Funks Realm: Led Zeppelin

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page (guitar), Robert Plant (vocals), John Paul Jones (bass guitar, keyboards) and John Bonham (drums). With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands.^[1]^[2]^[3] However, the band's individualistic style draws from many sources and transcends any one genre.^[4] Their rock-infused interpretation of the blues and folk genres^[5] also incorporated rockabilly,^[6] reggae,^[7] soul,^[8] funk,^[9] classical, Celtic, Indian, Arabic, pop, Latin and country.^[10] The band did not release the popular songs from their albums as singles in the UK, as they preferred to develop the concept of album-oriented rock.^[11]^[12]

Close to 30 years after disbanding following Bonham's death in 1980, the band continues to be held in high regard for their artistic achievements, commercial success and broad influence. The band have sold more than 300 million albums worldwide,^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17] including 111.5 million sales in the United States^[18] and they have had all of their original studio albums reach the U.S. Billboard Top 10,^[19] with six reaching the number one spot. Led Zeppelin are ranked #1 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.^[20] Rolling Stone magazine has described Led Zeppelin as "the heaviest band of all time" and "the biggest band of the '70s".^[21]

On 10 December 2007 the surviving members of Led Zeppelin reunited (along with deceased drummer John Bonham's son, Jason) for the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert at The O₂ Arena in London.

History:

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 rhythm guitar after the original bassist, Paul Samwell-Smith, left the group. Shortly after, Page switched from rhythm 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] <---"This is not complete post. click here for the rest or on link after next paragraph for more"}

"The biggest band in the world" (1972–1977)"

"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]^[59] 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 wild parties in the Tokyo Hilton, leading to the band being banned from that establishment for life.^[28] 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]" <--- only added that because I liked that & wanned to'}

More at Wiki's site [here]

The album Physical Graffiti was released in 1975. I remember it's release because I was 14 then and this album set blew me away. I bet I have purchased 25 copies of it, most on vinyl, few on 8-Track tape and few on cassette.

Even though I'm posting it here I recommend you go out and purchase a hard copy of the real thing for yourself because it truly is a musical masterpiece.