First Led Zeppelin Stories

[Older than Dirt]

Imho.........you deserve front row tickets to the 12.10 concert if i had any say....but darn i do not

Thank you. At today's prices I couldn't afford to fly and stay in London anyway. I'm medically retired from work because of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). I guess Led was not the only thing that left a mark on me. LOL

-OtD

[Older than Dirt]

What you said.

Thank you to you also!

-OtD

[eternal light]

Ah.... this takes me back...

I was a Combat Marine in Vietnam (1969-70), I was 18. My platoon was a re-enforcement unit for a week or two so we had alot of time on our hands. I was listening to AFVN (Armed Forces Radio Vietnam) on my transistor radio, this band came on playing a song with the main lyric being 'Whole lotta Love', however my battery crapped out before I got the bands name. I was so rocked by these guys I had to find out who they were!

I, later had a chance to go to a large PX in Da Nang. Music was EVERYTHING to us, it kept us sorta sane. Anyway, I asked one of the people in the music section about the song. He said it was done by a band called Led Zepplin. There was only one LZII album left, I bought it without question, I had nothing to play it on. Kinda hard to carry a phonograph in the bush. I treated it like a precious jewel. I finally got some duty at a base near Da Nang, a Medical Center, and was able to listen to the whole Album, I was totally blown away!

My only regret is that I never got to see them in Concert. I did see Robert Plant when he was promoting Now and Zen, Jimmy page wasn't with him, this was years after Bonzo died...

I really hope they do a live CD/DVD from the concerts in London in November and December.

I did buy the Collecters addition of Mothership, the DVD is amazing!

-OtD

Thank God for radio!

I first heard Led Zeppelin doing Whole Lotta Love live in concert on August 2, 1969.

It was the first time I had ever heard the song before I bought the album, which was about to be released. It was also the first time I ever saw Led Zeppelin live.

Robert Plant looked the same as in the opening shot of this video where he is holding the microphone singing the opening line.

The video does not do the concert justice but it's what we have left.

Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin

[DreamyKnight]

Maybe it was a friend who recommended you to listen

or maybe you heard them on the radio.

or maybe you feel guilty that Stairway lured you in

or maybe they were just always there

So when did you first start listening to the band and how were you led down the Led Zeppelin path?

Personally, I'm from the "younger" generation of listeners that didn't get a chance to experience the band as they unfolded.

When I was in high school, I recall hearing a song on some classic rock radio station and I didn't know what it was.

I tried asking my parents because they were certainly conscious in the late 60s-70s.

I think my description was a little like this:

"It's got this awesome guitar riff and a singer that sounded like he was shouting his head off. First the singer belts out a few words with echoes and then the guitar erupts and then calms down again, and then they do it again and again until the guitar solo at the end that just kind of plays on until oblivion"

My parents weren't really sure. They gave me a few names to look up like Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Led Zeppelin.

So I found myself in a store with a bunch of tab books and I started searching them for song titles that matched lyrics of the song.

I looked for songs called "Hey Hey Momma", "Big Legged Woman", and even some of the weird inaudibles coming out of the singer's mouth!

I think at this point I was pretty sure it was some band called "Led Zeppelin". It sounded so exotic and I just wanted to know which song it was so I could buy the CD.

I had no luck while looking by title, so I started trying to match the actual lyrics.

I was looking for lines about making women sweat and sting and eyes burning red, and eventually I found it.

It was that day that I bought "IV", and if you haven't guessed the song title then you probably need to listen to more Led Zeppelin before you have a story about them!

After buying that album, it was only a matter of time before I would realize just how special these guys are. And not much later after that I would get a guitar and actually use the tab book.

So what about you guys? What are your Zeppelin firsts and how did you get attracted to the group?

I'd heard and fell in love with this tune on AM radio in the states when I was still playing with Hot Wheels toys called...Dya Mker...spelling? had no clue who played it....for years and years this tune would come on the radio and everytime it just stopped time.

Later on as we were in the middle of the twilight zone crossing over from the Beach Boys to the hard rock of Ted Nugent....I actually traded a physical graffiti album for an alice cooper album not knowing that Zeppelin had also done Dyre maker-spelling? That same summer the two dots connected...and that was it.

Been head over heals addicted to zeppelin ever since. I'm getting older now and concert going has become burdensome and too expensive, but Zeppelin is still Number one! All because of that one tune played on AM radio....who woulda thunk, Zeppelin on AM radio...if not for that tune I'd probebly be a Beach Boy virtuoso.

