Is it true that Keith Moon named Led Zeppelin?

[icantquityoubabe]

I have read-cant remember where-that Keith Moon actually came up with the name Led Zeppelin and they latched on to it. Does anyone want to agree or disagree with this? Might have been in Hammer Of the Gods but cant remember.

[shambolic]

I agree, but I read it from the "Stairway to Heaven" book that said Richard Cole told Jimmy about what Moon had said. It says that the name stuck in Jimmy's mind and he changed the spelling from lead to led avoiding mispronunciation.

[Otto Masson]

Well, it might be true. The thing is, John Entwistle also claimed he came up with the name if I remember correctly (and the original source for this story is not Richard Cole). That idea for a bandname was aired on the 'Beck's Bolero' sessions, and Jimmy still remembered a couple of years or so later....

By the way, there is a thread here on 'Beck's Bolero'. Here

[zepyep]

Hi all,

Led Zeppelin: The Concert Files

After rejecting Whoopee Cushion and Mad Dogs,Page recalled a phrase Keith Moon had used a couple years earlier when there had been a vague plan to form a new group out of the sessions with Jeff Beck for 'Beck's Bolero.'

"Moon's joke was about going down like a lead zeppelin," recalls Grant. "In the circumstaces the name seemed perfect.I got rid of the 'A'.I was doodling in the office and it just looked better and I also didn't want any confusion over the pronunciation in America."

KB

[Otto Masson]

Well, I looked it up in Ritchie Yorke's Led Zeppelin: The Definitive Biography. There is this quote from Jimmy Page:

'We were sitting there kicking around group names and I suddenly remembered a name Keith Moon had come up with some months earlier. This goes right back to the days when Simon Napier-Bell, who was managing the Yardies, was trying to get solo discs from each member. Jeff Beck and I were collaborating and in those days with these solo diversions it seemed we should use other musicians. So there was Keith Moon, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins on piano, myslef on twelve-string guitar and Jeff. We were doing 'Beck's Bolero'. After that session Keith Moon was really fired up - and I don't blame him - and he said, 'We must get a band together - how about it?' He was fed up with The Who at the time, and he wanted to take the Ox - John Entwhistle - with him, with Jeff, myself, and all the rest of us. It didn't happen because we couldn't find the right vocalist. But Keith's name for the band, Led Zeppelin, stuck in my mind.' (p. 69).

And there is a quote from Jonesy supporting this (p. 70). However, when you go on you read this:

'That's the official version of events. However, John Entwhistle, bass player with The Who and a budding solo star in his own right, swears that he thought up the name. 'There were several occasions during The Who's career when both Keith Moon and myself were going to leave the band,' Entwhistle claimed. 'Once when we were in New York, I sat down with Keith and our chauffeur at the time, a guy called Richard Cole, and tried to come up with possible names for the new band we planned to form. That's when I flashed on Led Zeppelin. I also came up with the idea for a first album jacket with a Zeppelin going down in flames. The reasons behind it are quite simple. In those days it was a favourite line among British rock bands. 'How did you go?' one group asked another, 'Cor, we went down like a lead zeppelin,' they would reply. Not long afterwards, the chauffeur Richard Cole went to work for Jimmy Page and Peter Grant and he must have told them the idea. But I was definitely the one who first thought of it. Later on Keith Moon claimed that he came up with it, which made me very angry. When I heard that Jimmy Page was going to use it, I was a bit pissed off about it. Later on, I didn't care that much: after all they became an institution.' (Ibid., p. 70).

So there you have it.

[JimmyPageZoSo56]

I wouldn't say he named Zeppelin, but I would say he gets credit for the joke he made about the band.

[Larry Badgely]

It was Moon I believe who said This will go over like a lead balloon.

[SteveAJones]

It was Moon I believe who said This will go over like a lead balloon.

And it was PETER GRANT who changed the spelling to avoid mispronounciation in the American market. Jimmy concurred with the change, saying "Yes, it has more punch".

[pinky]

keith moon was rehearsing with the new yardbirds (led zeppelin) when page said something that was either about the tour or the name of the band when moon replied "yeah that'll go over like a lead zeppelin".

[tyedye]

Well, I looked it up in Ritchie Yorke's Led Zeppelin: The Definitive Biography. There is this quote from Jimmy Page:

'We were sitting there kicking around group names and I suddenly remembered a name Keith Moon had come up with some months earlier. This goes right back to the days when Simon Napier-Bell, who was managing the Yardies, was trying to get solo discs from each member. Jeff Beck and I were collaborating and in those days with these solo diversions it seemed we should use other musicians. So there was Keith Moon, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins on piano, myslef on twelve-string guitar and Jeff. We were doing 'Beck's Bolero'. After that session Keith Moon was really fired up - and I don't blame him - and he said, 'We must get a band together - how about it?' He was fed up with The Who at the time, and he wanted to take the Ox - John Entwhistle - with him, with Jeff, myself, and all the rest of us. It didn't happen because we couldn't find the right vocalist. But Keith's name for the band, Led Zeppelin, stuck in my mind.' (p. 69).

