Led Zeppelin

Best Rock Band Ever?

Led Zeppelin is often credited with the title, Best Rock Band Ever. Founded in 1968, the band was comprised of lead man Robert Plant, keyboardist/bassist John Paul Jones, drummer John Bonham, and guitarist Jimmy Page. The band is regularly lumped with other heavy metal and hard rock bands, but the stable of Zeppelin albums on the whole exhibit a virtuoso range of musical tastes, abilities and cultural influences.

In 1969 the band’s first album was released, Led Zeppelin. Atlantic Records was busy signing British bands to its label, especially those with serious attachments to rock’s blues roots. Led Zeppelin ultimately proved to be one of the label’s best choices. The album introduced the signature sound of Zeppelin. The group was versatile with combining both acoustic sounds with electronically distorted heavy guitar and a near constant remodeling of blues standards and classic riffs. In fact their reverence to the blues landed them in legal trouble a couple of times with accusations of tracks that sounded just too much like a former bluesman’s take on the song.

Follow-up albums Led Zeppelin II and Led Zeppelin III were some of the biggest selling albums to date by a rock band. Zeppelin’s most noted singles hit the charts around the world, “Ramble On,” “Heartbreaker,” and “Whole Lotta Love.” While III marked an artistic departure, album four might have been the band’s commercial departure. The album was officially untitled but bore four ancient symbols on the cover. Today the album is often just called “the runes” or Zoso. But tracks from the no name album like “Stairway to Heaven” and “When the Levee Breaks” remain some of the biggest rock singles to date.

In 1980 drummer John Bonham died from a binge-drinking episode. Led Zeppelin officially disbanded. Only a few occasions have drawn the remaining members back together, but the band continues to rack up the album sales to new generations of rock fans eager to know their roots.

Led Zeppelin (1969):

1. Good Times Bad Times
2. Babe I’m Gonna Leave You
3. You Shook Me
4. Dazed and Confused
5. Your Time is Gonna Come
6. Black Mountain Side
7. Communication Breakdown
8. I Can’t Quit You Baby
9. How Many More Times

Led Zeppelin II (1969):

1. Whole Lotta Love
2. What Is and What Should Never Be
3. The Lemon Song
4. Thank You
5. Heartbreaker
6. Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman)
7. Ramble On
8. Moby Dick
9. Bring It On Home

Led Zeppelin III (1970):

1. Immigrant Song
2. Friends
3. Celebration Day
4. Since I’ve Been Loving You
5. Out On the Tiles
6. Gallows Pole
7. Tangerine
8. That’s the Way
9. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
10. Hats Off to (Roy) Harper

Runes/Zoso/IV (1971):

1. Black Dog
2. Rock and Roll
3. The Battle of Evermore
4. Stairway to Heaven
5. Misty Mountain Hop
6. Four Sticks
7. Going to California
8. When the Levee Breaks

Houses of the Holy (1973):

1. The Song Remains the Same
2. The Rain Song
3. Over the Hills and Far Away
4. The Crunge
5. Dancing Days
6. D’yer Mak’er
7. No Quarter
8. The Ocean

Physical Graffiti (1975):
Disc 1:

1. Custard Pie
2. The rover
3. In My Time of Dying
4. House of the Holy
5. Trampled Underfoot
6. Kashmir

Disc 2:

1. In the Light
2. Bron-Yr-Aur
3. Down By the Seaside
4. Ten Years Gone
5. Night Flight
6. Wanton Song
7. Boogie with Stu
8. Black Country Woman
9. Sick Again

Presence (1976):

1. Achilles Last Stand
2. For Your Life
3. Royal Orleans
4. Nobody’s Fault But Mine
5. Candy Store Rock
6. Hots On for Nowhere
7. Tea is for One

In Through the Out Door (1979):

1. In the Evening
2. South Bound Saurez
3. Fool in the Rain
4. Hot Dog
5. Carouselambra
6. All My Love
7. I’m Gonna Crawl