First Led Zeppelin Stories

[EddieShouldHaveListened]

I don't exactly remember but I first started to like The Who in 8th grade after watching them play My Generation and watching the huge explosion at the end. I was so impressed with that and the sweet bass solo. Then I started to listen to the local classic rock radio station and by way of that and my friend telling me I would love zep I got How The West Was Won. It was my birthday and I put it on my dad's stereo and I was like holy shit!!! This is the best thing I ever heard. (I was really into Rage against the machine at the time too). And then listening through that I realized that they did over the hills which was one of my favorite songs that I heard on the radio. But what blew my mind was the 3rd disc with the wll medley and rock and roll, the ocean and bring it on home. I listened to that album more than any other that I have.

I then went out to get each of the studio albums, in order beginning with their first album. I had to wait to get money from chores so I could pay for them. So about every 2-4 months i would get the next album. I also listened to them on record cuz my dad stole his sister's albums. The one song that instantly hit me was the first track off houses of the holy. TSRTS is my favorite song by them. I still remember the day when i was watching the led zeppelin dvd and left the menu on for a little while only to realize it was a live version of that song. This was probably about 4 years ago and i only discovered the bootleg that it was on in November 07. Listen to this eddie was the first boot i ever got and i have been listening to their live shows ever since.

I think the reason I am deeply in love with their music is that it was influenced by so many other genres. And also i pretty much became a drummer because of bonzo and his incredible grooves that pushed the musicality of drums into the stratosphere. His grooves are the best ever put on record. And to that I say Cheers to the man who drinks heineken!

[guitarmy]

...But what blew my mind was the 3rd disc with the wll medley and rock and roll, the ocean and bring it on home. I listened to that album more than any other that I have.

Listen to this eddie,

Yeah the Whole Lotta Love (WLL) medley was a favorite of mine too and it also made me want to seek out more live material with similar medleys (I had already listened to the albums when HTWWW came out). I really like the How Many More Times Medley (don't recall which boot), which is basically like the WLL medley except not WLL!

[Olipticle]

i first heard the medley off of the bbc work they did and man i was really amazed when i first heard it to. live at that

[ZEPPELIN FREAK]

I first really became conscience of Led Zeppelin in about 1973, when I was 11 years old and I heard Black Dog on the radio. I was fascinated by the style of music they presented, because at the time, living in the country I could only get an AM radio out of Detroit, which played mostly R & B. Music such as Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, etc. I'm sure you get the picture. Anyway, I was visiting my cousin and we were listening to the radio, when Black Dog came on and I was blown away. I've been on the LZ train ever since. During their last U.S. Tour in 1977, they were going to play the Pontiac Silverdome. My older brother promised my younger brother and me that he would get us tickets to THE performance. By now, we were diehard ZEP fanatics. We were rabid and just couldn't wait to go. One hitch was I was only 15 years old and couldn't drive myself, so my younger brother and I were at the mercy of our older brother. Well, he blew us off and only he and his friends went. We were heartbroken and sad to say, I've haven't forgiven him yet. But I digress, I'm sure I heard Stairway to Heaven back then also, but Black Dog just rocked. Their music has never worn thin for me, as other bands have come and gone over the years. I would love to have an opportunity to see John Paul, Jimmy, Robert and Jason live anywhere at anytime. I've seen Jimmy and Robert together a couple of times and also pretty much every Robert Plant tour he's been on and also Jimmy with the Firm. Awesome. However, not quite the same. For all of you out there that were at O2, I am still envious. Rock on.

[led_zep_girl_92]

I was 15, it was Winter 2007. On tv I saw a report about Led Zeppelin, I never heard of thim before, nobody in my family is a fan of them. Than I asked my dad for Mothership for christmas, and as I got it, I was listening to it again and again and again....

In summer 2008 I bought my first vinyls, II and IV, and they were that wonderful.....amazing....lovely, so full of power....

So I became the first and only Led Zeppelin fan in my entire family....

[djzoso]

The first time was watching the song remains the same film at the wee age of 6 and being blown away by the performance of Since I've Been Lovin You and i've been hooked ever since.

