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The early days (1968-1970)
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Led Zeppelin was formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page. Page had joined the Yardbirds in 1966, first playing bass guitar (while rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja became comfortable with that instrument), then switching to lead guitar. Following the departure of Jeff Beck in October 1966, the Yardbirds, tired from constant touring and recording, were beginning to wind down. There was talk of forming a supergroup, with Page and Beck on guitar, and The Who's Keith Moon and John Entwistle on drums and bass.Vocalists Donovan, Steve Winwood and Steve Marriott were also considered for the project.The group never formed, although Page, Beck and Moon did record a song together in 1966, "Beck's Bolero", which featured on Beck's 1968 album, Truth. The recording session also included bassist John Paul Jones, who told Page that he would be interested in collaborating with him on future projects.
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The Yardbirds played their final gig in July 1968, and Keith Relf and Jim McCarty left the band, wishing to pursue an interest in folk music. However, The Yardbirds were still committed to perform several concerts in Scandinavia, and so McCarty and Relf authorised Page and Chris Dreja to use the Yardbirds name to fulfil the bands' obligation. Page and Dreja began putting a new line-up together. Page's first choice for lead singer, Terry Reid, declined Page's offer, but suggested Robert Plant,who accepted the position. Plant recommended drummer John Bonham,with whom he had played in Band of Joy. When Dreja opted out of the project to become a photographer (he would later take the photograph that appeared on the back of Led Zeppelin's debut album), John Paul Jones contacted Page about the empty position. Page, being familiar with his credentials, gladly accepted him as the band's new bassist. The first tune that the band ever played together was "Train Kept A-Rollin'."
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The band completed the Scandinavian tour as the New Yardbirds and then set about coming up with a new name. The name Lead Zeppelin had been suggested by Keith Moon when Page was considering forming a supergroup with the drummer. Keith Moon himself got the phrase from John Entwistle's term for a bad gig, describing it as "going over" (some sources say "going down") "like a lead zeppelin".The group adopted the name, deliberately dropping the 'a' in Lead to prevent people from pronouncing it as "leed".
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Shortly after their first tour, the group's eponymous first album was released on January 12, 1969. Its blend of blues and rock influences with distorted amplification made it one of the pivotal records in the evolution of heavy metal music.Although several of Led Zeppelin's earliest songs were based on blues standards, others, such as "Communication Breakdown" had a unique and distinctively heavy sound. Led Zeppelin also featured delicate acoustic guitar on "Black Mountain Side", and a combination of acoustic and electric approaches on the reworked folk song "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You."
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The immediate success of the first album kick-started the band's career, especially in the United States, where they would frequently tour. The second record, simply titled Led Zeppelin II, followed in similar style later that year: the album begins with the bludgeoning riff of "Whole Lotta Love," which, driven by the rhythm section, defined their sound at the time. Led Zeppelin II was an even greater success for the group, reaching the Number one chart position in both the US and the UK.
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Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were blues fanatics; their first album had included "I Can't Quit You Baby", a song written by bluesman Willie Dixon, and "You Shook Me", by Dixon and J. B. Lenoir. Jeff Beck also recorded "You Shook Me" for his album, Truth. Since the Led Zeppelin version was released six months after Beck's, he accused them of stealing his idea. This led to a long rift between Beck and Page, who had been friends for years at that point.
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Led Zeppelin II also included songs which bore striking similarities to Willie Dixon's work, though Dixon was not credited. "Bring It on Home" was very similar to Dixon's "Bring It on Back", and "Whole Lotta Love", was lyrically very similar to Dixon's "You Need Love". In the 1970s, Arc Music, the publishing arm of Chess Records, brought suit against Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement over "Bring It on Home", winning an out-of-court settlement. Dixon himself did not benefit until he sued Arc Music to recover his royalties and copyrights. Years later, Dixon filed suit against Led Zeppelin over "Whole Lotta Love", and a generous out-of-court settlement was reached. Later pressings of Led Zeppelin II credit Dixon for his work.
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Page was once quoted in an interview as saying: "I've often thought that in the way the Stones tried to be the sons of Chuck Berry, we tried to be the sons of Howlin' Wolf." A version of Howlin' Wolf's song "Killing Floor" featured prominently in Led Zeppelin's early live performances; "Killing Floor" was also the inspiration for "The Lemon Song" on Led Zeppelin II.
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The quartet also loved American rock and roll: the exuberant styles of Fats Domino and Little Richard were inspirations, and Led Zeppelin would perform rockabilly songs originally made famous by Elvis Presley and Eddie Cochran. Led Zeppelin concerts could last more than three hours; expanded, improvised live versions of their song repertoire often incorporated elements of James Brown, Stax and Motown-influenced soul music and funk (favorites of bassist Jones and drummer Bonham).
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For the writing of the music on their third album, Led Zeppelin III, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant retired to Bron-Yr-Aur, a remote cottage in Wales. 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) strongly influenced by Celtic and folk music, and it also revealed a different side of guitarist Page's versatility. Led Zeppelin III also ushered in an era of unique album covers, this one featuring a wheel which displayed various images through cutouts in the main jacket sleeve when rotated.
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In November of 1970, Led Zeppelin's record label, Atlantic Records, released "Immigrant Song" as a single against the band's wishes (Atlantic had earlier released an edited version of "Whole Lotta Love" which cut the 5:34 song to 3:10). It included their only non-album b-side, "Hey Hey What Can I Do". Even though the band saw their albums as indivisible, whole listening experiences — and their manager, Peter Grant, maintained an aggressive pro-album stance — nine other singles were released without their consent. The group also resisted television appearances, which would have reduced their ability to control their presentation and sound quality. Lack of TV exposure also enforced the band's preference that their fans hear and see them in person.
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