Led Zeppelin on Wikipedia

[Popeyedrums]

Hey everyone!

I was wondering if any of you have read Wikipedia's definitions for Led Zeppelin's songs. I realize that it is not 100% accurate, but I was reading some of the song definitions and there is a lot of good info on there.

For example, it noted how you can hear someone yell "stop" at a specific time in Out on the Tiles:

Out On the Tiles

some of the other cool notes are like when you can hear Bonham's kick drum pedal squeak in certain songs or how you can hear the phone ring during The Ocean.

Just wanted to share. May be old news for some but for newbies they may enjoy reading where some of the songs came from.

peace!

Pop I

[SilverVishnu]

It's generally an okay source, but some of the stuff (such as taking HotG as absolute fact) is way off. I noticed a couple of days ago this:

In 1973 Led Zeppelin's main choice of drug was cocaine, with Page, drummer John Bonham along with manager Peter Grant and tour manager Richard Cole, becoming regular users.

which seems very iffy to me. The first clause makes it sound like all of Zepp were cokeheads, and I've never seen any reliable info that Page or even Bonham became regular users of any hard drugs apart from opiates (alcohol + pot not included).

[Evster2012]

Hi,

I hate pointing out the obvious, but when you include in your own post that you're asking a "newbie" question, why post it in the Master Forum? Don't worry, I'm just sayin. I'm one of the nice guys, and I'm not one for flaming people. Especially with all the new blood on this new forum.

Wikipedia is a useful tool. The thing is, while they have people to verify what people add, those people aren't necessarily "experts" on the topic. Yes, there's a "stop" in OOTT. Yes, there's a squeaky bass drum pedal on SIBLY. However, if these are the incidentals that interest you, this would be a far more reliable resource than Wikipedia. Ask away! And welcome!

Oh, and Silver Vishnu, coke was huge at the time. I can post articles and personal reflections of friends who were there. Or, you could just take my word for it!

[SilverVishnu]

Oh, and Silver Vishnu, coke was huge at the time. I can post articles and personal reflections of friends who were there. Or, you could just take my word for it!

Of course, the long pinky fingernail was all the rage. My point is that it's unlikely cocaine had a big impact on any of the members' lives, and they weren't going to be snorting line after line every night.

[tyedye]

It's generally an okay source, but some of the stuff (such as taking HotG as absolute fact) is way off. I noticed a couple of days ago this:

In 1973 Led Zeppelin's main choice of drug was cocaine, with Page, drummer John Bonham along with manager Peter Grant and tour manager Richard Cole, becoming regular users.

which seems very iffy to me. The first clause makes it sound like all of Zepp were cokeheads, and I've never seen any reliable info that Page or even Bonham became regular users of any hard drugs apart from opiates (alcohol + pot not included).

For Your Life

Led Zeppelin

Well, well, oh, hoh, hoh

You said I was the only, with my lemon in your hand

Uh-oh, uh-oh-hoh

Exhibition is your habit, emotion second-hand

Uh-oh, uh-oh

Had to pull away to save me

Well, maybe next time around-a, oh

And she said

Don'tcha want, a-don'tcha want cocaine, cocaine, cocaine

Hadn't planned to, could not stand'a try it, fry it, ow

Now, now, now, now, yeah

Wooo-oooh-oooh-oooh-ooh-ooh

Heard a cry for mercy, uh, in the city of the damned-a

Uh-oh, baby, damned

In the pits you go no lower, the next stop's underground

A-ho, how low underground

You wanna know, is it quite over

To fame it deals a losin' hand

And I said, Didn't mean to, did not a-mean to fluff it

You didn't plan it, you overran it, aah-ha-ha-how, yeah

Do you wanna, do you want, do ya, d-do

Do you, would you wanna

Do you wanna, do you wanna, do you, d-do

Do you, would you wanna

When you blow it, babe, you got to blow it right

Baby, if you fake it, mama, baby, fake with all your might

When you fake it, mama

please-a, a-fake it right for yourself, babe

When ya fa-fa-fa-fake it, baby

You're fakin' it for your life, for your life

for your life, for your life

Do you, do you, do you, do you, do you

Do you, would you wanna

Do you, do you, do you, do you, do you

Do you, would you wanna

Oh, like to help ya, baby

but I don't know what to do-ooh-ooh, yeah

Sometime, baby

Nothin' I can do-ooh-ooh, yeah

With the fine lines of the crystal pane through your nose

And when they couldn't resist ya

I said, Just go with the flow

And now your stage is empty

Pull down the curtain, baby, please

Fold up your show

Hadn't planned to, could not stand to fry in it

I hadn't planned it, I overran it

Fry it for your life, for your life

[Evster2012]

