Led Zeppelin Biography

Written by The Rock Radio staff, May 2005 © The Rock Radio

The Genesis Of True Rock
As the true innovators of heavy rock sound and with estimated album sales of 200-300 million worldwide, Led Zeppelin is the band that influenced a million other bands. Their pioneering "loud" interpretation of blues was blended with mythology and psychedelia to form a mystical band that only appeared in their albums and concerts and nowhere else.

They were formed in England in 1968 under the name of The New Yardbirds by guitarist Jimmy Page when he, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton decided to breakup their band called Yardbirds. The lineup consisted of Page, vocalist Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham and bassist Chris Dreja that was quickly replaced by John Paul Jones. After some initial touring the band's name was changed to Led Zeppelin when The Who drummer, Keith Moon, suggested the band would go over like a lead zeppelin! Lead was deliberately changed to Led due to concerns that Americans would pronounce and comprehend the word wrongly.

Their first album was released in early 1969 with Atlantic Records under the name of "Led Zeppelin" and while they were touring America and England they also recorded their second album "Led Zeppelin II", released late 1969. The first album achieved top 10 status in both the UK and US and is now considered a landmark album in the evolution of rock music whereas the second one topped the charts in both countries. By now the band was considered a top international concert attraction and their often three-hour long gigs improvised live versions of their songs.

The Stairway To Heaven
The band's next recording "Led Zeppelin III" released in 1970 had a strong British folk influence and once again topped UK and US charts. With 1971's "Led Zeppelin IV" the band had their most successful album ever that featured the song with the most airplay in radio history and The Rock Radio's listeners all time favourite song; "Stairway To Heaven".

After completing their 1972 tour the band recorded "Houses Of The Holy" (1973) that set the stage for a box-office breaking US tour that smashed various records previously held by The Beatles. The band had a quiet year in 1974 releasing no new material and performing no concerts. They did however establish their own record label with Swan Song with which they released all their subsequent records.

1975 saw the release of the double album set "Physical Graffiti" that included songs recorded in studio sessions from the group's previous albums as well as new material. They once again topped UK and US charts and for the first time in music history Led Zeppelin's entire back catalogue of six albums was simultaneously on the top 200 of US album charts! This was probably the peak of their career and tales of trashed hotel rooms and heavy use of drugs and alcohol were common. However, the band had to cancel a large section of their American tour when Plant and his wife were injured in a serious car crash while on holiday in Greece.

Unable to tour, the band went back to the studio and recorded their seventh studio album "Presence" (1976). Despite topping UK and US charts, for the first time their album received mixed reviews and it was suggested that their mythical status eventually caught up with them. Late 1976 also saw the release of the concert film "The Song Remains The Same" and its soundtrack double LP based on three shows recorded at Madison Square Garden in New York in 1973. However, it was at this point that Page started using heroin, a habit that undermined his live performances and studio recordings in the years that followed.

Led Zeppelin finally returned to tour America in the spring of 1977. Two months into the tour and following a show at the Day On The Green Festival in Oakland news came in of Plant's son death due to a stomach infection. As a result all subsequent shows were cancelled and Plant spent the following months in seclusion. The group did not make any recordings until late in the summer of 1978 when they started working at ABBA's Polar studios in Sweden.

The End Of The Stairway
After a couple of warm-up shows in Copenhagen, Denmark Led Zeppelin played in front of 400,000 fans at England's Knebworth Festival in August 1979 and with the release of "In Though The Back Door" in September (#1UK, #1US) the band started a short European tour to be followed by another massive American tour. The European leg was completed in West Berlin in May 1980 and as the band started rehearsals in September in preparation for the US leg, John Bonham was found dead in his bed after an all-day drinking binge. In December, Led Zeppelin announced they were disbanding since they could not continue without Bonham. Two years after Bonham's death the band released a collection of previously unreleased material named "Coda" (1982).

In the years that followed Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones all began solo careers. However, Led Zeppelin remained in the charts with a steady stream of "best of" collections and boxed sets and extensive airplay. They are the third highest selling act in the history of US music with album sales in excess of 100 million.

"There's a feeling I get when I look to the west, And my spirit is crying for leaving. In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees, And the voices of those who stand looking. Ooh, it makes me wonder..."
Led Zeppelin - 1971