Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, and are one of the most successful such groups in popular music history. more...

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Led Zeppelin consisted of four men: Jimmy Page (guitar), Robert Plant (lead vocals, harmonica), John Bonham (drums), and John Paul Jones (bass guitar, keyboards and mandolin).

Formed in 1968, Led Zeppelin were innovators who never lost mainstream appeal. While the band is perhaps best known as pioneers of hard rock and heavy metal, they also drew inspiration from many other musical genres, including blues, rockabilly, reggae, soul, funk, jazz, classical, Celtic, Indian, Arabic, folk, pop, Latin and country.

Over 25 years after disbanding in response to Bonham's 1980 death, Led Zeppelin continues to be held in high regard for their artistic achievements, commercial success, and broad influence. To date, the group is reported to have sold more than 300 million albums worldwide, including 109.5 million sales in the United States. Led Zeppelin is ranked No. 1 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest artists of hard rock.

History

The early days (1968-1970)

The "New Yardbirds"

The beginnings of Led Zeppelin can be traced back to the rock band The Yardbirds. Page joined in 1966 to play bass guitar after bassist Paul Samwell-Smith left the group. Shortly after, Page switched from bass to lead guitar creating a dual-lead guitar lineup with Jeff Beck and Chris Dreja moved from rhythm guitar to bass. Following the departure of Jeff Beck in October 1966, The Yardbirds, tired from constant touring and recording, were beginning to wind down. Page discussed forming a supergroup with himself and Beck on guitar, and The Who's Keith Moon and John Entwistle on drums and bass, respectively. Vocalists Donovan, Steve Winwood and Steve Marriott were also considered for the project. The group never formed, although Page, Beck and Moon did record a song together in 1966, "Beck's Bolero", which is featured on Beck's 1968 album, Truth. The recording session also included bassist John Paul Jones, who told Page that he would be interested in collaborating with him on future projects.

The Yardbirds played their final gig in July 1968, after which vocalist Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty left the band, wishing to pursue a shared interest in folk music. However, The Yardbirds were still committed to perform several concerts in Scandinavia, so McCarty and Relf authorised Page and Dreja to use the Yardbirds name to fulfil the band's obligations. Page and Dreja began putting a new line-up together. Page's first choice for lead singer, Terry Reid, declined the offer, but suggested Plant, a Birmingham scene singer he knew. Plant accepted the position, and also recommended Bonham from nearby Redditch who also played regularly in Birmingham bands. Plant and Bonham had recently played in the Band of Joy together. When Dreja opted out of the project to become a photographer — he would later take the photograph that appeared on the back of Led Zeppelin's debut album — Page contacted Jones about the empty position. Being familiar with his credentials, Jones agreed he would be the band's new bassist.

Read more at Wikipedia.org