Of course, the long pinky fingernail was all the rage. My point is that it's unlikely cocaine had a big impact on any of the members' lives, and they weren't going to be snorting line after line every night.

I think the pertinent point you make is the use of term "big impact on their lives". I just know LA in the 70s. I believe it was Nick Kent of Rolling Stone who reported that Bonzo used to keep an ounce of blow between his legs in a baggie which he'd toss handfuls of into his face between songs, and that the roadies would carefully lift the mat under the drums after the show and divide what had fallen during the show. Can I say this is true? Of course not. The bottom line is: these guys were no angels. Most of what we hear is true to a degree. The thing is, it was a different time. Things we look down on today were accepted and even encouraged at the time. The 70s was a decade of decadence. Led Zeppelin didn't let the times be wasted on them. Jimmy became a to the core junkie. Poor Bonzo died, like so many others tragically did. Robert remarked that he'd caught clap so many times, he was immune to penicillin. From the people I've talked to, I'm inclined to believe this was true. I know how I behaved, as a guitarist in a band in the 80s. I know how we behaved in LA. Zeppelin were role models. Bill Gazzari (who owned several clubs on Sunset Strip in the 70s), remembered Zeppelin fondly. I spent more than one night at his table after closing time, listening to him talk about those days. I could tell you things, but I'd be breaking confidences doing so. Let's just say that they partied hardy. Girls, drugs...yeah, they did that. But it was the time. Everyone was living the life that could do so.

[Popeyedrums]

Hi,

I hate pointing out the obvious, but when you include in your own post that you're asking a "newbie" question, why post it in the Master Forum? Don't worry, I'm just sayin. I'm one of the nice guys, and I'm not one for flaming people. Especially with all the new blood on this new forum.

Wikipedia is a useful tool. The thing is, while they have people to verify what people add, those people aren't necessarily "experts" on the topic. Yes, there's a "stop" in OOTT. Yes, there's a squeaky bass drum pedal on SIBLY. However, if these are the incidentals that interest you, this would be a far more reliable resource than Wikipedia. Ask away! And welcome!

Oh, and Silver Vishnu, coke was huge at the time. I can post articles and personal reflections of friends who were there. Or, you could just take my word for it!

Yeah, i guess i could have posted it in the Newbie section, but I must correct you that I wasn't asking any newbie question. This was a general question since even die hard fans may not know everything, I certainly don't, but i knew newbies would gain insight. I guess my examples were too obvious to make my point. I knew about those things forever being a drummer who learns songs by constantly listening to them over and over but they were the first things to come to me.

I agree that Wik is not a definitive source of Zep info but I though the link would help give people a place to start. Then they could come back here to verify or throw around questions.

I appreciate your kind way of stating your post however. Thank you. I find that this is a very even tempered place all around. I appreciate every one's input and willingness to share. I will work on trying to place my posts better . Thanks dude!

Pop I

[Popeyedrums]

