Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Artists - L to Z»Artists - L
    Artists - L Music - 1960s Music - 1970s 5 Mins Read

    Led Zeppelin

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    It’s been over four decades and the lyrics still don’t make much sense – what is a “bustle in your hedgerow” anyway? – but there’s probably never been a song with such chart-topping impact. All the more incredible, since Stairway to Heaven was never released as a single.

    So love ’em or hate ’em, Led Zeppelin simply have to go down as one of the most successful and influential bands in the history of rock music.

    ledzep_023

    When The Yardbirds broke up in 1968, Jimmy Page formed The New Yardbirds (Zep’s working title), first recruiting John Paul Jones, another respected session player, on bass and keyboards.

    Initially, they had Terry Reid in mind as the singer, but when he declined a friend recommended Birmingham-based Robert Plant.

    Plant was singing in a group called Hobbstweedle (remember them?) and also provided drummer John Bonham (the pair had previously played together in a band called Band of Joy).

    Their first British tour won them few friends, and they immediately decided to focus on the American market, where page’s reputation had greater cachet and other British bands like Cream and The Jeff Beck Group had made considerable impact.

    By their second tour they had an impressive debut album in tow.

    The band recorded their first album (Led Zeppelin I) in 30 hours. The record set a standard in high-energy rock that has been rarely surpassed but often imitated. By early 1969 it was in the US Top Ten album chart.

    Led Zeppelin II (1969) was in much the same vein, and when critics dismissed Zep as blustering rock bozos, the band retreated to Bron-Yr-Aur, a cottage in Snowdonia, North Wales, that Plant had often visited as a child.

    With no electricity or running water, they spent days walking in the hills and nights sitting around the fire plunging hot pokers into cider, smoking hash and writing.

    So important was the cottage and its setting that not only did they write a song about it (Bron-Y-Aur Stomp), but gave it a thank-you on the cover of the subsequent album, Led Zeppelin III (1970), which was filled with acoustic subtlety. The critics – never satisfied – accused them of going all Crosby, Stills & Nash . . .

    Their fourth album broke a few rules – Its sleeve carried no band name and no title, just four Runic symbols.

    zep_026

    The album contained Stairway To Heaven, the song which became so entrenched as a rock standard that to this day many guitar shops carry signs prohibiting it being played on their premises!

    They planned their 70’s career extremely carefully, releasing one album a year and timing their tours to build anticipation for it, never performing on TV (apart from one appearance in their first year), and never releasing a single in the UK until 1997.

    Their rise – rapid and phenomenal – attracted the disdain of music critics, who never acknowledged the excellence of some of their ensuing albums, particularly IV (1971) and Physical Graffiti (1975), which were surprisingly diverse in content.

    Led Zeppelin’s IV practically defined hard rock and heavy metal.

    It drew on folk music, the blues, rock & roll, and even psychedelia. But it was also the sound of a band grooming themselves for stadium success.

    The album’s mystique was increased by its cover, which features no group name or album title, hence its alternative monikers “Four Symbols” and “Zoso”, a reference to the runic symbols displayed within the gatefold.

    ledzep22The band formed their own label in 1974, called Swansong. The launch of the label was held at Chislehurst Caves in Kent, England, on Halloween. Drinks were served by nuns in suspenders, a naked woman lay in a coffin covered in jelly, and naked male wrestlers cavorted in recesses of the caves . . .

    By the mid-70s Led Zeppelin were arguably the most successful group in the world and offered a blueprint for all the subsequently successful British metal acts, such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Ten Years After and, more recently, Rainbow.

    No other group has sustained such a huge following for so long by repeatedly withdrawing from the limelight and then returning with a near-perfect master plan.

    By late 1979 it had been four years since Led Zeppelin’s last studio album and three years since their last tour. The public’s appetite was whetted for something new, and In Through The Out Door – recorded in a mere three weeks at ABBA‘s Swedish studio – entered the album charts at #1. The album would turn out to be their swan song (no pun intended).

    On 25 September 1980, on the eve of their US tour, drummer John Bonham was found dead in bed in Jimmy Page’s house in Windsor, England, after a 12-hour drinking session. The autopsy reported the cause of death as pulmonary oedema. He was only 32.

    Apparently, the unstoppable Bonham had downed some 40 shots of vodka in just four hours before quite literally calling it a day.

    TRIVIA
    Before becoming Led Zep’s manager and terrifying hapless promoters around the world, Peter Grant was a professional wrestler who went by the name of His Highness Count Bruno Alassio of Milan. He also body-doubled for Anthony Quinn in The Guns Of Navarone (1961).

