The New Yardbirds (1968)
The beginning of Led Zeppelin can be traced back to the English blues-influenced rock band The Yardbirds.[12] Jimmy Page joined The Yardbirds in 1966 to play bass guitar after the original bassist, Paul Samwell-Smith, left the group. Shortly after, Page switched from bass to lead guitar, creating a dual-lead guitar line up with Jeff Beck. Following the departure of Beck from the group in October 1966, The Yardbirds, tired from constant touring and recording, were beginning to wind down. Page wanted to form a supergroup with himself and Beck on guitars, and The Who's rhythm section—drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle. Vocalists Donovan, Steve Winwood and Steve Marriott were also considered for the project.[22] 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.[23]
The Yardbirds played their final gig in July 1968. However, they were still committed to performing several concerts in Scandinavia, so drummer Jim McCarty and vocalist Keith Relf authorised Page and bassist Chris Dreja to use the Yardbirds name to fulfil the band's obligations. Page and Dreja began putting a new line-up together. Page's first choice for lead singer, Terry Reid, declined the offer, but suggested Robert Plant, a West Bromwich singer.[12][24] Plant eventually accepted the position, recommending a drummer, John Bonham from nearby Redditch.[25][12] 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.[26] Being familiar with Jones' credentials, Page agreed to bring in Jones as the final piece.
The group came together for the first time in a room below a record store on Gerrard Street in London.[27][28] 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."[29] 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.[30] Proby recalled, "Come the last day we found we had some studio time, so I just asked the band to play while I just came up with the words. ... They weren't Led Zeppelin at the time, they were the New Yardbirds and they were going to be my band."[31]
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, Denmark on 7 September 1968.[32][33] However, 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.[34] 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 over like a lead zeppelin, a term Entwistle used to describe a bad gig.[35] The group deliberately dropped the 'a' in Lead at the suggestion of their manager, Peter Grant, to prevent "thick Americans"[23] from pronouncing it "leed".[36]
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.[31] Atlantic was a label known for a catalogue of blues, soul and jazz artists, but in the late 1960s it began to take an interest in progressive British rock acts, and signed Led Zeppelin without having ever seen them, largely on the recommendation of singer Dusty Springfield.[28][37] 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,[29] and formed their own company, Superhype, to handle all publishing rights.[38]
[edit] Early days (1968–1969)
With their first album not yet released, the band made their live debut under the name "Led Zeppelin" at the University of Surrey, Guildford on 25 October 1968.[39] This was followed by a US concert debut on 26 December 1968 (when promoter Barry Fey added them to a bill in Denver, Colorado[40]) before moving on to the west coast for dates in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities.[41] Led Zeppelin's eponymous debut album was released on 12 January 1969, during their first US 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.[42] However, Plant has commented that it is unfair for people to typecast the band as heavy metal, since about a third of their music was acoustic.[43] On their first album Plant receives no credit for his contributions to the song writing as a result of his previous association with CBS Records.[44]
Live in Montreux, 1970
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.[45][28] Peter Grant claimed the album cost £1,750 to produce (including artwork).[23] By 1975, the album had grossed $7,000,000.[46] Led Zeppelin's album cover met an interesting protest when, at a 28 February 1970 gig in Copenhagen, the band were billed as "The Nobs" as the result of a threat of legal action from aristocrat Eva von Zeppelin (a relative of the creator of the Zeppelin aircraft), who, upon seeing the logo of the Hindenburg crashing in flames, threatened to have the show pulled off the air.[47]
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.[31] 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.[48] Here the band further developed ideas established on their debut album, creating a work which became even more widely acclaimed and arguably more influential.[49] It has been suggested that Led Zeppelin II largely wrote the blueprint for 1970s hard rock.[49]
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 and eventually stadiums as their popularity grew.[12] Led Zeppelin concerts could last more than three hours, with expanded, improvised live versions of their song repertoire. Many of these shows have been preserved as Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings. It was also during this period of intensive concert touring that the band developed a reputation for off-stage excess.[10] One alleged example of such extravagance was the shark episode, or red snapper incident, which is said to have taken place at the Edgewater Inn in Seattle, Washington, on 28 July 1969.[23][10]
[edit] "The biggest band in the world" (1970–1977)
Led Zeppelin's popularity in the early years was dwarfed by their triumphant mid-seventies successes and it is this period that continues to define the band.[23][10] The band's image also changed as members began to wear elaborate, flamboyant clothing. Led Zeppelin began travelling in a private jet airliner (nicknamed The Starship),[10][50] rented out entire sections of hotels (most notably the Continental Hyatt House in Los Angeles, known colloquially as the "Riot House"), and became the subject of many of rock's most famous stories of debauchery. One escapade involved John Bonham riding a motorcycle through a rented floor of the Riot House,[10] while another involved the destruction of a room in the Tokyo Hilton, leading to the band being banned from that establishment for life.[28][51] However, 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 behaviour.[28]
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 (and a 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.[38]
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, however, its reputation has improved and Led Zeppelin III is now generally praised.[52][53] 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.[54] 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.[28][55]
The four symbols on the label and inside sleeve of Led Zeppelin IV, representing (from left to right) Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, and Robert Plant.