For Your Life

Led Zeppelin

Well, well, oh, hoh, hoh

You said I was the only, with my lemon in your hand

Uh-oh, uh-oh-hoh

Exhibition is your habit, emotion second-hand

Uh-oh, uh-oh

Had to pull away to save me

Well, maybe next time around-a, oh

And she said

Don'tcha want, a-don'tcha want cocaine, cocaine, cocaine

Hadn't planned to, could not stand'a try it, fry it, ow

Now, now, now, now, yeah

Wooo-oooh-oooh-oooh-ooh-ooh

Heard a cry for mercy, uh, in the city of the damned-a

Uh-oh, baby, damned

In the pits you go no lower, the next stop's underground

A-ho, how low underground

You wanna know, is it quite over

To fame it deals a losin' hand

And I said, Didn't mean to, did not a-mean to fluff it

You didn't plan it, you overran it, aah-ha-ha-how, yeah

Do you wanna, do you want, do ya, d-do

Do you, would you wanna

Do you wanna, do you wanna, do you, d-do

Do you, would you wanna

When you blow it, babe, you got to blow it right

Baby, if you fake it, mama, baby, fake with all your might

When you fake it, mama

please-a, a-fake it right for yourself, babe

When ya fa-fa-fa-fake it, baby

You're fakin' it for your life, for your life

for your life, for your life

Do you, do you, do you, do you, do you

Do you, would you wanna

Do you, do you, do you, do you, do you

Do you, would you wanna

Oh, like to help ya, baby

but I don't know what to do-ooh-ooh, yeah

Sometime, baby

Nothin' I can do-ooh-ooh, yeah

With the fine lines of the crystal pane through your nose

And when they couldn't resist ya

I said, Just go with the flow

And now your stage is empty

Pull down the curtain, baby, please

Fold up your show

Hadn't planned to, could not stand to fry in it

I hadn't planned it, I overran it

Fry it for your life, for your life

Well, coincidently, under this song on Wikpedia it states that they will be playing it tonight according to Jimmy.

peace!

[solar]

Well, coincidently, under this song on Wikpedia it states that they will be playing it tonight according to Jimmy.

peace!

Which has since been scuttled by Robert.

This is why not to trust Wiki, kids.

[Popeyedrums]

Which has since been scuttled by Robert.

This is why not to trust Wiki, kids.

Yes, that was my point. I was making fun of myself for bringing up Wikpedia after a few other posts made comments that it was rediculous. I thought it was well known that this song is out. I guess it was funnier in my head than how i posted it. Too much coffee today!

[tyedye]

Everything I have read about Peter Grant (pre-Wikipedia even ) attributes his death to the excessive lifestyle and coke was his drug of choice.

[solar]

Yes, that was my point. I was making fun of myself for bringing up Wikpedia after a few other posts made comments that it was rediculous. I thought it was well known that this song is out. I guess it was funnier in my head than how i posted it. Too much coffee today!

Not enough coffee here

[cabal200]

... The thing is, it was a different time. Things we look down on today were accepted and even encouraged at the time. ...

Excellent point!

I think that holds true with a lot of periods in history. People sometimes tend to look back at a period of time and make judgments based on current values and that just doesn't work. That type of thinking can lead to a revisionist view of history more times than not and provide a distorted view of what was reality at the time. Everything should be viewed in context!

[MadScreamingGallery]

QUOTE (Evster2012 @ Dec 10 2007, 08:59 AM) *

... The thing is, it was a different time. Things we look down on today were accepted and even encouraged at the time. ...

Excellent point!

I think that holds true with a lot of periods in history. People sometimes tend to look back at a period of time and make judgments based on current values and that just doesn't work. That type of thinking can lead to a revisionist view of history more times than not and provide a distorted view of what was reality at the time. Everything should be viewed in context!

I agree with what each of you has written. In addition to looking back and looking down on things that were acceptable behavior during another period in time, there are also people who lived through some of those periods who (for whatever reason) and want to "clean up" or "whitewash" the reality of those times.

[Cyrusofsussex]

I'm not sure about the Wikipedia stuff, but I found this old LZ history statement. Some interesting stuff. Rock on.

Artist: Led Zeppelin

Genera: Rock

Latest Album: Led Zeppelin 1968-1980

Led Zeppelin was a British band noted for their innovative, influential approach to heavy blues-rock and as one of the most popular and influential bands of all time. They both helped define and transcended the then-emerging heavy metal sub-genre.

The band was originally formed in 1968 by guitarist Jimmy Page under the name The New Yardbirds in order to fulfill some performance commitments booked in Scandinavia before the break up of the original Yardbirds. Vocalist Robert Plant, known from his work with The Band of Joy, was himself on the verge of a record deal when Page saw him perform at West Midlands College of Education with a pickup band of art students and drafted him into the new band. Plant brought with him drummer John Bonham. Bassist John Paul Jones was informed by his wife that Page was forming a group; Jones and Page knew each other well from their days as session musicians and Jones contacted Page who asked him then to join the band.

