Led Zeppelin History

12 October 2008

Led Zeppelin in 1968. From left to right: John Bonham (drum), Robert Plant (vocal), Jimmy Page (guitar), John Paul Jones (bass,keyboard)
London, 1968.
As gigantic a presence as their name would suggest, Led Zeppelin transcended the hard rock/heavy metal label slapped on them by some. Indeed, they epitomized the synthesis of multiple influences that characterized the best of 70s rock, while producing music that was stamped with their own dynamic identity.


The story really began in the summer of 1968, when guitarist Jimmy Page was left as the only person interested in preserving The Yardbirds, the influential London-based R&B band that had also showcased the talents of Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. He soon recruited experienced keyboards player John Paul Jones from the London sessions circuit and then went in search of a singer. His first choice, Terry Reid, had other commitments and put him on to young Midlands vocalist Robert Plant, who had played with a number of local pub outfits, including The Band Of Joy, whose drummer was John Bonham. Plant, at the time treading water with Hobbstweedle, jumped at the chance, and eventually persuaded Bonham to join up, too.
The other key figure in the group's formation was manager Peter Grant, a larger-than-life jack of all trades who was often referred to as the fifth member, such was his influence. After some Scandinavian and British dates in August/September 1968 as The New Yardbirds, the Zep monicker was adopted, apparently after a quip by Keith Moon that they were 'so heavy they should go down like a lead zeppelin', although Who bassist John Entwistle has claimed the idea was his. Soon the 'a' was dropped to avoid confusion over pronunciation.
The early Zeppelin sound was heavily blues-based but with more emphasis on chunky riffs, plus a classical touch in Jones' keyboard work and even a slight West Coast influence in some of Plant's high-pitched vocals - his shrieks sometimes sounded uncannily like Janis Joplin. The eponymous first album, reportedly recorded in just thirty hours, was one of the most stunning debuts of all time. It incorporated raunchy numbers with catchy riffs, like "Good Times Bad Times" and their live magnum opus "Dazed And Confused", the breakneck speed of "Communication Breakdown", a couple of heavy blues standards, and signs of the diversity to come in the acoustic instrumental "Black Mountain Side" and the outstanding "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You". Page had played Joan Baez' version of this traditional folk song to Plant during one of their first meetings, and here they transformed into a hypnotic shuffle, a delicious confluence of acoustic and electric elements.
With a brilliant debut tucked under their belts and critical acclaim on the British underground circuit, the dynamic Grant formulated his plan for world domination, the key to which clearly lay in conquering the US market. He'd already made an exploratory visit to New York and set up a lucrative five-year deal with Atlantic, which gave full control to him and the band, ensuring that nobody would interfere with Page's production. Now he seized the main chance and got the band on an American tour supporting Vanilla Fudge, when the Jeff Beck Group pulled out at the last minute. They debuted in Denver on December 26, 1968, and then went round blowing everybody off stage, from Country Joe And The Fish to Iron Butterfly.
Their incendiary stage show lasted up to four hours, kept fizzing by the chemistry that had developed between the four and filled out with lengthy solos, a hallmark of the epoch. Bonham's mammoth effort during "Moby Dick" allowed those not into half an hour of heavy-duty percussion to take a breather, but few went missing for Page's virtuoso guitar showpiece, violin bow and all, during "Dazed And Confused".
Zep returned to England for more small-venue dates early in 1969 but their stateside reputation ensured they were headliners when they re-crossed the Atlantic in the spring. Although the critics were more unanimous in their praise in the UK, the big audiences were on the other side of the pond, and Grant concentrated their efforts there. They toured almost incessantly for two and a half years, filling ever bigger venues, while Grant worked to cultivate an 'underground' image, releasing hardly any singles and avoiding big publicity campaigns. Led Zeppelin II was put together while the band were on the road in 1969 and recorded with the help of engineer Eddie Kramer at several different studios. It was this album that glued the 'metal' tag to Led Zep, especially in the minds of those who only heard the driving riff of "Whole Lotta Love", an edited version of which reached the US Top 5. The track was not released as a single in the UK, where no official Zeppelin ever came out, but a softer version by CCS was for years used as the signature tune to the BBC's Top Of The Pops show. 1970'sLed Zeppelin III, prepared by Page and Plant at a cottage retreat in Snowdonia, then rehearsed at a rundown mansion in Hampshire, showed more diversity than ever before. The first side was very electrified, opening with the thundering "Immigrant Song", a fine display of Plant's eerie Valhallic wail, but on the other side the tone was much more melodic and acoustic, featuring their arrangement of the traditional folk song "Gallows Pole", Plant at his mellowest on "That's The Way" and Page's finest love song, "Tangerine". The album was panned by critics who had come to expect something more rowdy.