Led Zeppelin's fourth album was released on 8 November 1971. There was no indication of a title or a band name on the original cover, but on the LP label four symbols were printed—. The band were motivated to undertake this decision because of their disdain for the music press, which tended to label them as hyped and overrated. In response, they released the album with no indication of who they were in order to prove that the music could sell itself.[24] The album is variously referred to as Four Symbols and The Fourth Album (both titles were used in the Atlantic Records catalogue), and also IV, Untitled, Zoso, Runes, Sticks, Man With Sticks, and Four. It is still officially untitled and most commonly referred to as Led Zeppelin IV. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 2005, Plant said that it is simply called The Fourth Album.[56]
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. Until mid-2007, the song was used prominently in Cadillac automobile commercials—one of the few instances of Led Zeppelin's surviving members licensing songs.[57]
The album 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.[58] The track "Stairway to Heaven" (sample (info)), although never released as a single, is sometimes quoted as being the most requested[59] and most played[60] 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.[61]
Led Zeppelin's next album, Houses of the Holy, was released in 1973. It featured further experimentation, with longer tracks and 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.[23] The orange album cover of Houses of the Holy depicts images of nude children[62] 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.[63][64]
The album topped the charts, and Led Zeppelin's subsequent concert tour of the United States 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.[23] Three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York were filmed for a motion picture, but the theatrical release of this project (The Song Remains the Same) would be delayed until 1976. During the final night's performance, $203,000 of the band's money from gate receipts went missing from a safety deposit box at the Drake Hotel.[28] It was never recovered.[65]
Led Zeppelin live at Chicago Stadium, January 1975.
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 Apollo.[66] 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, Pretty Things, Maggie Bell, Detective, Dave Edmunds, Midnight Flyer, Sad Café and Wildlife.[12] The label was successful while Led Zeppelin existed, but folded less than three years after they disbanded.[23]
24 February 1975 saw the release of Led Zeppelin's first double album, Physical Graffiti, which was their first release on the Swan Song Records label. It consisted of fifteen songs, eight of which were recorded at Headley Grange in 1974, and the remainder being tracks previously recorded but not released on earlier albums. A review in Rolling Stone magazine referred to Physical Graffiti as Led Zeppelin's "bid for artistic respectability," adding that the only competition the band had for the title of 'World's Best Rock Band' were The Rolling Stones and The Who.[67] 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,[23] and the band embarked on another U.S. 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.[55] These plans were thwarted in August 1975 when Robert Plant and his wife Maureen were involved in a serious car crash while on holiday in Rhodes, Greece. Robert suffered a broken ankle and Maureen was badly injured; a blood transfusion saved her life.[23] Unable to tour, Plant headed to the channel island of Jersey to spend August and September recuperating, with Bonham and Page in tow. The band then reconvened in Malibu, California. It was during this forced hiatus that much of the material for their next album, Presence, was written.