[Older than Dirt]

Thank God for radio!

I first heard Led Zeppelin doing Whole Lotta Love live in concert on August 2, 1969.

It was the first time I had ever heard the song before I bought the album, which was about to be released. It was also the first time I ever saw Led Zeppelin live.

Robert Plant looked the same as in the opening shot of this video where he is holding the microphone singing the opening line.

The video does not do the concert justice but it's what we have left.

Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin

Thanks man, appreciated for sure!

-OtD

[Dakota]

Well , it all began in the mid 70's when some rock lovin' parents were playing some "Stairway" on the radio . It happen to be heard by a 5 year old impressionable little boy . This planted (no pun intended) the seed . Jump forward to the late 80's , where that same boy , who has now grown into a complete hunk (in his mind , anyways) , has bought a bunch of tapes off his sister . One of those tapes was Zeppelin IV . The seed has now started to grow , and also , Robert Plant is really starting to become popular with "Tall Cool One" . Now , move ahead 3 years to when the boy has become a man at 19 years old . He has moved out of the house , and is on his own in the tourist trap of Banff , Alberta , Canada , and is working with people from all over the country . A group of girls comes out from the east coast , one who already is a major Zepp Head . This young man hangs out for the summer with these girls and gets to hear alot of Zeppelin . The seed has really started to bloom . The young man goes down to the local tape store and starts to buy the Zepp albums , one at a time . Most of the music the man is listening to at this time is hard rock/heavy metal . The local radio station then changes their format , and starts playing harder and older rock , which includes a double shot of Zeppelin each day at the same time (can't remember the time , I think it was about 8:00pm) . The man is totally into Zeppelin now , and listens on a very regular basis . A couple of years pass , and he gets married , and is starting to settle down . He discovers Robert Plant's solo stuff , and finds it really suits his style . The music of both have found a home with this man , that won't soon go away . Its a good fit in his life . And all is good!

[guitarmy]

MSG,

Thanks as always.

I love these stories. Old or new I love to see the amazement when someone gets bit.

I am particularly fascinated with the younger gen adopting the majesty of the Zep. I always wonder if it's nostalgia trip (y'know pining for the '70's) or is it true musical attachment?

Not questioning their sincerity, just curious about the nature of their attraction.

It's the music for me. I don't know much about the 70s except for it being Led Zeppelin territory.

[dragster]

It was the early 70s and Graham a mate of mine came into the recreation room at school and dropped a cassette onto the desk in front of me......it was Zep's debut album taped majestically (for those times!!). The rest is history.

[ZEPPHAN]

Thanks for the post! Here's my influence;

I was a late bloomer for some reason when it came to really getting into Zeppelin. In fact I was first absolutely blown away by them when I was 18ish. I had come home from a house party-having indulged in a few "pints". I turned my stereo on and was blown away by a song which began with an acoustic guitar sounding ballad with some kind of orchestra sounding backing. The song gradually building into this achingly beautiful medley before busting open into one of the most spine tingling/shivering songs I had ever heard. When the song ended I remember taking my headphones off and lying thee a minute or so comtemplating what I had just heard. I had no idea who the group was or the name of the song I had just heard. I wrote down some of the lyrics quickly found out that it was the Rain Song by Led Zeppelin. This one song was my inspiration to become an absolutely fanatical fan of the band. I went out the next day and bought all of the first 5 albums. 26 years later I still shiver when I hear it. I laugh now because my dad could not stand them. I still have a poster hanging on my wall dated 1978. It is about 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Some of you may remember this poster. I was playing The Rain Song one day and my dad who was a classical music library in his own right, came into my room and said it's about time you started listening to some good music. I pointed to my poster on the wall and said thats who you are listening to. He said that's him (pointing to the poster and my speakers). I said yes it is. Nevermind he said and walked out. No one song I have heard since created the monster that The Rain Song did.

[dragster]

Welcome here Zepphan!!

[SunChild]

From 65 ‘til about 68 pop music and AM radio really exploded. You had all this old pop music, mixed with 50’s rock’n’roll, mixed with sappy love songs, mixed with the Motown greats Otis Redding, mixed with visionary stuff like Hendrix and Sgt. Peppers era Beatles.

Wonderful post, thank you. The bit above made me just go, wow! That's the truth, everything was everywhere, a time like no other.