After some concerts as the New Yardbirds, the band's name was changed to Led Zeppelin, after Keith Moon, drummer with The Who, said, "With that lineup you'll go down like a lead balloon". The word "lead" is misspelled deliberately to avoid confusion, fearing Americans might pronounce it "lead Zeppelin" (as in "lead singer"), as opposed to a zeppelin constructed of lead.

Note: Although the story about Led Zeppelin playing under the name "The New Yardbirds" is so common as to be nearly canonical, there is actually some controversy about this. Fans who attended those early Scandinavian shows have indicated that the band was billed simply as The Yardbirds in 1968. These reports are backed up by ads in Swedish newspapers of the period, in which they are billed as The Yardbirds, and even an autographed photograph of the band with the word Yardbirds signed next to each name (the word New being conspicuously absent).

Shortly after their first tour, the group's first eponymous album was released on January 12, 1969. Its combination of blues and rock influences with distorted amplification made it one of the pivotal records in the evolution of heavy metal music. The immediate success of the first album kick-started the band's career, especially in the United States, where they would frequently tour and where their album sales totals are second only to the Beatles.

The second record, simply titled Led Zeppelin II, followed in the same style later that year and included the bludgeoning riff of "Whole Lotta Love", which, driven by the rhythm section of John Bonham on drums and John Paul Jones on bass, defined their sound at the time.

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were blues fanatics; two of Led Zeppelin's early hits, "Whole Lotta Love" and "You Shook Me", were very similar to earlier songs by Willie Dixon. (The band were subsequently accused of using his lyrics without crediting Dixon, and it was not until Chess Records brought suit 15 years later, that proper credit—and a monetary settlement—was given.) The band also loved American rock and roll, and would perform songs originally made famous by Elvis Presley and Eddie Cochran. Onstage, Led Zeppelin concerts could last over three hours; expanded, improvised live versions of their song repertoire often incorporated tight workouts of James Brown, Stax, and Motown-influenced soul music and funk (favorites of bassist Jones and drummer Bonham).

For the recording of their third album Led Zeppelin III, the band retired to Bron-Yr-Aur, a remote house in Wales without electricity. This would result in a more acoustic sound (and a song "Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp"—misspelled as "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on the album cover) which was strongly influenced by Celtic and folk music, and it also revealed a different side of guitarist Page's prodigious talent.

In November of 1970, Led Zeppelin's record label, Atlantic Records, released "Immigrant Song" against the band's wishes. It included their only b-side, "Hey Hey What Can I Do". The band had nine other singles released all without their consent, as they saw their albums as indivisible. Curiously, "Stairway to Heaven" was never released as a single, in spite of its massive success on radio (part of the band's frustration about singles came from manager Peter Grant's aggressive pro-album stance, and the fact that Atlantic had earlier released an edited version of "Whole Lotta Love" which cut the 5:34 song to 3:10). The group also resisted television appearances, which left any ability to control their presentation and sound quality out of their own hands (with often disappointing or embarrassing results). Lack of Led Zeppelin TV exposure also enforced the band's preference that their fans hear and see them live, in person.

The band's varying musical tendencies were fused on their untitled fourth album, which is usually called either "Zoso," "Runes," "Four Symbols," or just "Led Zeppelin IV." (Not only is the album itself without a name: on the original packaging, there is no indication of the name of the band.) Released November 8, 1971, this record included hard rock such as "Black Dog", Tolkienesque folksy mysticism on "The Battle of Evermore", and a combination of both genres in the lengthy song "Stairway to Heaven", a massive FM radio hit that has been acknowledged by many as the all-time greatest classic rock song. The album winds up with one of their best blues songs, a Memphis Minnie cover titled "When the Levee Breaks".

Their next studio record, 1973's Houses of the Holy, featured further experimentation: longer songs, expanded use of synthesizers and string sections arranged by Jones. With songs like "The Song Remains the Same", "No Quarter" and "D'yer Mak'er" (pronounced "Jer-maker," derived from Jamaica, which was fitting, given the song's reggae feel. This is also a play on words, based on the joke where a man mistakes his friend saying the word Jamaica, for "Did You Make Her?"). Led Zeppelin was again pushing the limits defining rock music.