And there is a quote from Jonesy supporting this (p. 70). However, when you go on you read this:

'That's the official version of events. However, John Entwhistle, bass player with The Who and a budding solo star in his own right, swears that he thought up the name. 'There were several occasions during The Who's career when both Keith Moon and myself were going to leave the band,' Entwhistle claimed. 'Once when we were in New York, I sat down with Keith and our chauffeur at the time, a guy called Richard Cole, and tried to come up with possible names for the new band we planned to form. That's when I flashed on Led Zeppelin. I also came up with the idea for a first album jacket with a Zeppelin going down in flames. The reasons behind it are quite simple. In those days it was a favourite line among British rock bands. 'How did you go?' one group asked another, 'Cor, we went down like a lead zeppelin,' they would reply. Not long afterwards, the chauffeur Richard Cole went to work for Jimmy Page and Peter Grant and he must have told them the idea. But I was definitely the one who first thought of it. Later on Keith Moon claimed that he came up with it, which made me very angry. When I heard that Jimmy Page was going to use it, I was a bit pissed off about it. Later on, I didn't care that much: after all they became an institution.' (Ibid., p. 70).

So there you have it.

Great source.

I love what JP said too that they could have been named the vegetables or the potatoes.

Of course I am paraphrasing.

[angylad]

I agree, but I read it from the "Stairway to Heaven" book that said Richard Cole told Jimmy about what Moon had said. It says that the name stuck in Jimmy's mind and he changed the spelling from lead to led avoiding mispronunciation.

they only changed it from lead to led to stop the americans getting confused, [no insult intended]

[SteveAJones]

they only changed it from lead to led to stop the americans getting confused, [no insult intended]

More specifically, Peter Grant changed it from Lead to Led and Jimmy concurred with

the change, saying "yes, it has much more punch". The change was made to prevent

mispronounciation in the American market, but that is not to say it would not have

been mispronounced in other markets.

[croquet'n'cocaine]

The change was made to prevent mispronounciation in the American market, but that is not to say it would not have been mispronounced in other markets.

Yeah, I never get why it's constantly the Americans that are singled out there! It would be a problem for anyone that speaks English, wouldn't it? (And even worse for those that don't.)

There's also a story about the film "The Madness Of King George" which claims that the original title of the play ("The Madness Of George III") was changed because Americans would think it was a sequel to "The Madness Of George" and "The Madness Of George II". But that's not true either. It was changed so that people (everywhere) would know it was about a king.

Also, why doesn't the town of Reading in Berkshire change its name to Redding in Barksher to stop American tourists getting confused?

[SteveAJones]

Also, why doesn't the town of Reading in Berkshire change its name to Redding in Barksher to stop American tourists getting confused?

Well, they're not a rock and roll group whose popularity is predominantly going to be

determined by word of mouth. They won't mind being mispronounced so long as the

tourists spend their money there.

[croquet'n'cocaine]

Well, they're not a rock and roll group whose popularity is predominantly going to be

determined by word of mouth.

Must be a lot of confused literature fans at the Reading Festival each year though.

[SteveAJones]

Must be a lot of confused literature fans at the Reading Festival each year though.

Having attended Jimmy's performance at the 1998 Reading Festival I can tell you

there wasn't much reading to be found there. Nor bathing for that matter.

[Legacy01]

Well, they're not a rock and roll group whose popularity is predominantly going to be

determined by word of mouth. They won't mind being mispronounced so long as the

tourists spend their money there.

Also Led Zeppelin wanted to impress the American audience, Peter Grant and Jimmy Page knew thats where the money was.

Thats why they played more gigs and tours in the US than in the UK.

Though it's true Peter Grant changed the name from Lead to Led, so he wouldn't confuse the US fans into thinking it was lead as in ahead.

[LedAndyZoSo]

it's true

After Jimmy Page revealed his plans on the New yardbirds

keith moon said they'd go down like a lead zeppelin

so they took the a out of lead so it would be pronounced correctly

[Alice]

Was it the band will go down like a lead zeppelin or balloon?

[Legacy01]

lead balloon.

[dragster]

I don't know if it's true or not, but I can just picture Keith doing all this!!

[docron]

how many times can you really post the same thing?

[Tangerine68]

keith moon was rehearsing with the new yardbirds (led zeppelin) when page said something that was either about the tour or the name of the band when moon replied "yeah that'll go over like a lead zeppelin".

they say that it was either john entwhistle or kieth moon of the who that were joking about starting a band and they said "that will fall like a lead zeppelin." so page stuck with it and shortened it to "led" so people wouldn't pronounce it "leed"

[Otto Masson]

There actually are answers to the topic question on the first page of the thread.

[Gainsbarre]

It was Moon I believe who said This will go over like a lead balloon.

Yeah, to which, I read, that John Entwistle said "No, man, like a Lead Zeppelin!"

I guess we'll never really know exactly who came up with it