Literally if it weren't for all that amazing music on the radio, AM in the 60s and FM in the 70s, I don't think I'd have survived what was not a very happy childhood. Rock was an oasis in a strange, difficult time, even in society at large.

Zeppelin seems like they all had that sort of experience of music in their own lives, each one of them. And it came out in the music they made. So great.

Fantastic stories, everyone!

[Hotplant]

Well, I first heard them on radio, and ran out to get the first album ( which I still have).

From then on we were Zepheads, all my friends.

Mother screaming: TURN down that shit!

Yet, in my time of need she drove me to LA for their last forum show/s.

[MadScreamingGallery]

MSG,

Thanks as always.

I love these stories. Old or new I love to see the amazement when someone gets bit.

I am particularly fascinated with the younger gen adopting the majesty of the Zep. I always wonder if it's nostalgia trip (y'know pining for the '70's) or is it true musical attachment?

Not questioning their sincerity, just curious about the nature of their attraction.

You're welcome.

I love hearing the stories of the younger gen. I personally believe that it is true musical attachment.

Wonderful post, thank you. The bit above made me just go, wow! That's the truth, everything was everywhere, a time like no other.

Literally if it weren't for all that amazing music on the radio, AM in the 60s and FM in the 70s, I don't think I'd have survived what was not a very happy childhood. Rock was an oasis in a strange, difficult time, even in society at large.

Zeppelin seems like they all had that sort of experience of music in their own lives, each one of them. And it came out in the music they made. So great.

Fantastic stories, everyone!

Aww, Sunchild. Same here. I think that, as in our own situations, rock is still an oasis for many kids. May it always be so. It saved my life.

[Coda.]

As a young child(8) I used to go to a local Pizza shop with my mom and Dad once in awhile, Now my parents were the type that saw Zep at the Fiilmore east and Huge Beatle Fans. There was a Juke Box at this pizza place and I ised to get to pick songs after my dad played his few, It Had Fool in the rain and Hot Dog on it and I would play Hot Dog everytime we went, Why? No Idea it stood out to me, I did not really know Zep, I mean I knew some of their songs prob, but I could not name them. But that song Hot Dog was My first "Known" exposure to Zep and self induced. I played those songs on that juke over and over every time I went there, I would go there just to play them. But for Me It was Hot Dog.

[Evster2012]

I was sitting in class in 5th grade. I was 10. It was 1976. My teacher had let me do a presentation on KISS. That allowed me to play their records with headphones while the other kids were at P.E. I remember it distinctly. Darin Senn saw my KISS record and said "KISS sucks. You should check out Zeppelin!". The next day, he brought with him a brand spanking new copy of TSRTS. He let me take it home. His older brother wasn't pleased that his album was in the hands of someone he didn't even know. I was hooked instantly. I begged my dad to take me to Hollywood, where the movie was playing on Sunset Blvd. This was way before the midnight movies I'd spend endless weekend nights later on. To make a long story short, by my next birthday, my dad ordered the entire Zeppelin catalog from Atlantic as my present. My whole life has had Zeppelin as its soundtrack. 31 years later, nothing has changed.

[drvmustangs]

I was exposed to Led Zeppelin very early. My older half brother started me off when I was Approximately at 2 years of age. In 1970. And I still swear I listen to any song anytime and it sounds as fresh as when it was recorded.

[Popeyedrums]

thank you all for these stories, this is a great thread.

I was lucky to have "hip" parents. My dad had a killer stereo all his life so music was always part of my life. When I was 4 or 5, my parents got me and my older brother a different KISS album ( yes, I said album) because they figured we would like them because of the make up. I instantly became a KISS fanatic like most kids in the 70's. We used to crank our KISS albums and invite our friends over and pretend we were KISS. As i got older 4th, 5th and 6th grade I found out about ZEP through my cousin and other kids at school. I was initially "afraid" of ZEP because all the "hoods" at school listened to them and i thought it was drug music. That all changed when I took up the drums. A few guys on my baseball team were in a band and they played a bunch of ZEP songs. I was so jealous of their band. One day the lead guitar player's mom dropped me off after practice and he asked to see my drum kit. I played to a KISS song for him and he flipped out. The next day at practice the guys in the band secretly asked me to play drums for them when their current drummer was up at bat. The only caveat was that I had to learn the ZEP songs. I got all the ZEP albums that I could from my cousin and I sat down to learn the songs. I was hooked. I admittedly had to fudge some of the drum parts because I was not that proficient yet, but I was able to mimic the Bonham beat ( without the ghost notes on the snare) and the famous Bonham drum fills enough to satisfy the band. From that day on I was all about trying to play like Bonzo and Zep became one of my favorite bands. Because I had to listen to their songs through head phones so I could pick up the drums parts, I was able to appreciate all the sublte nuances in their songs that you sometimes cannot hear through the speakers - and I mean the things played by all of them.

