McSeven Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 I wonder if the fact that Robert and Bonzo grew up poor vs Page/JPJ's Posh upbringing changed the dynamic of the band in terms of songs. I always feel this tension in the music. Like in order to have a great Zeppelin song, they can't talk about being happy all the time. There is always some blues to their song Shade or Light. I have talked about this before. Do you think that if they all came from the same back ground the music would sound different. Like with Black Sabbath. They all came from a background that was poor. The BS sound is very dark blues. Zeppelin seemed more happy by comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 None of them enjoyed a posh upbringing. Having said that, I don't think coming from the same or different socioeconomic backgrounds has nearly the same significance of coming from the same or different musical backgrounds. In this regard, Jimmy & JPJ's sessions era experience brought phenomenal musicianship & versatility to the band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScarletMacaw Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 I wonder if the fact that Robert and Bonzo grew up poor vs Page/JPJ's Posh upbringing changed the dynamic of the band in terms of songs. I always feel this tension in the music. Like in order to have a great Zeppelin song, they can't talk about being happy all the time. There is always some blues to their song Shade or Light. I have talked about this before. Do you think that if they all came from the same back ground the music would sound different.... I have wondered this myself. I think all of the differences in the band members, including socioeconomic background, experience, tastes, personality differences etc. have probably contributed to their musical diversity. I don't know that I would summarize the diversity as happy v. sad...I do think there was a tension between rawness and careful professionalism... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jabe Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Could a comparison be made about about their geographical upbingings? Kind of like two musicians from stereotypyfied ignorant Deep South/Alabama, merging with two hip musicians from say,trendy northern corridor/ New York? Or is this comparison totally off base? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chillumpuffer Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 I wonder if the fact that Robert and Bonzo grew up poor vs Page/JPJ's Posh upbringing changed the dynamic of the band in terms of songs. I always feel this tension in the music. Like in order to have a great Zeppelin song, they can't talk about being happy all the time. There is always some blues to their song Shade or Light. I have talked about this before. Do you think that if they all came from the same back ground the music would sound different. Like with Black Sabbath. They all came from a background that was poor. The BS sound is very dark blues. Zeppelin seemed more happy by comparison. What do you mean poor??? Don't forget they were born very soon after world war 2 had finished. Plants Father was a Civil Engineer and he was hardly brought up in an inner city and certainly they were not impoverished. He also went to a Grammar School. Bonzo's father was a Carpenter and taking into account of the post war re bulding, I would hardly think Bonzo's family were poor either. Just becacuse they were born north of London dosen't make them poor - I mean us in the north had running water by then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aen27 Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 I love when they've talked about how they would tease each other all the time. Jimmy and Jonsey from London and Robert and Bonzo from the midlands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McSeven Posted March 11, 2013 Author Share Posted March 11, 2013 When I say they were Poor. I am basing it on conversations I have heard that Glenn Hughes from BBC has said about where they came from. So the bands who grew up in the Black Country always had money woes according to GH. Perhaps they were middle class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTraveller Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Plant himself has said, particulary in the autobiographical doco that he was brought up pretty comfortably. He is a self-described "grammar school boy" and he had all the opportunities in the world, apparently. The thing with Planty is, he is appropriately named because he has always tried to stay true to his roots (boom-tish!) and he is a pretty down to earth guy from what I can tell. Certainly he loves nature and the Welsh countryside and its history - he calls his dog Arthur, for gods sake! So I think really its more a question of attitude - Plant and Bonham being the more knockabout, down to earth, happy go lucky types and Page and Jones being the more studious, cerebral types. Giving them the impression that they were more "upper class", when really its a question of how they conduct themselves, the "air" about them if you will and their general approach to life. Make no mistake though - Bonham and Plant were every bit as intelligent as the others, no doubt about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScarletMacaw Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 I think I understood what McSeven was trying to say despite his slightly off choice of words... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagefan55 Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 None of them enjoyed a posh upbringing. Having said that, I don't think coming from the same or different socioeconomic backgrounds has nearly the same significance of coming from the same or different musical backgrounds. In this regard, Jimmy & JPJ's sessions era experience brought phenomenal musicianship & versatility to the band. I agree. I don't think their differing socio-economic backgrounds was particularly significant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sathington Willoughby Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 None of them enjoyed a posh upbringing. Having said that, I don't think coming from the same or different socioeconomic backgrounds has nearly the same significance of coming from the same or different musical backgrounds. In this regard, Jimmy & JPJ's sessions era experience brought phenomenal musicianship & versatility to the band. I have wondered this myself. I think all of the differences in the band members, including socioeconomic background, experience, tastes, personality differences etc. have probably contributed to their musical diversity. I don't know that I would summarize the diversity as happy v. sad...I do think there was a tension between rawness and careful professionalism... I like these posts. I think it was a good balance between the hungry up and comers looking for their big break (Robert and Bonzo) and the seasoned professionals looking to break out and express their individuality. (Jimmy and Jonesy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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