The band that changed big hair music forever. Led Zeppelin. Picture: Supplied Formed in London in 1968 from the ashes of the Yardbirds, the band brought together guitarist Jimmy Page, vocalist Robert Plant, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham.
It almost looks, based on the narrative of the Netflix documentaryBecoming Led Zeppelin, that it was destiny. The foursome created a sound rooted in blues and folk, but delivered it with a punch and a guitar assault that shaped hard rock and heavy metal as we know them. Atlantic Records, which signed the band after only a month or so of being together, gave Page and company absolute creative freedom.
In an interview on the show, Page said that the intent of Zeppelin was not to be a singles band, but to create albums that tell stories. And that was exactly what they did. Paired with relentless touring of the United States at their genesis, the band quickly became underground and then mainstream rock gods.
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Interestingly, they made it in America well before gaining any traction at home in the United Kingdom. From their 1969 debut throughLed Zeppelin II,which featuredWholeLotta Love,Led Zeppelin III, withImmigrant Song, and the untitled fourth album, which deliveredStairway to Heaven, the band became an unstoppable force in music. From their 1969 debut throughLed Zeppelin II,which featured By the mid to late seventies, their tours were as famous as their records.
It was rock and roll mythology… excess and record-breaking attendance at performances. It was a decade that passed with a frenetic pace until John Bonham’s death in 1980 from choking on his own vomit, purportedly after drinking too many vodka shooters. The band disbanded, but their music lives on. To date, they have sold an estimated 300 million albums, and with Gen Z rediscovering rock music, it may rocket further into the stratosphere.
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