One of the big reasons why cover versions of ZEP songs sound so different is because Bonham played subtle notes on the snare in between hitting the kick and snare beats that added to the atmosphere of the song and gave the songs a fluid feeling. It is hard to explain but what i mean is he did not just play primitive beats like his sound intimated.

peace!

Pop I

[lillian]

Maybe it was a friend who recommended you to listen

or maybe you heard them on the radio.

or maybe you feel guilty that Stairway lured you in

or maybe they were just always there

So when did you first start listening to the band and how were you led down the Led Zeppelin path?

Personally, I'm from the "younger" generation of listeners that didn't get a chance to experience the band as they unfolded.

When I was in high school, I recall hearing a song on some classic rock radio station and I didn't know what it was.

I tried asking my parents because they were certainly conscious in the late 60s-70s.

I think my description was a little like this:

"It's got this awesome guitar riff and a singer that sounded like he was shouting his head off. First the singer belts out a few words with echoes and then the guitar erupts and then calms down again, and then they do it again and again until the guitar solo at the end that just kind of plays on until oblivion"

My parents weren't really sure. They gave me a few names to look up like Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Led Zeppelin.

So I found myself in a store with a bunch of tab books and I started searching them for song titles that matched lyrics of the song.

I looked for songs called "Hey Hey Momma", "Big Legged Woman", and even some of the weird inaudibles coming out of the singer's mouth!

I think at this point I was pretty sure it was some band called "Led Zeppelin". It sounded so exotic and I just wanted to know which song it was so I could buy the CD.

I had no luck while looking by title, so I started trying to match the actual lyrics.

I was looking for lines about making women sweat and sting and eyes burning red, and eventually I found it.

It was that day that I bought "IV", and if you haven't guessed the song title then you probably need to listen to more Led Zeppelin before you have a story about them!

After buying that album, it was only a matter of time before I would realize just how special these guys are. And not much later after that I would get a guitar and actually use the tab book.

So what about you guys? What are your Zeppelin firsts and how did you get attracted to the group?

I was 13 years old and went to see Song Remains the Same when it came out in 1976, so you can guess how ancient I am, and Iwas mezmerized by the music and the four men on screen playing this music, I do remember thinking which one is Led Zeppelin? I then went to a local bookstore in San Diego, and there was a book called Led Zep by Ritchie York and I had to buy it and read the whole thing in two days! I went out and bought all their albums (they were vinyl at the time) and couldn't get enough of the diversity in the music, from Black Dog to That's the Way, how diverse can you get?

I have been an admirer since then and will probably be buried with their music playing in the background!

[Jonesy]

First time I heard of them was in the mid 80's, my friends brother had all the tapes, I had no interest.

90-91, my friend who was a few years older got into zeppelin and it started to sink in.

The moment it hit me:

At a friends dorm room, we had on zeppelin 2....my life was changed.

[BettyPage]

It has been a little more than a year since the first time i heard Zeppelin. I'm 20, and i come from a family that has no musical interests at all. I've been a little rocker all my life, even as i had no friends who i could share it with, and my family wasn't supporting me or helping me through at all. I discovered the little music i could through this past 19 years from one random event to another. And my discovery of led zep is the perfect example. while zapping, i came across a station i never watch, which broadcasts only very old movies and series, and they were showing "the song remains the same". I stopped there, all astouned and with my jaw to the floor. i'd never heard rock n roll like that before. i remember thinking to myself: "now THAT is what music sounds like".

It changed my life, i tell you. i dropped law school, started my professional musician carreer and now i have a lot of musician friends to help me on my rockin and introduce me to all this amazing music, i dont have to rock solo anymore!!!

i worship led zeppelin, for all they were, they are and what they mean to me.

(yeah, a pretty hardcore fan, for only one year huh!?)

[Ramci]

Well well.

