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A Brief History of Ledd Zeppelin and ITs Musical Impact

Tell someone to name a band from the 1960s and '70s and you
could
probably listen to a dozen answers before hearing the same one twice.
The
overwhelming amount of talent squeezed into these two decades has
produced some
of the most popular, most powerful, and in some cases, the most bizarre
music
ever. Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The
Yardbirds,
Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Queen, Aerosmith, Crosby,
Stills, Nash &
Young, The Eagles.... All were from this era that seemed to glorify
music as no
other time period did, or ever will.
The amount of evolution of music that occurred in this time
period is
amazing as well. The mainstream went from listening to songs like Bill
Haley
and the Comet's "Rock Around The Clock," to The Beatles' frightening
"Revolution
9."
While these two examples may seem completely different, they are
not as
distant as one might think. Nearly all music from the '60s and '70s
was bred
from its earlier ancestors. Music has been constantly evolving, and
during the
two decades in question, it underwent a radical change like never
before.

The New Yardbirds

In early 1968 the music group The Yardbirds was in shambles.


Their last,
and half-put --together album "Little Games" was a total flop and the
band had
to struggle to have the release of the album in the UK stopped. On
March 30,
the group allowed a taping of their concert in Madison Square Garden to
be
considered for a live album to be released later. They easily
convinced their
record contractor, Epic Records, to ditch the project. The lead
guitarist of
The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck, had suffered from a mental breakdown a few
years
earlier and could no longer handle the pressure of touring. The band
members,
Keith Relf, Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, and Jimmy Page decided to throw
in the
towel and let the band collapse. Playing wasn't the same rush it used
to be,
and it just wasn't fun anymore. Each member elected to follow their own
projects. Dreja planned a career in photography, McCarty and Relf
intended on
starting bands of their own. Lead guitarist, Jimmy Page was given
legal rights
to the band's name, songs, and albums. However, along with the rights
that Page
was given, were 10 tour dates that still needed to be honored in
Scandinavia.
Page needed to construct a new band in a matter of two months time.
In July '68, Page met ex-session guitarist and phenomenal
arranger John
Paul Jones (b. John Baldwin, June 3, 1946, Sidcup, Kent). Willingly
joined in
on bass. 19-year old vocalist, Robert Plant (b. August 20, 1948, West
Bromwich,
W. Midlands.) is asked to perform with The New Yardbirds. Plant accepts
and
leaves his homeland in the Midlands with only his subway fair in his
pocket.
The last link to the chain was John Bonham (b. May 20, 1948, Bromwich)
on drums.

The band finished their ten date tour of Scandinavia with some
unexpected success. Everywhere they went people were asking how a band
like
this could go unnoticed. The unique blend of blues-influenced rock,
and guitar-
riff based songs blew their audience away.
On October 15, 1968, Led Zeppelin, made up of Page, Plant, Jones
and
Bonham, made it's official debut at Surrey University. The group began
touring
the US, backing up such headliners as Vanilla Fudge, and The MC5 shortly
thereafter. Instantaneous recognition followed. The groups popularity
was
soaring. On January 31, '69, Led Zeppelin opened for Iron Butterfly,
then one
of the world's biggest bands. Led Zeppelin received such a resounding
approval
from the audience, that Doug Ingle, lead singer for Iron Butterfly
decided to
scrap the show. Reason being are that Iron Butterfly was afraid that
they can't
produce such an effect on their crowd... in their own concert...in
which they
are headlining.
Led Zeppelin soon became a headliner in their own right. Within
eight
months of their official debut, Led Zeppelin were at the top of the
bill at the
Playhouse Theater in London, and the Pop Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
in
London. On October 17, '69, a year and two days from the bands
conception, Led
Zeppelin played in Carnegie Hall, ending a ban on rock groups at the
concert
hall, originally caused by the Rolling Stones in 1965. While playing
in Denmark,
Eva von Zeppelin, relative of the designer of the airship, Ferdinand von
Zeppelin, threatened to sue the band if they used the name in the
country. Led
Zeppelin played under the alias The Nobs.
The first album Led Zeppelin climbed to #10 in the US and to #6
in the
UK. Album two, entitled Led Zeppelin 2, moved up to #1 in both the US
and the
UK, staying on the charts for 98 in the States and an astounding 138
weeks in
Britain.
Six straight #1 albums in either the US or the UK. Countless
sellout
concerts. Records for box office drawings. Records for attendance.
51,000
tickets for 3 shows Earls Court, London sell out in less than two hours.
International fame. No other group had ever become so popular in such a
small
period of time. Led Zeppelin was revolutionizing music as they went.
While most
bands were shunned from playing a song different from it sounds on the
record,
Led Zeppelin was free to roam in their music. It wasn't unusual to
hear a song
that would be half-an-hour long, as opposed to its counterpart on the
album,
which was only five minutes long. These lengthy jam sessions diguised
as
concerts gave way to new ground being touched musically. Led Zeppelin
introduced the world to the music of black artists such as Muddy
Watters, Otis
Rush, Otis Redding, and Willie Dixon. Pieces of songs from the 1930s
were being
worked into their own music, as in their covers of Dixon's You Need
Love, and
Rush's Can't Quit You, and it was working. The blues riffs
incorporated into
their own music later influenced bands heavily, and opened doors to new
tastes
in music for the predominately American audience. The most significant
thing
about Led Zeppelin's music today, is that it doesn't sound dated. The
music
seems similar to music today. The lasting impression of their music is
obvious,
and can be heard in any Rock band of today.
Unfortunately, the machine that was Led Zeppelin came to a
screeching
halt on the morning of September 25, 1980. When band members decided
to go
into Bonham's bedroom to pull a prank on him in his sleep, Bonham was
found dead.
After a night of heavy drinking, Bonham had turned the wrong way in
his sleep,
and asphyxiated himself upon his own vomit. A statement was released on
December 4, 1980, stating that the band could not go on in its present
state.
After 11 incredible years, the band could not function with "the loss
of our
dear friend." Led Zeppelin had owned the 70s, and they were going to
finish
their reign quietly, and let the throne open to the next "supergroup."
As
suddenly as Led Zeppelin began, it had ended even more so. The giant
had fallen.
.

"As it was, then again it will be,


Though the course may change sometimes,
Rivers always reach the sea."
-Ten Years Gone
Led Zeppelin

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