Led Zeppelin History
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The Led Zeppelin tune "Stairway to Heaven" is one of
rock music's most famous songs, and the band itself
ranks just below The Beatles and
The Rolling Stones in rock 'n' roll fame.
The band
included singer Robert Plant (b. 20 August 1948),
guitarist
Jimmy Page (b. 9 January 1944), bassist John Paul
Jones (b. John Baldwin on 3 January 1946) and drummer
John "Bonzo" Bonham (b. 31 May 1948). Led Zeppelin was
formed in 1968 and the next year released a self-titled
album of heavy, blues-based rock. It went to #1 on the
music charts.
The immediate follow-up album,
Led Zeppelin II, included the hits "Ramble On" and
"Whole Lotta Love" and also went to the top of the
charts. By 1971, when "Stairway to Heaven" came out on
the group's mysteriously untitled fourth album (known as
"Zoso"), Led Zeppelin had become a supergroup known for
its churning guitars and mystical lyrics and for Plant's
screaming vocals.
The band toured the world throughout
the 1970s, becoming in many ways the prototypical
hard-partying arena-rock band. Bonham, a notorious wild
man, died on 24 September 1980, choking on his own vomit
after a drinking binge. The group disbanded shortly
thereafter, though Page, Plant and Jones continued to
perform separately and in combination.
In June of 2003
Led Zeppelin was on the top of the charts again:
How the West Was Won, a three-record set
of live performances, was released simultaneously with a
double DVD of rare concert footage, and both became top
sellers within the first week.
According to legend, Page changed
the band's name from "Lead Zeppelin" to "Led Zeppelin"
so that it wouldn't be mispronounced... The
Song Remains the Same was the 1976 film documentary
about the group... Page was known for his lyrical
references to the works of Lord of the Rings
author
J.R.R. Tolkien and occultist
Aleister Crowley... Page had been part of the
British band the Yardbirds (along with
Eric Clapton)... The band was inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994... John Paul Jones, a
well-known session musician before Led Zeppelin, has
since produced records for groups such as
R.E.M, Heart and The BH Surfers.
Although critics panned them as “derivative,” Led Zeppelin became one of the most successful rock bands during the 1970s.
Known as one of the best live-performance bands (they regularly sold out 20,000-seat arenas; a pair of 50,000-seat shows in
Tampa in 1973 broke the record for the largest paying audience to see a single band, which was formerly held by The Beatles for the legendary 1965 Shea stadium concert ).
“Led Zep” are also known for their rock anthem “Stairway to Heaven,” as well as the singles “Fool in the Rain,” “Whole Lotta Love”
(their best-selling single), “D'yer Maker”, and “Dazed and Confused.” The band was set to tour in support of its 1980 release,
In Through the Out Door, but with the sudden death of drummer John Bonham in September of that year, the band broke up instead.
The band has played reunion concerts intermittently (once with Bonham's son Jason playing drums), including at its induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
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January 9, 1944
Jimmy Page was born.
June 3, 1946
John Paul Jones was born.
May 31, 1948
John "Bonzo" Bonham was born.
August 20, 1948
Robert Plant was born.
July 1, 1966
Ahmet Ertegun signs the English group Cream. Atlantic will become a major
force in British rock, releasing albums by such artists as the Bee Gees, Mott the Hoople, Yes, Genesis, Derek and the Dominos, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Led Zeppelin.
July 7, 1968
The Yardbirds break up, guitarist Jimmy Page forms the New Yardbirds
and changes the group's name to Led Zeppelin, allegedly on the advice of the Who's Keith Moon.
October 15, 1968
Led Zeppelin performs its first show, at Surrey University in England.
November 13, 1968
Atlantic Record announces its signing of a "hot new English group" named Led Zeppelin.
February 15, 1969
The hotly anticipated, self-titled debut album by Led Zeppelin enters the album charts, ultimately reaching #10.