Before LZ the music i listened were Frank Zappa, heavy metal and suprisingly gamemusic. At the end of upper secondary school (about 3 years ago), i stumbled upon yet another songs backwards - site. It was done well in flash so i gave it a go.

I checked most of the songs and then i ended on STH - it played that "If there's a bustle.." part. I thought 'Man this sounds weird. What is this band?' and i remembered that my friend has some LZ albums. He wasn't so eager to lend LZ (more of a FZ fan) but he burned me the 4th anyways.

Being a metalhead, i had to play it several times before i got used to it and several more times to get into it. In the end, 4th album turned me from heavy to rock: In the end, i liked folk. I liked the soft and more subtle touch of blues. Hell, the opening song Black Dog just shooked me, just imagine the suprise when after that quiet wahwah - beginning Plant comes in! What an classic album, ranging from rock to folk to trippyhippy.

--

Next 3 years got me more and more into Zeppelin. I got into their live and studio - stuff after the discovery of Swan Song - clip at the Electric Magic site. I found the song beautifull and i looked around that where it has been published, to find out that in fact it has never been. I found out that some album called BA had it and so... . . .

Funny how small the world is.

[Chrestus]

It has been a little more than a year since the first time i heard Zeppelin. I'm 20, and i come from a family that has no musical interests at all. I've been a little rocker all my life, even as i had no friends who i could share it with, and my family wasn't supporting me or helping me through at all. I discovered the little music i could through this past 19 years from one random event to another. And my discovery of led zep is the perfect example. while zapping, i came across a station i never watch, which broadcasts only very old movies and series, and they were showing "the song remains the same". I stopped there, all astouned and with my jaw to the floor. i'd never heard rock n roll like that before. i remember thinking to myself: "now THAT is what music sounds like".

It changed my life, i tell you. i dropped law school, started my professional musician carreer and now i have a lot of musician friends to help me on my rockin and introduce me to all this amazing music, i dont have to rock solo anymore!!!

i worship led zeppelin, for all they were, they are and what they mean to me.

(yeah, a pretty hardcore fan, for only one year huh!?)

We're your friends now, Betty.

Do you have all the albums or are you still discovering?

[BettyPage]

We're your friends now, Betty.

Do you have all the albums or are you still discovering?

haha well, i was hooked quite fast, i bought the dvd of the movie and "IV" right away, then a couple weeks later, i bought I, II and III, then a few months later i bought houses of the holy and physical graffiti and just a couple months ago i got in through the out door, presence and Coda. well, i bought led zeppelin with every bunch of pesos i could gather.

oh and i just got mothership. I'm still trying to get the Led Zeppelin DVD and How The West Was Won. I'd be quite happy then

thanks for being my friends!!! (L)

[SunChild]

You're welcome.

I love hearing the stories of the younger gen. I personally believe that it is true musical attachment.

Aww, Sunchild. Same here. I think that, as in our own situations, rock is still an oasis for many kids. May it always be so. It saved my life.

{{{{ Miss Gallery }}}}

Reading BUK's post brought to mind this memory of sitting in the back seat of the family '68 Chevy Impala (427!), out numbered by boys, in a miasma of dysfunction, listening to Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - and against all odds, being quite happy. The sun was shining, my Dad the machinist did love that car, the music was great, my older bro' was into rock 'n roll going back to the '50s and took care to share it with me - life could be good!

& Amen, may it always be so...

[SunChild]

It has been a little more than a year since the first time i heard Zeppelin. I'm 20, and i come from a family that has no musical interests at all. I've been a little rocker all my life, even as i had no friends who i could share it with, and my family wasn't supporting me or helping me through at all. I discovered the little music i could through this past 19 years from one random event to another. And my discovery of led zep is the perfect example. while zapping, i came across a station i never watch, which broadcasts only very old movies and series, and they were showing "the song remains the same". I stopped there, all astouned and with my jaw to the floor. i'd never heard rock n roll like that before. i remember thinking to myself: "now THAT is what music sounds like".

It changed my life, i tell you. i dropped law school, started my professional musician carreer and now i have a lot of musician friends to help me on my rockin and introduce me to all this amazing music, i dont have to rock solo anymore!!!

i worship led zeppelin, for all they were, they are and what they mean to me.

(yeah, a pretty hardcore fan, for only one year huh!?)

That's a wonderful story. So cool that you pursued your path even on your own!

It's not the length of time, it's the quality of appreciation! How much bigger fan can someone by than becoming a musician on the strength of loving 'em?