Their 1973 tour of the U.S. again broke records for attendance: at Tampa Stadium, Florida they played to 56,800 fans (more than the Beatles' 1965 concert at Shea Stadium). Three sold out New York shows at Madison Square Garden were filmed for a concert motion picture, but this project would be delayed for several years.

In 1974, Led Zeppelin launched their own record label called Swan Song, named after one of only five songs that the band never recorded for commercial release (the track was re-tooled as "Midnight Moonlight" by Page's post-Zeppelin band The Firm on their first album). Besides using it as a vehicle to promote their own albums, the band expanded the label's roster, signing artists such as Bad Company, Pretty Things, Maggie Bell, Detective, Dave Edmunds, Midnight Flyer, Sad Café and Wildlife.

1975 saw the release of Physical Graffiti, their first double album set, on the Swan Song label. The album included songs recorded in studio sessions from the last three albums plus new songs. Again the band showed impressive range with songs like the melodic "Ten Years Gone", the acoustic "Black Country Woman", the driving "Trampled Underfoot" and the thundering, Middle Eastern tinged "Kashmir".

Shortly after the release of Physical Graffiti, the entire Led Zeppelin catalogue of six albums was simultaneously on the top 200 album chart, a feat never before accomplished. The band embarked on another U.S. tour, again playing to record-breaking crowds. To top off the year, they played five sold out nights at the UK's Earl's Court (these shows were recorded, portions of which would be released on DVD some 28 years later).

At this peak of their career, Led Zeppelin was the biggest rock band in the world.

If the band's popularity on stage and record was impressive, so too was their reputation for excess and off-stage wildness. Zeppelin traveled in a private jet, rented out entire sections of hotels, and became the subjects of many of rock's most famous stories of debauchery: trashed hotel rooms, sexual escapades, and heavy use of drugs including alcohol.

Several people associated with the band - perhaps embellishing more often than they should - would write books about the wild escapades of the group, while band members themselves have disavowed many of the tales.

In 1976 the band took a break from the road and began filming "fantasy" segments for the as-yet-unreleased concert film. During this break, Robert Plant and his wife were in a car crash while vacationing in Greece which broke Plant's ankle. Unable to tour, the band returned to the studio and, with Plant sitting on a stool during the sessions, they recorded their seventh studio album Presence. The album was a platinum seller, but marked a change in the Zeppelin sound as straightforward, guitar-based jams such as "Nobody's Fault But Mine" had replaced the intricate arrangements of previous albums. A highlight of the album was the epic-length "Achilles Last Stand" featuring a driving bassline and thundering drums, melodic Page riffs and a magnificent guitar solo. Overall the album received mixed responses from critics and fans, with some appreciating the looser style and others dismissing it as sloppy and lazy; some critics speculated that the band's legendary excesses may have caught up with them at last.

Late 1976 finally saw the release of the concert film The Song Remains the Same and its soundtrack. Though the concert footage was from 1973, this would be the only filmed document of the group available for the next 20 years. The soundtrack of the film had some songs missing and some added compared to the film, and also some songs are different cuts from the 3 nights the band performed at Madison Square Garden. The album is generally not considered a great live album, but would remain the only official live document of the band until the eventual release of the BBC Sessions in 1997.

In 1977, Led Zeppelin embarked on another massive U.S. tour, again selling out up to 5 nights in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. (Seattle and Cleveland shows from this tour were the basis for highly regarded bootleg albums.) Following a show at the "Day on the Green" festival in Oakland, the news came that Robert Plant's son Karac had died from a stomach infection. The rest of the tour was cancelled, and superstitious critics whispered of a "curse" said to be related to Page's interest in the occult.

The band did little recording or live work during 1978; the somber mood was extended with the death of their friend, Who drummer Keith Moon.

