Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Who's "Led Zeppelin"? (brief history)


A Brief History of Led Zeppelin
(The Beat Goes On, 1/13/22) Here's a brief documentary about the band Led Zeppelin (originally "Lead Balloon") produced and written by Matt Beat. Check out spotify.com @Led Zeppelin for the music.

In London in July of 1968, the band the Yardbirds called it quits but was still committed to play some shows in Scandinavia. Lead guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist Chris Dreja decided to play them anyway. But they, um, needed a new lead singer and a new drummer. Page’s number one choice for a singer was Terry Reid, but he turned down the offer, instead suggesting Robert Plant, who had been the singer for Band of Joy.

Band of Joy had broken up a couple months previously. Plant accepted the position and recommended John Bonham, who had been the drummer for Band of Joy, to join the band as well. Page was like “heck yeah,” but then Dreja dropped out of the band to become a photographer, so they now needed a new bassist.

Fortunately for Page, his old friend John Richard Baldwin, better known by his stage name of John Paul Jones, wanted in, and Page gladly welcomed him. He could also play keys, so that was a bonus. The four played together for the first time in a basement below a record store on Gerrard Street in London. For the Scandinavian tour, they decided to change the band name to the…wait for it…the New Yardbirds.

They played their first show at Gladsaxe Teen Clubs in Gladsaxe, Denmark, on September 7, 1968. The chemistry between the four was pretty amazing early on. It was so good that just a few weeks later they were already recording their first album at Olympic Studios based on some new songs they had been playing live.

Apparently, they recorded it in less than 30 hours, and Page paid for the entire session out of his own pocket. However, once Dreja found out, he issued a cease-and-desist order, saying Page wasn’t allowed to use the New Yardbirds moniker for the album, only for the tour. That’s ok, because Page had a backup name in mind for the band. Lead Balloon. Eh? Eh? Okay.

After further discussion with the band and their new manager, Peter Grant, that name became arguably one of the best band names ever: Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin played their first gig with the new name at the University of Surrey in Battersea on October 25. #ledzeppelin #ledzeppelindocumentary #musichistory

Sources/further reading:
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