Led Zeppelin: the 100 most inspiring musicians of all time

The members of Led Zeppelin were Jimmy Page (b. Jan. 9, 1944, Heston, Middlesex,Eng.), Robert Plant (b. Aug. 20, 1948, West Bromwich, West Midlands, Eng.), John Paul Jones (original name John Baldwin; b. Jan. 3, 1946, Sidcup, Kent, Eng.), and John Bonham (b. May 31, 1948, Redditch,
Hereford and Worcester, Eng.—d. Sept. 25, 1980, Windsor, Berkshire).

The British rock band Led Zeppelin was extremely popular in the 1970s, and although their musical style was diverse, they came to be well known for their influence on the development of heavy metal.

Initially called the New Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin was formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page, the final lead guitarist for the legendary British blues band the Yardbirds. Bassist and keyboard player Jones, like Page, was a veteran studio musician; vocalist Plant and drummer Bonham came from
little-known provincial bands.

The group was influenced by various kinds of music, including early rock and roll, psychedelic rock, blues, folk, Celtic, Indian, and Arabic music. Although acoustic and folk-based music was part of the band’s repertoire from its inception, it was the bottom heavy, loud, raw, and powerful electric style that gained them their following and notoriety early on; their first two albums included many of the songs that prompted Led Zeppelin’s categorization as a precursor of heavy metal.

The heaviness of songs such as “Dazed and Confused” and “Whole Lotta Love” was created by Bonham’s enormous drum sound and through Page’s production techniques, in which he emphasized drums and bass, resulting in a sonic spaciousness that has kept the records sounding fresh
years after they were made. Page and Jones also wrote most of the band’s music, while Plant contributed lyrics and some musical ideas. Although Page was responsible for the majority of their signature riffs (the short, repeated musical ideas that often structure a song), Jones wrote the riff for the celebrated “Black Dog” and several other songs.

Jones also contributed much to the arrangement of songs. Page’s guitar solos were based primarily on melodic ideas derived from the blues scale (“Heartbreaker” is a good example), and he is especially known for creating multiple, simultaneous guitar parts—a kind of guitar orchestra—in
such songs as “Achilles Last Stand” and “The Song Remains the Same.” Page is considered one of rock’s guitar heroes, but, because he was more interested in creating a distinctive mood and sound on a recording than in displaying his virtuosity, he frequently chose not to include a guitar solo
in Zeppelin songs.

Plant’s voice rounded out Led Zeppelin’s sound. Exaggerating the vocal style and expressive palette of blues singers such as Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, Plant created the sound that has defined much hard rock
and heavy metal singing: a high range, an abundance of distortion, loud volume, and emotional excess (“Whole Lotta Love” is a classic example). Plant was, however, capable of a broader stylistic range, including tender ballads (“The Rain Song”) and songs showing the influence of Indian and Arabic vocal styles (“Kashmir”).

Led Zeppelin’s best-known song is “Stairway to Heaven”; its gentle acoustic beginning eventually builds to an exhilarating climax featuring a lengthy electric guitar solo. This combination of acoustic and electric sections was typical for Page, who from the band’s beginning was interested in juxtaposing what he called “light and shade.”

The song appeared on the band’s fourth and most famous album, released untitled, which showed only four runic symbols (intended to represent the band members) on the cover and had the mystical, mythological lyrics to “Stairway” printed on the inner sleeve. The sense of mystery and ritual that this created became an important part of the band’s image.

Thanks in part to their manager, Peter Grant, the band enjoyed phenomenal commercial success throughout the 1970s. While Led Zeppelin never received the kind of critical acclaim or mainstream acceptance accorded the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, their influence on rock music has been prodigious. They are regularly cited as the progenitors of both hard rock and heavy metal. Their sound has been imitated by bands from Black Sabbath to Nirvana. They also inspired hard rock bands to include acoustic elements in their music and were among the first
to experiment with Indian and North African music.

Page’s style has served as an important model for most rock guitarists, and Bonham is often cited as the model for metal or hard rock drumming.
Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980 after Bonham’s accidental death. The group re-formed for short, one-off performances in 1985 (the Live Aid benefit), 1988 (Atlantic Records’ 40th anniversary concert), and 1995 (the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame).

Much more momentous was the group’s full-blown concert in London in December 2007 to honour Atlantic’s legendary cofounder Ahmet Ertegun, at which Bonham’s son, Jason, played the drums.

Download Led Zeppelin’s sheet music from our Library.

Led Zeppelin – Mothership (Full Album) (2007 Remaster) | Led Zeppelin – Greatest Hits

Track Listing:

Disc One 1. Good Times Bad Times 00:00 2. Communication Breakdown 02:46 3. Dazed and Confused 05:14 4. Babe I’m Gonna Leave You 11:42 5. Whole Lotta Love 18:23 6. Ramble On 23:55 7. Heartbreaker 28:15 8. Immigrant Song 32:33 9. Since I’ve Been Loving You 34:58 10. Rock and Roll 42:21 11. Black Dog 46:02 12. When the Levee Breaks 50:56 13. Stairway to Heaven 58:05

Disc Two 1. The Song Remains the Same 1:06:06 2. Over the Hills and Far Away 1:11:38 3. D’yer Mak’er 1:16:25 4. No Quarter 1:20:48 5. Trampled Under Foot 1:27:45 6. Houses of the Holy 1:33:22 7. Kashmir 1:37:24 8. Nobody’s Fault but Mine 1:45:51 9. Achilles Last Stand 1:52:11 10. In the Evening 2:02:32 11. All My Love 2:09:19

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