The summer of 1978 saw the group recording again, this time at Swedish Polar Studio; this album would be titled In Through the Out Door and would highlight the talent of drummer John Bonham on the epic "Carouselambra" and the tropical "Fool In The Rain". The album also featured rockers like "In The Evening", and the balladic tribute to Plant's son, "All My Love". John Paul Jones had a lot of influence over the album and it consequently features many synthesizers.

After a decade of recording and touring, the band was now considered a dinosaur in some quarters, as mainstream musical tastes had moved in favor of disco and critical focus had turned to punk rock. Nevertheless, the band still commanded legions of loyal fans, and the album reached #1 in the US and UK.

In the summer of 1979, after two warm-up shows in Copenhagen, Led Zeppelin was booked as headliner at England's Knebworth Festival in August. Close to 400,000 fans witnessed the return of Led Zeppelin and, with the release of In Through the Out Door in November, they were ready to tour again, planning a short European tour followed by another American tour.

The 1980 American tour was not to be, however. On 25 September 1980, shortly before embarking on the U.S. leg of the tour, drummer John Bonham died of an accidental asphyxiation after an alcohol binge.

Because of Bonham's death, the remaining band members determined they could not continue as Led Zeppelin. For many years after, there had been ongoing rumors of a reunion and plans for various collaborative projects.

Two years after Bonham's death, the band released Coda, a collection of out-takes from previous recording shit. In the years to follow, a steady stream of boxed sets and greatest-hits collections would keep the band on the charts, as Led Zeppelin continued to garner heavy airplay on rock radio.

On 13 July 1985, Led Zeppelin reunited at the Live Aid concert for a short set featuring Page, Plant and Jones, with drummers Tony Thompson and Phil Collins standing in for the late John Bonham. The performance included three songs ("Rock and Roll", "Whole Lotta Love”, and "Stairway to Heaven") and a myriad of difficulties.

A year later in 1986, Page, Plant and Jones gathered at Bath, England for rehearsals with drummer Thompson with a view to play again as a group, but a serious car accident involving Thompson put an end to that plan. However, Zeppelin did reunite again in 1988, with Jason Bonham (standing in for his father, John) joining the remaining three for Atlantic Records' 40th Anniversary concert. In addition, they played with Jason at Carmen Plant's (Robert's daughter) 21st birthday party, and Jason's wedding. In 1990, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page played a brief set together at the Knebworth music festival, which included the rarity off of Coda, "Wearing and Tearing".

Page and Plant, without Jones, reunited in 1994 for an MTV Unplugged performance (dubbed Unledded) which eventually led to a world tour with a Middle Eastern orchestra, and two albums.

1997 saw the release of the first Led Zeppelin album in over 15 years— BBC Sessions. This two-disc set included almost all of the band's recordings for the BBC, though fans noticed the absence of one session from 1969 that included the unreleased "Sugar Mama". At this time Atlantic also released a single edit of "Whole Lotta Love" making it the only Led Zeppelin CD single.

The British press reported in 2002 that Plant and Jones had reconciled after a 20-year feud that had kept Led Zeppelin apart, and rumors surfaced of a reunion tour in 2003. Drummer Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters was named as a potential replacement for Bonham, a claim later denied by Page.

2003 saw yet another resurgence of the band's popularity with the release of a live album featuring material from the band's heyday (see How the West Was Won album and Led Zeppelin DVD). At year's end, the DVD had sold more than 520,000 copies, easily making the list of the most popular DVDs of the year.

In 2004, The band came out with another DVD named No Quarter Unledded, with a reunion of Page and Plant.

It was announced in early 2005 that Led Zeppelin will receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award on February 13, 2005.

Beginning in the 1980s, the iconic nature of many Zeppelin riffs made them a popular target for sampling, initially unauthorized but later sanctioned by the surviving band members, to mixed reactions from fans. Hip-hop group the Beastie Boys sampled Bonham's crushing beat from "When the Levee Breaks", and also borrowed parts of "The Ocean" for "She's Crafty". For the movie Godzilla (1998), guitarist Jimmy Page collaborated with P. Diddy, reworking the famous riff from "Kashmir" in the hit song "Come With Me"—Page also has a brief vocal part in this song. Tool (band) has covered "No Quarter" and a riff from the song can be found in Sublime's "Smoke Two Joints". Another band featuring Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan, A Perfect Circle, covered When the Levee Breaks on their eMOTIVe album in 2004. The rock/comedy duo Tenacious D strategically used pieces of "Stairway to Heaven" in the original version of their song "Tribute".