By this time, Led Zeppelin were the world's number one rock attraction,[55] having outsold most bands of the time, including the Rolling Stones.[23] Presence, released in March 1976, marked a change in the Led Zeppelin sound towards more straightforward, guitar-based jams, departing from the acoustic ballads and intricate arrangements featured on their previous albums. Though it was a platinum seller, Presence received mixed responses from critics and fans and some speculated the band's legendary excesses may have caught up with them.[68][12] 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.[69] Despite the original criticisms, Jimmy Page has called Presence his favourite album, and its opening track "Achilles Last Stand" (sample (info)) his favourite Led Zeppelin song. In an interview with a Swedish TV program, Plant stated that Presence is the album that sounds the most "Led Zeppelin" of all their LPs.[70]
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 the United States. The film premiered in New York on 20 October 1976, but was given a lukewarm reception by critics and fans.[12] The film was particularly unsuccessful in the UK, where, after being unwilling to tour since 1975 due to a taxation exile, Led Zeppelin were facing an uphill battle to recapture the public spotlight at home.[71]
Plant (left) and Page (right) on stage during the 1977 North American tour
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.[72] It was, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest attendance to date for a single act show.[55] However, though it was financially profitable, the tour was beset with off-stage problems. On 3 June a concert at Tampa Stadium was cut short because of a severe thunderstorm, despite tickets printed with "Rain or Shine". A riot broke out amongst the audience, resulting in several arrests and injuries.[73]
After a 23 July show[74] at the "Day 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 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.[23][75] The following day's second Oakland concert[76] 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.[12][28]
[edit] Bonham's death and breakup (1978–1980)
November 1978 saw the group recording again, this time at Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. The resultant album was In Through the Out Door, which exhibited a degree of sonic experimentation that again drew mixed reactions from critics. Nevertheless, the band still commanded legions of loyal fans, and the album easily reached #1 in the UK and the U.S. in just its second week on the Billboard album chart. As a result of this album's release, Led Zeppelin's entire catalogue made the Billboard Top 200 between the weeks of 27 October and 3 November 1979.[55]
In August 1979, after two warm-up shows in Copenhagen, Denmark, Led Zeppelin headlined two concerts at the Knebworth Music Festival, where crowds of close to 120,000 witnessed the return of the band. However, Plant was not eager to tour full-time again, and even considered leaving Led Zeppelin. He was persuaded to stay by Peter Grant. A brief, low-key European tour was undertaken in June and July 1980, featuring a stripped-down set without the usual lengthy jams and solos. At one show on 27 June, in Nuremberg, Germany, the concert came to an abrupt end in the middle of the third song when John Bonham collapsed on stage and was rushed to a hospital.[77] 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 European tour on 7 July, at Berlin.[78][23]
On 24 September 1980, Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals at Bray Studios for the upcoming tour of the United States, the band's first since 1977, scheduled to commence on 17 October.[28] During the journey Bonham had asked to stop for breakfast, where he downed four quadruple vodkas (450 ml), with a ham roll. After taking a bite of the ham roll he said to his assistant, "Breakfast". He continued to drink heavily when he arrived at the studio. A halt was called to the rehearsals late in the evening and the band retired to Page's house — The Old Mill House in Clewer, Windsor. After midnight, Bonham had fallen asleep and was taken to bed and placed on his side. At 1:45 pm the next day Benji LeFevre (who had replaced Richard Cole as Led Zeppelin's tour manager) and John Paul Jones found him dead.[28] Bonham was 32 years old.[79] The cause of death was asphyxiation from vomit, and a verdict of accidental death was returned at an inquest held on 27 October.[28] An autopsy found no other drugs in Bonham's body. Bonham was cremated on 10 October 1980, at Rushock parish church in Droitwich, Worcestershire, England.
Despite rumours that Cozy Powell, Carmine Appice, Barriemore Barlow, Simon Kirke or Bev Bevan would join the group as his replacement, the remaining members decided to disband after Bonham's death. They issued a press statement on 4 December 1980 confirming that the band would not continue without Bonham. "We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend, and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were."[28]
[edit] Post-Led Zeppelin (1981–2007)
In 1982, the surviving members of the group released a collection of out-takes from various sessions during Led Zeppelin's career, entitled Coda. It included two tracks taken from the band's performance at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970, one each from the Led Zeppelin III and Houses of the Holy sessions, and three from the In Through the Out Door sessions. It also featured a 1976 John Bonham drum instrumental with electronic effects added by Jimmy Page, called "Bonzo's Montreux".
On 13 July 1985, Page, Plant and Jones reunited for the Live Aid concert at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, playing a short set featuring drummers Tony Thompson and Phil Collins and bassist Paul Martinez. Collins had contributed to Plant's first two solo albums while Martinez was a member of Plant's current solo band. However, the performance was marred by the lack of rehearsal with the two drummers, Page's struggles with an out-of-tune Les Paul and poorly-functioning monitors, and by Plant's hoarse voice.[80][81] Page himself has described the performance as "pretty shambolic",[82] while Plant was even less charitable, characterising it as an "atrocity".[80] When Live Aid footage was released on a four-DVD set in late 2004 to raise money for Sudan, the group unanimously agreed not to allow footage from their performance to be used, asserting that it was not up to their standard.[83] However, to demonstrate their ongoing 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 US tour with Mutual Admiration Society to the project.
The three members reunited again in May 1988, for the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert, with Bonham's son, Jason Bonham, on drums. However, 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.[84][81] Page later described the performance as "one big disappointment", and Plant said unambiguously that "the gig was foul".[84]
The first Led Zeppelin box set of the nineties, featuring tracks remastered under the personal supervision of Jimmy Page, introduced the band's music to many new fans, thus stimulating something of a renaissance for Led Zeppelin. This set also included four previously unreleased tracks, including the Robert Johnson tribute "Travelling Riverside Blues", which was released as a single in the US. The song was a huge hit, with the video in heavy rotation on MTV. 1992 saw the release of the "Immigrant Song" b/w "Hey Hey What Can I Do" (the original b-side) as a CD single in the United States. The second box set was released in 1993; the two box sets together containing all known studio recordings, as well as some rare live tracks.
