A Brief History Of Ledd Zeppelin And

A Brief History Of Ledd Zeppelin And ITs Musical Impact Essay, Research Paper 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