December 6, 1969
Led Zeppelin enters the Top Forty with "Whole Lotta Love," which reaches #4. It is this album-oriented band's highest-charting single.
December 27, 1969
'Led Zeppelin II' tops the U.S. album charts for the first of seven weeks; it will reach #1 in the U.K. in February 1970.
October 31, 1970
The more folk-oriented 'Led Zeppelin III' becomes the band’s second #1 album.
January 30, 1971
Led Zeppelin hits #15 with "Immigrant Song".
November 27, 1971
Led Zeppelin’s fourth album, which features four runes (symbols) as its title, enters Billboard’s album chart, where it will remain for the next five years. Oddly, it doesn’t quite reach #1, peaking at #2.
February 12, 1972
Led Zeppelin hits #15 with "Black Dog".
April 15, 1972
Led Zeppelin hits #47 with "Rock and Roll".
May 12, 1973
'Houses of the Holy,' Led Zeppelin’s fifth album, becomes their third to reach #1.
December 29, 1973
Led Zeppelin hits #20 with "Dyer Maker".
May 3, 1974
Led Zeppelin launches their Swan Song label, which releases their albums and ones by handpicked artists like Bad Company and the Pretty Things.
March 22, 1975
'Physical Graffiti,' a double album by Led Zeppelin, reaches #1 in its second week of release. It stays there for six weeks.
March 29, 1975
Led Zeppelin becomes the first band in history to have 6 albums on the chart at once: 'Physical Graffiti' (#1), 'Led Zeppelin IV', 'House of the Holy', 'Led Zeppelin II', 'Led Zeppelin', and 'Led Zeppelin III'.
May 17, 1975
Led Zeppelin hits #38 with "Trampled Under Foot".
August 5, 1975
Robert Plant and his wife are injured in a car crash while vacationing in Greece.
October 20, 1976
Led Zeppelin’s concert documentary, The Song Remains the Same,' premieres in New York.
September 7, 1979
Led Zeppelin's last studio album 'In Through the Out Door' enters the British charts at Number One.
September 8, 1979
'In Through the Out Door,' Led Zeppelin's first album of new material in over three years, is released. Topping the chart for seven weeks, it turns out to be their swan song.
September 14, 1979
Led Zeppelin's 'In Through the Out Door' begins its seven-week run at Number One on the US charts.
February 16, 1980
Led Zeppelin hits #21 with "Fool In the Rain."
September 25, 1980
John Bonham, drummer for Led Zeppelin, dies of asphyxiation in his sleep after having consumed "40 measures of vodka."
December 4, 1980
Led Zeppelin releases a statement announcing that it is disbanding in the wake of drummer John Bonham's death.
July 13, 1985
Led Zeppelin re-forms (with Phil Collins replacing the late John Bonham on drums) for the Live Aid benefit concert in Philadelphia.
May 14, 1988
Led Zeppelin reunites, with drummer Jason Bonham (the late John Bonham's son), to perform a few songs at Atlantic Records' 40th anniversary concert at New York's Madison Square Garden.
November 13, 1990
'Led Zeppelin,' a four-CD and six-LP box set, is released. Reaching #18 on the album chart, it will sell over one million copies, making it the best-selling box set in rock and roll history.
September 11, 1993
'Led Zeppelin – The Complete Studio Records,' a ten-CD box set, is released.
October 12, 1994
The live documentary 'Unledded,' which reunites Robert Plant and Jimmy Page onstage, airs on MTV. It features four live acoustic versions of Led Zeppelin favorites and eight new Page-Plant collaborations.
November 26, 1994
'No Quarter,' by Led Zeppelin mainstays Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, enters the album chart at #4.
January 12, 1995
Led Zeppelin is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the tenth annual induction dinner. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith are their presenters.
November 18, 1997
'Led Zeppelin: BBC Sessions,' a double CD of archival live performances on British radio from 1969-71, is released.
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