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 are
headlining.
Led Zeppelin soon became a headliner in their own right. Within eight months of their
official debut, Led Zeppelin were at the top of the bill at the Playhouse Theater in
London, and the Pop Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London. On October 17, '69, a year
and two days from the bands conception, Led Zeppelin played in Carnegie Hall, ending a
ban on rock groups at the concert hall, originally caused by the Rolling Stones in 1965.
While playing in Denmark, Eva von Zeppelin, relative of the designer of the airship,
Ferdinand von Zeppelin, threatened to sue the band if they used the name in the country.
Led Zeppelin played under the alias The Nobs.
The first album Led Zeppelin climbed to #10 in the US and to #6 in the UK. Album two,
entitled Led Zeppelin 2, moved up to #1 in both the US and the UK, staying on the charts
for 98 in the States and an astounding 138 weeks in Britain.
Six straight #1 albums in either the US or the UK. Countless sellout concerts. Records
for box office drawings. Records for attendance. 51,000 tickets for 3 shows Earls
Court, London sell out in less than two hours. International fame. No other group had
ever become so popular in such a small period of time. Led Zeppelin was revolutionizing
music as they went. While most bands were shunned from playing a song different from it
sounds on the record, Led Zeppelin was free to roam in their music. It wasn't unusual to
hear a song that would be half-an-hour long, as opposed to its counterpart on the album,
which was only five minutes long. These lengthy jam sessions diguised as concerts gave
way to new ground being touched musically. Led Zeppelin introduced the world to the
music of black artists such as Muddy Watters, Otis Rush, Otis Redding, and Willie Dixon.
Pieces of songs from the 1930s were being worked into their own music, as in their covers
of Dixon's You Need Love, and Rush's Can't Quit You, and it was working. The blues riffs
incorporated into their own music later influenced bands heavily, and opened doors to new
tastes in music for the predominately American audience. The most significant thing
about Led Zeppelin's music today, is that it doesn't sound dated. The music seems
similar to music today. The lasting impression of their music is obvious, and can be
heard in any Rock band of today.
Unfortunately, the machine that was Led Zeppelin came to a screeching halt on the
morning of September 25, 1980. When band members decided to go into Bonham's bedroom to
pull a prank on him in his sleep, Bonham was found dead. After a night of heavy
drinking, Bonham had turned the wrong way in his sleep, and asphyxiated himself upon his
own vomit. A statement was released on December 4, 1980, stating that the band could not
go on in its present state. After 11 incredible years, the band could not function with
"the loss of our dear friend." Led Zeppelin had owned the 70s, and they were going to
finish their reign quietly, and let the throne open to the next "supergroup." As
suddenly as Led Zeppelin began, it had ended even more so. The giant had fallen.
"As it was, then again it will be,
Though the course may change sometimes,
Rivers always reach the sea."
-Ten Years Gone
Led Zeppelin
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