Led Zeppelin songs have been the subject of cover versions on occasion; American band Dread Zeppelin have made a career out of covering and parodying Zeppelin tunes. A cover version of "Whole Lotta Love", by Alexis Korner, was, for many years, used as the theme music for the BBC's chart show Top of the Pops. Tina Turner covered Led Zeppelin II 's "Whole Lotta Love" and the London Philharmonic Orchestra released an orchestral tribute to Led Zeppelin that includes versions of "Stairway to Heaven", "When The Levee Breaks" and "Kashmir". In 1995 a tribute album entitled Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin was released featuring covers performed by modern rock acts, notably a hit version of "Dancing Days" performed by Stone Temple Pilots.

The Davis, California band Little Roger and the Goosebumps made news in 1978 by putting the words to the theme of the 1960s US television show Gilligan's Island to an adapted and condensed "Stairway to Heaven." Legal action by representatives of Led Zeppelin soon followed, and the single was withdrawn from the sale.

Unlike many of their contemporaries, the band has been very protective of its catalog of songs and seldom allowed them to be licensed for other uses. In recent years this position has softened somewhat and Led Zeppelin songs can be heard in movies such as Almost Famous and School of Rock. Furthermore, the Led Zeppelin song "Rock and Roll" can be heard in Cadillac television and radio ads.

Members

Jimmy Page — guitar

Robert Plant — lead vocals, harmonica

John Bonham — drums

John Paul Jones — bass guitar, keyboards, mandolin

The band has often cited influential manager Peter Grant as a "fifth member"

Discography

Led Zeppelin (1969) #6 UK, #10 US, US Sales: 11,000,000

Led Zeppelin II (1969) #1 UK, #1 US, US Sales: 12,000,000

Led Zeppelin III (1970) #1 UK, #1 US, US Sales: 6,000,000

Untitled (nicknamed "Four Symbols", "ZoSo", "Runes" or "Led Zeppelin IV"; 1971) #1 UK, #2 US, US Sales: 22,000,000

Houses of the Holy (1973) #1 UK, #1 US, US Sales: 11,000,000

Physical Graffiti (1975) #1 UK, #1 US, US Sales: 15,000,000

Presence (1976) #1 UK, #1 US, US Sales: 3,000,000

The Song Remains the Same (1976; live performances from 1973 tour) #1 UK, #2 US, US Sales: 4,000,000

In Through the Out Door (1979) #1 UK, #1 US, US Sales: 6,000,000

The following albums were issued after the band ceased recording:

Coda (1982) #4 UK, #6 US, US Sales: 1,000,000

Remasters (1990) #10 UK, #47 US, US Sales: 2,000,000

Profiled (1990) (This "album" is merely an interview disc which was later packaged with Remasters).

Boxed Set (1990) #18 US, US Sales: 7,000,000

Boxed Set 2 (1993) #87 US, US Sales: 500,000

The Complete Studio Recordings (1993), US Sales: 2,000,000

BBC Sessions (1997) #23 UK, #12 US, US Sales: 2,000,000

Early Days: The Best of Led Zeppelin Volume One (1999) #71 US, US Sales: 1,000,000

Latter Days: The Best of Led Zeppelin Volume Two (2000) #40 UK, #81 US

Early Days & Latter Days: The Best of Led Zeppelin Volumes One and Two (2002) A re-packaging of the previous greatest hits albums. #11 UK, #114 US, US Sales: 1,000,000

How the West Was Won (2003) #5 UK, #1 US, US Sales: 1,000,000

Hit singles

1970 "Whole Lotta Love" #4 US

1971 "Immigrant Song" #16 US

1972 "Black Dog" #15 US

1973 "D'yer Mak'er" #20 US

1975 "Trampled Under Foot" #38 US

1980 "Fool in the Rain" #21 US

1997 "Whole Lotta Love" #21 UK

Films, DVDs

The Song Remains the Same (1976)

Led Zeppelin DVD (2003)