[lanni]

1972 in High school I was in the 9th grade and everyone was listening to zep. I had a boyfriend who graduated the previous year ( I know older guy, who I eventually married) I was waiting for him to pick me up in his car he always had zep going in the tape deck ( 8-track) so I guess I can credit my now x-husband for turning me on to zep, .. it was good times the best time to grow up IMO the 70's., no AIDS, it was all sex ,drugs and rock & roll. I wish I could go back sometimes. I grew up in Claremont California by San Dimas (not the clairemont in San Diego). I was lucky to see zep in 1977 June 26 at the L.A, Forum in Inglewood. I remember what Plant was wearing and what page was wearing but I have a hard time remembering the exact song line up but I have looked it up here and watch some of the videos from that show which really refreshed my memory

But it was 1972 when I really got into zep, I am now 52 with 3 kids. My 2o year old and 23 year old son like zep my older daughter somewhat likes them but she grew up in the early 90's so her zep is Pearl Jam. My 20 year old daughter is in love in zep.

[regurge]

due to the fact that my family, specially my uncle loved this time and still enjoy this time in the present ... the stories from him about the past and specially about this band was the beginning from my story

[ms_zeppelin94]

From the 'Discovering Led Zeppelin' thread

I'd heard them my whole life, but never realized who they were. Rock & Roll was played in gym one day and I told my friend "Hey, that's the song from the Caddy commercial!" Then my Uncle gave my mom Early Days/Latter Days for Christmas. Soon after I heard Immigrant Song on School of Rock and loved it. "Hey Mom, is this on your CDs?". So then I put the Cds on my iPod that I had just gotten for Christmas and listened to them. Over. And over. Some time later I heard Ramble On on the radio and said "Whoa, they sing about LotR!" It was almost a year later I saw the Albert Hall performances and fell in love.

Thus the adventure begins...

[PlanetPage]

due to the fact that my family, specially my uncle loved this time and still enjoy this time in the present ... the stories from him about the past and specially about this band was the beginning from my story

.......I have read all the stories to date, and I would congratulate you for a Most Beautiful Post of all, You have gained so much and nothing to loose....well, Led Zep...it is a Cherry on the Top.... :D

[marvelboy_04]

school of rock!

[Broken Levee]

I was pretty much raised on Zeppelin because both my parents were die hard fans. (Probably the only thing they had in common while they were together). As a child, my dad started a band, and played mostly Zep songs, and I would always be like "Daddy, play WIAWSNB again!" Also, I would try to teach my 1yr old brother to do the wail in Immigrant Song. Those were my favorite songs as a child, which is understandable because they're loud and catchy.

[LaughingAtTheMoon]

I first heard them when I was eight years old. I was driving along with my father and we were having an argument over who was a better band. I was rabidly supporting the Rolling Stones while my dad was supporting Led Zeppelin just as eagerly. During the argument he told me to be quiet. I begrudgingly followed his command and he popped a tape into the cassette player. The song that came on was "Black Dog". I liked it, but it wasn't enough to change my opinion. The next song that came on was "Ramble On". That was the song that captured me. I was asking my dad to play more tapes, and I remember how smug his smile was on the way home. Since then they've always been my favorite band. I may have changed my music styles through out the years, but Led Zeppelin has always been number one.

Actually, when I was 12, I liked really crap bands like Fall out Boy or something like that. But when I found Zoso in my attic and put it on the turn table, it warped my mind again and it got me back into the Classic Rock scene. Since then, I've listened to Led Zeppelin every day. I'm 16 now, and I plan on loving them until I die. I feel bratty though, because I have only just recently thanked my dad for showing them to me.

[Quix]

My dad had all the studio albums (except PG ) and The Song Remains the Same on CD, and I decided to look into them one day. I like to start from the start of a band's discography, so I took Led Zeppelin I. From the opening of Good Times Bad Times, I was hooked. I didn't enjoy the second album as much at first, but in a week I loved it. Led Zeppelin III wasn't as much of a hit with me, and I didn't listen to it much, until I decided to go back to it after Houses of the Holy. Number four was awesome, although I didn't like Four Sticks or When the Levee Breaks Much (don't know why). I liked Houses of the Holy, except for the Rain Song and No Quarter, because I didn't sit down to appreciate them. My dad didn't own Physical Graffiti for some reason, so I went to Presence. I liked the album, except for Tea for One, which I still don't like very much. ITTOD was okay, and it has grown on me, but I really can't get into Carouselambra for some reason. A month or so later I bought PG, and I didn't enjoy the second half much, but it really has grown on me. It's now one of my favorite albums.

EDIT: I'm 14, by the way.

