They were inducted to the ‘UK Music Hall of Fame’ this year. One of their single is considered to be the best/greatest/finest rock numbers of all time. They were recently ranked #1 in VH1’s ‘100 greatest Rock Artists’ of all times. A year back, they received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Grammy Awards’. Widely known magazine, ‘Guitar World’ labeled them as ‘World’s greatest band’ in a February 2006 issue.

Rock fanatics world over (please include me) consider ‘Led Zeppelin’ as the pioneer of Rock music and the initiator of Pop/Rock culture phenomenon. Introduced to their music by a childhood friend of mine, I wondered what it is all about, coz it appeared completely different to me, compared to other musicians of their ‘Genre and Gener'(Read Generation)! I was held-neck-forced/threatened/blackmailed to hear their compositions by this friend of mine, after I used to go ga-ga over Metallica and Pink Floyd. It took 8 mins and 3 secs of soulful crooning accompanied with a shift to some high-pitched vocals, heavy guitar riffs and galloping baseline, to make me realize/understand that I had undertaken my first ‘theory’ session of Rock Music or rather I had found the long-awaited ‘Stairway to Heaven’!!

James Patrick ‘Jimmy’ Page, Robert Anthony ‘Percy’ Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham embarked on a journey or rather undertook the responsibility of mesmerizing the ‘Human Race’ with their inspiring music. Jimmy Page started his ‘serious’ career as a bass-guitarist for ‘The Yardbirds’ along with noted classy guitarists Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. ‘The New Yardbirds’ aka Led Zeppelin (originally named Lead Zeppelin) was formed by Page hiring Birmingham scene singer Robert Plant, drummer Jon Bonham, and John Paul Jones (a keyboard/bass guitar specialist). The first four albums Led Zeppelin 1, 2, 3 and 4 (the fourth one actually didn’t have a name, but only 4 symbols) catapulted Led Zeppelin to super-stardom. They became a household name in the early 70’s. They have probably touched every genre starting from blues, reggae and soul, going through funk and jazz and ending with classical, Celtic, Indian and even Arabic and Folk music. During the early 70’s they spread a unique clothing and hairstyle that would become a legacy among Rock admirers. Terms like ‘Rock God’, ‘Hammer God’, and ‘Guitar God’ would become rock jargons in years to follow.

I have a crazy fondness towards their single ‘Stairway to Heaven’. Plant says ‘the lyrics just got struck one fine day, when Page was strumming something and he was scribbling something on the paper. He penned down the ‘immortal’ lines of ‘There’s lady is sure, all that glitters is gold, and she’s buying a stairway to heaven’. (I am getting goose-pimples even while writing this down). Though some people say that the song had ‘satanic’ implications if heard backward, Page and Plant rubbished such grapevine saying twas a simple song with a simple message ‘A woman getting everything she wanted without giving anything back’!

Songs like ‘Heartbreaker’, ‘Rock and Roll’, ‘The song remains the same’, ‘Kashmir’, ‘Going to California’, ‘Four Sticks’, ‘Whole Lotta Love’, ‘Achilles Last Stand’, ‘When the levee breaks’, ‘The rain song’ among others are my favourites too.

The extremely pacy ‘hammer-ons’ and ‘pull-offs’ in the song Heartbreaker, is a treat to all rock worshippers. ‘Whole Lotta love’ covers trademark Page guitar-riff, free-jazz like breaks, an irresistible Plant vocal solo (famously called the ‘orgasm section’) and finally breaks into one of the most famous guitar solos of all times. A famous personality(don’t remember the name) once told “The famous Whole Lotta Love mix, where everything is going bananas, is a combination of Jimmy and myself just flying around on a small console twiddling every knob known to man”. ‘Going to California’ is a stark contrast to their trademark songs. It’s more about soulful lyrics and captivating Plant vocals. The list doesn’t end and I can go on and on!

A heartbreaking and untimely demise of drummer Jon Bonham (due to asphyxiation, it seems he had 60 shots of Vodka the night he died) supposedly lead to the ‘end’ of Led Zeppelin in 1980. Though they reunited for many concerts/relief shows and other stage performances, the same ‘Led Zeppelin’ wasn’t to be seen again.

The band, accordingly to me, hinged on these two stalwarts (not undermining the other 2’s credentials) -> Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Jimmy Page, a base guitarist to second-lead to lead guitarist is the founder and soul of Led Zep. He has an ‘iconic’ status among Rock devotees. His eclectic(diverse) stylings, studio mastery, musical improvisation, stage presence and overwhelming charisma is unmatched and probably will be unrivaled with years to come. His trademark Gibson Les Paul guitar (a double-fret with which he famously played Stairway to Heaven live), the fuzz guitar (for Whole Lotta Love), slide guitar, pedal steel guitar and a Marshall amplifier are rock memorabilia and a collector’s delight.

Robert Plant, a perfect foil to Jimmy, a quintessential rock front man, an adroit and rare soul-vocalist is the embodiment of ‘stage bravado’! Emulating him or for that matter ‘his voice’ is next to impossible, at least I feel so! He even had a wide range of musical taste and was brilliant in writing ‘mysterious’ lyrics too. It is believed, Plant had to undergo an operation during the late 80’s as he had tore some vocal cords singing high-pitched songs(It took quite some time to heal!).

According to me, a ‘live’ performance of ‘Achilles Last Stand’ in a concert in 1977 should be considered as their best performance ever. The song is a ten+ minute epic with a hurtling base-line, lightning fast drumming, and harmonious guitar riffs, along with Page and Plant’s most revered solos, especially a haunting vocal solo from Plant. (P.S: The entire vocal performance of Plant was on a wheel-chair (after an accident)). It’ll remain in the hearts of those present over there, in years to come.

Led Zeppelin’s ostentatious dressing, onstage bravados, crazy hairstyles and above all ‘Musical Influence’ have permanently placed them in a league of ‘Great Rock Musicians’.

Amen!