeppelin (an all-female tribute act), Dread Zeppelin (which performs Led Zeppelin songs in a reggae style) and Fred Zeppelin (a cover band based in the West Midlands of England).

Cultural significance

.|alt= Led Zeppelin T-Shirts and Merchandise.]] The cultural impact of Led Zeppelin, both artistically and musically, is wide and deep. Jim Miller, editor of Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll, argues "On one level, Led Zeppelin represents the final flowering of the sixties' psychedelic ethic, which casts rock as passive sensory involvement." The role of Led Zeppelin is seen pivotal in fostering the transition of the late sixties rock movement from the central form of mass youth music to its macho, sexual 'cock rock' form, as a male form of expression.

The band also have had a notable influence on fashion, lifestyle, jewellery and apparel.

Songs in other media

While members of Led Zeppelin have seldom allowed their works to be licensed for films or commercials, in recent years, their position has softened. The songs of Led Zeppelin can now be heard in a number of movies, such as The Fighter ("Good Times Bad Times"), Shrek the Third, One Day in September, School of Rock ("Immigrant Song" in all three), Cemetery Junction ("The Rain Song"), Dogtown and Z-Boys ("Achilles Last Stand", "Nobody's Fault but Mine", and "Hots On for Nowhere"), Almost Famous ("That's the Way", "The Rain Song", "Misty Mountain Hop", "Bron-Yr-Aur", and "Tangerine"; "Stairway to Heaven" was in a part of the movie, but later on it was taken out, due to the length), It Might Get Loud ("The Rain Song", "Ramble On", "How Many More Times", "When the Levee Breaks", "The Battle of Evermore", "Over the Hills and Far Away", "Whole Lotta Love", "White Summer", "Stairway to Heaven", "In My Time of Dying", and "Ten Years Gone".) Fast Times at Ridgemont High ("Kashmir"), and Small Soldiers ("Communication Breakdown"). The television series One Tree Hill featured the song "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You". In the fifth season of That '70s Show, all of the episode titles are named after Led Zeppelin songs. The band have denied frequent requests by developers of popular music video games to use their songs. As with other forms of media, the band seeks to protect the integrity of their work. Specifically, "the band isn't comfortable with the prospect of granting outsiders access to its master tapes, a necessary step in creating the games."

Also noteworthy is Cadillac's use of "Rock and Roll" in their US TV advertising campaign. In 2007, Led Zeppelin agreed to allow Apple to sell their music in Apple's iTunes Store, with the greatest hits collection Mothership as the marquee offering.

Hard Rock Park (now Freestyle Music Park) announced in April 2007 that it had secured an agreement with the band to create "Led Zeppelin - The Ride", a roller coaster built by Bolliger & Mabillard, and synchronised to the music of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love", which officially opened with the park on 9 May 2008. The ride was, however, later renamed "The Time Machine," with hit songs from five decades replacing Led Zeppelin.

Allegations of plagiarism

The credits for a number of Led Zeppelin's songs have been the subject of debate concerning their copyright. "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" from Led Zeppelin was thought to be a traditional song and was credited as "Trad. arr. Page" but it was actually written by folk singer Anne Bredon. Since 1990, the Led Zeppelin version has been credited to Anne Bredon/Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, and Bredon received a substantial back-payment in royalties. "Dazed and Confused" was allegedly derived from a Jake Holmes song of the same name released in 1967 and had been performed by Page with the Yardbirds. In June 2010, Holmes filed a lawsuit against Jimmy Page for copyright infringement in United States District Court, claiming Page knowingly copied his work. On Led Zeppelin II the prelude to "Bring It On Home" was a cover of Sonny Boy Williamson's 1963 recording of "Bring It On Home", written by Willie Dixon. Similarly, "The Lemon Song" included an adaptation of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor". In 1972, Arc Music, the publishing arm of Chess Records, brought a lawsuit against Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement over "Bring It On Home" and "The Lemon Song"; the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Dixon himself did not benefit from the settlement until he sued Arc Music to recover his royalties and copyrights. In addition, "Whole Lotta Love" contained lyrics that were derivative of Dixon's 1962 song "You Need Love", though the riff from the song was an original Jimmy Page composition. In 1985, Dixon filed a copyright infringement suit against Led Zeppelin over "Whole Lotta Love" and an out-of-court settlement was reached. Later pressings of Led Zeppelin II credit Dixon. The band also paid a settlement to the publisher of Ritchie Valens' song "Ooh! My Head" over the song "Boogie with Stu" (from Physical Graffiti) which borrowed heavily from Valens' song.