In 1994, Page and Plant reunited in the form of a 90 minute "UnLedded" MTV project. They later released an album called No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded, which featured some reworked Led Zeppelin songs, and embarked on a world tour the following year. This is said to be the beginning of the inner rift between the band members, as Jones was not even told of the reunion.[26][85] When asked where Jones was, Plant had replied that he was out "parking the car".[86]
On 12 January 1995, Led Zeppelin were inducted into the United States Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 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.[87] 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 U.S. 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.[88] 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. However, the album wasn't as successful as No Quarter, and the band slowly dissolved.
On 29 November 1999 the RIAA announced that the band were only the third act in music history to achieve four or more Diamond albums.[89] 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",[90] 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.[91] 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".[92][93]
On 27 July 2007, Atlantic/Rhino, & 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.[94] 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.[95] 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.
[edit] 2007 reunion
The surviving members of Led Zeppelin and Jason Bonham at The O2 in London in 2007
Main article: Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert
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. 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."[96] Page suggested the band may start work on new material,[97] and stated that a world tour may be in the works.[98] Meanwhile, Plant made his position regarding a reunion tour known to the Sunday Times, stating: "The whole idea of being on a cavalcade of merciless repetition is not what it's all about." However, 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."
[edit] Reunion tour reports (2008)
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 will not be announced until at least September.[99] 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).[100]
Plant however continued to remain focused on his recent work and tour with Krauss. Their duet album Raising Sand became certified platinum in March,[101] and their recordings received awards including a Grammy for the song "Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)"[102] and Album of the Year from the Americana Music Association.[103] 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."[104]
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,[105] the rumours of a reunion began to accumulate through the remaining summer.[106][107][108] 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."[109][110]
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."[111] 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".[112] 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.[113]
On January 7, 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."[114][115] 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 exhuberance to now, it's very hard to go back and meet that head on and do it justice."[116]
[edit] 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 be heard in movies such as Shrek the Third, One Day in September, School of Rock ("Immigrant Song" in all three), 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"), 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". The band has 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."[117]
Also noteworthy is Cadillac's use of "Rock and Roll" in their US TV advertising campaign. Recently, Led Zeppelin have agreed to allow Apple to sell their music in Apple's iTunes Store, with the greatest hits collection Mothership as the marquee offering.[118]
In April 2007, Hard Rock Park (now Freestyle Music Park) in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, announced it had secured an agreement with the band to create "Led Zeppelin - The Ride", a roller coaster built by Bolliger & Mabillard, synchronised to the music of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love". The coaster stands 155 feet (47 m) tall, features six inversions, and spirals over a lagoon. The ride officially opened with the park on May 9, 2008.[119] The ride is currently "Standing but not operating" (SBNO) due to Hard Rock Park filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In January 2009, the park filed for Chapter 7. In February 2009, the park was sold to new owners FPI MB Entertainment hoping to reopen by Memorial Day 2009.[120]
[edit] Allegations of plagiarism
The credits for Led Zeppelin II were the subject of some debate after the album's release. The prelude to "Bring It On Home" is a cover of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Bring It On Home" and drew comparisons with Willie Dixon's "Bring It On Back". "Whole Lotta Love" (sample (info)) contains lyrics that are derivative of Dixon's "You Need Love/Woman You Need Love", though the riff from the song was an original Jimmy Page composition. In the 1970s, Arc Music, the publishing arm of Chess Records, brought a lawsuit against Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement over "Bring It On Home"; the case was settled out of court.[19] Dixon himself did not benefit until he sued Arc Music to recover his royalties and copyrights. Sixteen years later, Dixon filed suit against Led Zeppelin over "Whole Lotta Love" and an out-of-court settlement was reached. Later pressings of Led Zeppelin II credit Dixon. Similarly, the "Lemon Song", from the same album, included an adaptation of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor". The band and Chester Burnett reached an out-of-court settlement to give co-credit to the author of the original 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 [rather are] traditional lyrics..." [121] However, 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".[122][123] 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".[124]
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.[125]
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.
While several rock and roll musicians experimented with Indian mysticism and Eastern religion in the 1960's, perhaps most notably the Beatles, the music that resulted from these dabblings usually tended toward the psychedelic, or sitar-oriented spectrum of things. It was unusual to see bands importing Indian influences that were not mellow or which did not conform to the stereotypical sound that had become associated with the phenomenon.