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

I owe my dad (a lot!) for getting me hooked to Led Zeppelin! I remember the first time I heard Led Zeppelin. I was 12. I was on my way to the dentist. My dad was driving me. I was really scared, because I thought that I was going to have a filling of some sort...ouch! Anyway, to cheer me up a bit, my dad played Led Zeppelin IV in the car stereo...I remember listening to the song "Black Dog" so vividly on that very special day (special since I got my first taste of Zep!) even though its been 10+ years since I listened to my first Led Zep song! From then on, I was hooked! My dad is crazy about Zep! He claims that its his faourite band of all time! He is also into Queen, The Doors, The Who, Pink Floyd, Cream (to name a few!) And thanks to Led Zeppelin, my dad and I have had some really awesome father-daughter moments! Oh and I am 22 years old, by the way!

[zeppelincheetah]

My parents divorced when I was 4 ('88) and my mom and stepdad moved me and my sis out of state. Since my mom lived in another state me and my sister were only allowed 6 weeks visitation a year to see our dad. At some point in the mid 90's my dad bought the boxed set on cassette. Every time we came to visit him he'd play Led Zeppelin in his car.

Back home (Nevada at the time, my dad lived in Tennessee which is where I eventually ended up) all I heard was oldies on the radio that my mom listened to or pop radio that I listened to (can't remember if we had a rock station where we lived). I didn't know any friends that were into Led Zeppelin either. We were all into Green Day, the Beastie Boys, 2pac, stuff like that, it being the mid 90's. I didn't have a Led Zeppelin album yet and it wasn't like I was totally floored by zeppelin at first. It was a gradual thing. I really liked what I heard though but I was only 10 or 11 at this point, maybe a bit too young to appreciate it.

I think it was probably due to nostalgia that I decided to get my hands on something Led Zeppelin. I missed those days where me and my sis were so excited to see our dad and hear his music. In my teens I became kinda depressed so I missed happier times. I got Early Days and Later Days when they came out when I was in High School. My mom heard me play Stairway to Heaven and told me what that song meant to her. It was very emotional to her because the song came out around the time her mother died - in 1971 - and the song helped her get through such a painful experience at such a young age (she was only 14 when she died). Also on a trip up to New York City on a train I played Later Days and even to this day when I hear The Song Remains the Same it reminds me of looking out the window on the way up, anticipating the big apple.

I bought my first Led Zeppelin album (Led Zeppelin II) when I was 18 and that really started it; I was a zep head from then on. The rest of their discography soon followed. Me and my dad saw Robert Plant in 2005 at the Ryman in Nashville and my dad didn't recognize most of the led zep stuff they played because he's not near the zep fan that I am. My favorite that they played that night was That's the Way and my dad had never even heard of it. To this day I've never had a friend that's into Led Zeppelin. I mean some don't mind it but there's nobody I've known that really knows their stuff or owns a cd or album. One of these days...

The next thing I want to do is to see Jimmy Page. I will sell half my stuff if that's what it takes to be able to see him live in concert. Even more than before after seeing that he's still got it in IT MIGHT GET LOUD.

[Jimmy Page= King]

Well I'm 16 and my dad listens to them and to be honest when I first started listening to music at around 14 I thought they were boring. Then I started lsitening to more and more music which sort of broadened my horizons if you will.

Now they're my favourite band.

[Teenage Zephead]

I'm Sixteen and unfortunately grew up in the time of band fake rap, hip hop music. I'm more of a follower and always just listened to what my freinds did, which was no rock what so ever. See my dad is a huge Dead head fan, but also loves every band from the 70's just that the dead are his favourite anyway one day when he was at work, I was on the computer and decided to go into my family room and give some of my dads music a chance. So I grabed like 25 CD's just out of his CD rack. I grabed all his Zeppelin CDs he had, some stones, some Dead, some doors, some who and you get the picture. After like 3 hours of putting CDs onto itunes I relized how much I loved Zeppelin, out of all the bands I put on my Ipod Zeppelin was my favourite. So my dad came how that night at like 1 in the moring to me rockin out to zeppelin and saw all the other stuff I put on and said Son I'm proud you finaly found good music. So we spent that night literaly all night listening to music drinking some beers. i think the song that got me was "Over the hills and far away" thats my story

[The Green One]

Before April of 2009, music wasn't really important for me. I sucked in music at school, and my dislike for the (very mean:angry: ) music teacher certainly didn't help me appreciate it. I never clicked with the music played on the radio, and didn't like classical or baroque. It was spring break (yipee!) and I had nothing to do. I randomly clicked on a video on youtube and Kashmir by the mighty Zeppelin began to play!