Zeppelin's reputation as a great live act continued to grow, as 'progressive' British rock groups like Zep and Jethro Tull started to fill huge arenas in the US. They also developed the 'bad boys on the road' image by trashing hotel rooms and so on, an image that accrued a nastier edge due to Page'sfascination with the occult, particularly Aleister Crowley, whose Scottish mansion he bought in 1970. Their gigs during this period sometimes degenerated into riots, thanks to fans, stoked by the Princes-of-Darkness image and various substances.
The next release was not until late 1971, with the album known to all as Led Zeppelin IV, though no title nor any kind of name appeared on the cover - just four runic symbols. The band wanted the music to speak for itself, and that it did with "Stairway To Heaven". No 70's party was complete without the air guitars coming out to this one, and it is still the album track most frequently requested on radio. Not that it was a one-track album. The opener, "Black Dog", contained one of Page's most inventive riffs, "Misty Mountain Hop" paid joyful homage to hippie days and "The Battle Of Evermore", complete with mandolins and Sandy Denny's angelic vocal harmonies, emphasized the band's penchant for mystical folk-rock. Atlantic's fears about the lack of name proved unfounded as it became a mega-seller, but the subsequent British tour, including two dates at Wembley Empire Pool that sold out overnight, proved to be the last on home ground for nearly four years.
During the early 70's Zep eased up a little on the intensity of touring but increased its scope, graduating to world tours incompassing the growing Japanese market. "Houses Of The Holy" did not appear until spring 1973 and broke with tradition in actually having a title. Although it contained several great tracks in the majestic string-driven "The Rain Song", lovely semi-acoustic "Over The Hills And Far Away" and the Jones-dominated "No Quarter", the attempt at broadening the horizons fell flat with the ill-advised reggae piece "D'yer Maker" and the downright abysmal try at funk on "The Crunge", their worst ever moment.
The group's own Swansong label was officially launched in May 1974, a year of relative calm, with no gigs, some time in the studio, and opportunities for band members to rest, pop up for the odd guest appearance or get involved in other projects. One interesting sideline was that Zep helped finance the film Monty Python And The Holy Grail.
When the group finally took to the road again at the start of 1975, they were greeted as returning prodigals by old and new fans alike - hundreds queued all night to get tickets for the May gigs at London's Earl's Court. It's a shame these performances were not recorded on film because what emerged the following year on the rockumentary "The Song Remains The Same" was some lacklustre footage from end-of-tour gigs in 1973, plus some self-congratulatory behind-the-scenes clips and rather silly fantasy sequences.
The album that had preceded the film soundtrack in the spring of 1975 was a return to form: entitled Physical Graffiti, it was the band's only studio double album and their last great piece of work. Although the tracks are by no means all classics, between the staccato riff of "Custard Pie" and the closing bars of "Sick Again", the album contained some stunning material, like the epic version of the trad blues "In My Time Of Dying", the whimsy of "The Rover" and party fave "Trampled Underfoot", with its semi-funk beat. Indeed, much recent dance music owes more than a little to this display of Bonzo Bonham's drumming. The most enduring piece, however, was "Kashmir", the song that lit a thousand joss sticks.
From there on, although there was some worthy stuff on the last two proper albums, Presence (1976) and In Through The Out Door (1979), things went downhill. In the wake of the punk explosion Led Zeppelin were numbered among the dinosaurs that the new generation had come to blow away - though, interestingly, this negative attitude did not work in reverse, as both Page and Plant made positive noises about what the young bands were doing. To make matters worse, Plant had a serious car accident on the Greek island of Rhodes in August 1975, which laid him up for the best part of two years, and this was followed by the sudden death of his young son Karac in July 1977, just after the first US comeback tour. This drove him into retirement for a further year and rumours circulated that the group had split. In fact they made a dramatic return in 1979 with an appearance at the Knebworth Festival in England. Although critical acclaim was muted, they had proved they could still pull in the crowds. In Through The Out Door topped the US album charts for a record seven weeks, and it seemed they had come through their sticky patch.
In 1980 they toured extensively again in Europe, and more activity was lined up, when John Bonham was found dead after a binge at Page's house on September 25. The decision to call it a day was immediate, but the announcement didn't come until December. As a postscript, Coda, a collection of previously recorded material, came out in 1981 to fulfil contractual obligations, but it was only relevant to die-hard fans. Later in the decade Plantembarked on quite a successful solo career and there were a couple of reunion gigs, with Bonham's son on drums. More recently, CD compilations Remasters and the Led Zeppelin box set, digitally remixed by Page, have brought them renewed popularity. Page and Plant have also since reunited, but that is another story.