“Led Zeppelin”, the debut album by the English band of the same name, was released in the United States on January 12, 1969, having been recorded over nine days September and October 1968. It features Robert Plant on lead vocals, Jimmy Page on acoustic and electric guitars, John Paul Jones on bass guitar, and John Bonham on drums. This lineup of musicians was never equaled in their skill or execution. They would become one of the most famous hard rock bands ever formed, and they would continue to generate emulators for decades after they ended as a group.
The origin of Led Zeppelin begins in the ashes of English band The Yardbirds. That group was originally a blues-oriented five-piece unit formed in 1963 by vocalist Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja and initial lead guitarist Anthony “Top” Topham. Topham's replacement, Eric Clapton, ushered in a string of notable blues songs by the band and American number six hit “For Your Love”. Prior to Clapton's leaving to join John Mayall's Blues Breakers, he recommended his friend Page to replace him, but Page was enjoying a lucrative session musician career. In his stead, Page recommended his friend Jeff Beck as Clapton's replacement.
Beck went on to be the lead guitarist during the group's heyday from 1965 until 1967. They had begun experimenting with their sound to include psychedelic music such as the singles “Shapes of Things” and “Over, Under, Sideways Down”, both of which were in the American Top Twenty Singles charts. When Samwell-Smith left the band in 1966, Page agreed to join as a bassist until Dreja could assume that role himself. Their next single, “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago”, featured Beck and Page on lead guitar and session bassist Jones. After he left to form The Jeff Beck Group, bassist Page moved over to lead guitar. The band's manager, former professional wrestler Peter Grant, was to be Page's executive producer for his future musical goals beyond The Yardbirds. When that band came apart in 1968, he was the catalyst for the creation of Page's next endeavor, which was to create a band with a much heavier approach to rock music than had been The Yardbirds' output.
Originally, Terry Reid, an English rock solo artist was asked to join what was being called The New Yardbirds. He was not interested, but recommended his friend, Plant, be given the opportunity to audition. Plant himself suggested his friend, Bonham, be given the opportunity to try out for the band's drummer. Jones volunteered to be the group's bassist upon learning of the departure of Dreja to pursue a photography career.
When the band began rehearsing, all believed theirs was a unique lineup. Page and Grant paid for the ensuing recording of the debut themselves, retaining control of the sonics and arrangements. Page's boyhood chum, Glyn Johns, who was by that time a respected sound engineer, was brought in to capture the proceedings. In his autobiography, “Sound Man”, Johns recounts the nine days of recording that initial album as a “landmark in rock and roll history”.
“The sound they created, the arrangements they came up with, and the standard of musicianship were equally astonishing,” Johns says.
Probably the most incredible aspect of “Led Zeppelin” is how much it stands apart from all the other recordings released at that time. Bonham's incredibly smooth but heavy drumming set the bar higher than anyone before him. Just listening to the bass drum triplets on “Good Times, Bad Times” or the gargantuan groove and drum fills of “How Many More Times” still makes my hair stand on end. The tone of Jones's bass and his note choices are impeccable. Plant, who turned 20 around the time of the recording, performs unlike anyone before or since, alternately oozing the blues or singing at the top register of his vocal range. Page reinvented rock guitar with that record, playing both acoustic and electric guitar with passion and vivid aural color. Listen to the album today to hear how masterful it remains over 55 years after its release.
(c)2024, 2025 Alex McGill
Zep was one cool band, for sure. I was joking with Tracy and I said a new startup band should name themselves, "Zed Leppelin! LOL