It litteraly blew my brains out, and I've been a Led Zeppelin fan ever since. :D

I do feel alone sometimes because none of my friends like it, and my mom considers it just really loud noise...

[justawoman]

It is so awesome reading all these stories from all these young 'uns about how they discovered Zeppelin. And, that it is bringing parents and children together. Zeppelin is spanning generations!!!!!!! It does my heart good that Zeppelin's music still lives on. IMO it IS the greatest music ever. It encompasses so much from pre-Elvis/delta blues on through the Beatles, California rock of the 60's, and into today. Every hard-rock band owes a depth of gratitude to Zeppelin. I've even heard Zeppelin played by a symphony orchestra and sound so powerful and strong. Their music is timeless.

Getting back on topic, this topic made me think about when I first discovered Zeppelin. It was probably Christmas of '71 and the only thing my best friend wanted for Christmas was Led Zeppelin III. At the time we were only 12 and I couldn't believe she had the nerve to ask her parents for a Zeppelin album for Christmas, this just wasn't done. At the time, it was pretty radical, especially for 12 year olds. Well, she got her wish and that night we stayed up all night listening to Led Zeppelin III. The Immigrant Song is burned in my mind from that Christmas night. I wanted to hear it over and over. Zeppelin brought me to a magical mystical place, even their name, Led Zeppelin, was so different. It was not safe and boring, like the Beatles, the Animals, the Rolling Stones. Their name was even exotic and so different. After that I was hooked and had to have Zeppelin I and II. By the time IV came out and Houses of the Holy, I was well versed in their music and was lucky enough to be able to see them live in '73 and then again in '75 for the Physical Graffiti tour. It's 35 years later and I still love Zeppelin as much now as I did then, probably more so. Their music is timeless!

[Oracle]

Zeppelin brought me to a magical mystical place, even their name, Led Zeppelin, was so different. It was not safe and boring, like the Beatles, the Animals, the Rolling Stones.

[justawoman]

I was talking about the 'names' of these bands, not their music. Their 'names' were rather unimaginative IMO (you can add The Doors to that list). Also the above mentioned groups were all pretty mainstream, music was played all over AM radio with appearances on shows like Ed Sullivan. I stand by my observation from a 12 year old's point of view: Led Zeppelin was different with a creative exotic name and even more exotic, mystical, sensual music that was definitely not mainstream.

[Oracle]

I was talking about the 'names' of these bands, not their music. Their 'names' were rather unimaginative IMO (you can add The Doors to that list). Also the above mentioned groups were all pretty mainstream, music was played all over AM radio with appearances on shows like Ed Sullivan. I stand by my observation from a 12 year old's point of view: Led Zeppelin was different with a creative exotic name and even more exotic, mystical, sensual music that was definitely not mainstream.

Well...where I was from early on, I heard Zep on the radio and they became very mainstream amongst my peers quickly. Maybe it's the difference in the places we lived.

And geez...all the accolades to the Zep boys...when maybe you should give dues for the name, imaginative as it is, where credit is due, Moonie or Entwhistle of THE WHO !

Should this also be included in the Jimmy "ripoff riff" thread ?

[justawoman]

Well...where I was from early on, I heard Zep on the radio and they became very mainstream amongst my peers quickly. Maybe it's the difference in the places we lived.

And geez...all the accolades to the Zep boys...when maybe you should give dues for the name, imaginative as it is, where credit is due, Moonie or Entwhistle of THE WHO !

Should this also be included in the Jimmy "ripoff riff" thread ?

Know all about how they got their name. (Page and Jones both credit Keith Moon.) Now-a-days it's pretty common knowledge, but at the time ('71) it wasn't, it was the coolest name ever, even the spelling was different, thanks to Peter Grant.

On a side note, I believe it was Picasso that said "Bad artists copy. Good artists steal."

[gamper33]

I had never really had that big of an interest in music until I was about 13 When I got "L.A. Woman" by The Doors at the start of summer 2009, I listened to the album over and over again and one day in July I heard "Black Dog" on the radio and I fell in love with it. A couple of weeks later on August 8th 2009 my dad and I went to a flea market and I got Led Zeppelin IV and I listened to it about 50 times and Led Zeppelin basically led me to other Classic Rock artists. Over the period of 1 year exactly I completed my collection of Zeppelin vinyls and on August 8th 2010 I got the last album that I needed which was "HOTH". But the wierd thing was that I bought it from the same dealer who sold me Zeppelin IV exactly 1 year prior. I have already gotten 5 of my friends into Zeppelin.