    Video

    Related Posts

    • Supernaut
      Supernaut
      Supernaut was formed in Perth (Australia) by Gary Twinn (vocals), Chris Burnham (guitar) and his brother Joey Burnham (drums), all of whom…
    • Aerosmith
      Aerosmith
      Aerosmith was one of the most popular hard rock bands of the 1970s, setting the style and sound of American…
    • Jeff Beck
      Jeff Beck
      Born in Surrey, England, in 1944, Jeff Beck was already a guitar veteran of early 60s bands like Screaming Lord…
    • Steampacket
      Steampacket
      Because their ranks included a future superstar, The Steampacket have received more attention than they really deserve. Featuring vocalists Rod Stewart, Long…
    • Free
      Free
      The authority of Free's debut album Tons Of Sobs (1968) was all the more remarkable given the tender age of its creators.…
    • Yardbirds, The
      Yardbirds, The
      Q: How many famous guitarists can one band have? A: Three of the acknowledged masters of the craft, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy…
    • Normie Rowe
      Normie Rowe
      In 1964, Normie Rowe started work as a trainee technician with the Australian Postmaster General's Department (now Telstra). He began…
    • Tourists, The
      Tourists, The
      The Tourists were a typical British post-punk new wave group, except for the fact that in a brief career spanning 1979 and 1980…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleLeaf Hound
    Next Article Lee Curtis & The All Stars

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    You May Also Like
    • Dodd On His Todd
      1 9 8 1 (UK) 6 x 30 minute episodes This BBC series aired on six […]
    • Preston Front
      1 9 9 4 – 1 9 9 7 (UK) 19 x 40 minute episodes Preston […]
    • Oblong Box, The (1969)
      Vincent Price lords it suavely around a gloomy 19th-century […]
    • Three Men And A Baby (1987)
      The title says it all – bachelors Ted Danson, Steve […]
    • Animal Farm (1954)
      This on-target animated cartoon faithfully based on George […]
    • Question Of Sport
      1 9 7 0 – Current (UK) Fresh from the studio soccer […]
    Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

    OUR LATEST FACEBOOK POSTS

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64442824 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Television frontman Tom Verlaine dies at 73

    www.bbc.co.uk

    His band rose to fame in the 1970s New York punk scene, scoring UK hits including Marquee Moon.
    8 hours ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 1
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64418847 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Mr Blobby costume sells for more than £62,000 on eBay

    www.bbc.co.uk

    The character, made famous by BBC show Noel's House Party, had been in storage since the 1990s.
    1 day ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Put some beefiness into your mid-week menu with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the Radio Times on 30 September 1965.

    Put some "beefiness into your mid-week menu" with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the "Radio Times" on 30 September 1965. ... See MoreSee Less

    1 week ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 3
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    They were awful. An overpowering savoury flavour that lingered in your mouth for hours. Heaven knows what unmentionable parts of a bull went into making them 😳

    More sad news 😪

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    US rock legend David Crosby dies aged 81

    www.bbc.co.uk

    Crosby, who co-founded both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, had been ill for some time.
    1 week ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 1
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened? 

All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened?

    All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .
    ... See MoreSee Less

    1 week ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 54
    • Shares: 22
    • Comments: 7

    Comment on Facebook

    I thought we would have moving pavements by now when I was a kid 😂

    Totally agree!!!

    The new Tesla, 4.6 next century.

    We got transvestite story hour instead

    We appear to be going backwards

    There's actually a very good David Graeber essay on this very topic: thebaffler.com/salvos/of-flying-cars-and-the-declining-rate-of-profit

    The Jetsons strike again.

    View more comments

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

https://nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

    nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    That is so sad to hear 😥 rest in peace 🙏 🕊 xx

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 4
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    😍😍😍😍

    Vale Jeff Beck. Dead at 78. 😢

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Jeff Beck: British guitar legend dies aged 78

    www.bbc.co.uk

    One of rock's most influential guitarists, he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 1
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Hi everyone. Were in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes.

    Hi everyone. We're in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes. ... See MoreSee Less

    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 5
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 2

    Comment on Facebook

    Ironically, this post has jumped off the page at me. You'll probably get most traffic today because everyone will want to see what they might be missing!

    Martin Platt

    RIP Fred White, drummer with Earth, Wind and Fire, who has died aged 67. 😢

    RIP Fred White, drummer with Earth, Wind and Fire, who has died aged 67. 😢 ... See MoreSee Less

    4 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 4
    • Shares: 2
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    Great band

    Load more
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.