Dave Headlam, in an article entitled "Does the song remain the same? Questions of authenticity and identification in the music of Led Zeppelin", suggests that "...in the course of studies on the music of Led Zeppelin, it has become apparent that many songs are compilations of pre-existent material from multiple sources, both acknowledged and unacknowledged." He contends that "...songs like 'Whole Lotta Love' and 'Dazed and Confused' are on the one hand not "authored" by Led Zeppelin, but on the other hand are virtual signatures identifying the band's musical essence." , Noted blues author and producer Robert Palmer states "It is the custom, in blues music, for a singer to borrow verses from contemporary sources, both oral and recorded, add his own tune and/or arrangement, and call the song his own". Folklorist Carl Lindahl, refers to these recycling of lyrics in songs as "floating lyrics". He defines it within the folk-music tradition as "lines that have circulated so long in folk communities that tradition-steeped singers call them instantly to mind and rearrange them constantly, and often unconsciously, to suit their personal and community aesthetics".

In an interview he gave to Guitar World magazine in 1993, Page commented on the band's use of classic blues songs:

[A]s far as my end of it goes, I always tried to bring something fresh to anything that I used. I always made sure to come up with some variation. In fact, I think in most cases, you would never know what the original source could be. Maybe not in every case – but in most cases. So most of the comparisons rest on the lyrics. And Robert was supposed to change the lyrics, and he didn't always do that – which is what brought on most of the grief. They couldn't get us on the guitar parts of the music, but they nailed us on the lyrics. We did, however, take some liberties, I must say [laughs]. But never mind; we did try to do the right thing.

In another interview, Page responded to the suggestion that Led Zeppelin used a lot of traditional and blues lyrics and tunes and called them their own:

The thing is they were traditional lyrics and they went back far before a lot of people that one related them to. The riffs we did were totally different, also, from the ones that had come before, apart from something like "You Shook Me" and "I Can't Quit You," which were attributed to Willie Dixon. The thing with "Bring It On Home," Christ, there's only a tiny bit taken from Sonny Boy Williamson's version and we threw that in as a tribute to him. People say, "Oh, 'Bring It On Home' is stolen." Well, there's only a little bit in the song that relates to anything that had gone before it, just the end.

Discography

*Led Zeppelin (1969)

Led Zeppelin II (1969)

Led Zeppelin III (1970)

Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

Houses of the Holy (1973)

Physical Graffiti (1975)

Presence (1976)

The Song Remains the Same (1976)

In Through the Out Door (1979)

Coda (1982)

Concert tours

References

Published sources

Jon Bream (2008), Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin: The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of All Time, Minneapolis: Voyageur Press. ISBN 0-7603-3507-9.

Richard Cole and Richard Trubo (1992), , New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-018323-3.

Stephen Davis (1985), Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga, New York: William Morrow & Co. ISBN 0-688-04507-3.

Susan Fast (2001), In the Houses of the Holy: Led Zeppelin and the Power of Rock Music, New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-514723-5.

Dave Lewis (1991), Led Zeppelin: A Celebration, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-2416-3.

Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.

Dave Lewis (2003), Led Zeppelin: Celebration II: The 'Tight But Loose' Files, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 1-84449-056-4.

Dave Lewis and Simon Pallett (1997), Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4.

Luis Rey (1997), Led Zeppelin Live: An Illustrated Exploration of Underground Tapes, Ontario: The Hot Wacks Press. ISBN 0-9698080-7-0.

Keith Shadwick (2005), Led Zeppelin: The Story of a Band and Their Music 1968–1980, San Francisco: Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-871-0.

Mick Wall (2008), , London: Orion. ISBN 978-0-7528-8877-4.

Chris Welch (1994), Led Zeppelin, London: Orion Books. ISBN 1-85797-930-3.

Chris Welch (2002), Peter Grant: The Man Who Led Zeppelin, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-9195-2.

Chris Welch (2006), Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1-56025-818-7.

Ritchie Yorke (1993), Led Zeppelin: the Definitive Biography, Novato, California: Underwood-Miller. ISBN 0-88733-177-7.

External links

Led Zeppelin at MySpace

Led Zeppelin at Atlantic Records

Category:Led Zeppelin Category:1960s music groups Category:1970s music groups Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Blues-rock musicians Category:English rock music groups Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Musical groups established in 1968 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1980 Category:Musical quartets Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees