(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Sat 6 September 2025 18:30, UK
If you ever need proof that everything happens for a reason, you needn’t look further than the music of Led Zeppelin.
Jack Black put it best when he described them as one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands on the planet. “Led Zeppelin…the greatest rock and roll band of all time. Better than the Beatles, better than The Stones,” he said. “And if you don’t agree with me, that’s because you haven’t done the Zeppelin marathon. It’s when you sit your ass down and listen to all nine Zeppelin albums in a row. The jams of Led Zeppelin are second to none.”
When Zeppelin originally started making music, the majority of bystanders were convinced that the group must have made some kind of deal with the devil. Simply put, it was incomprehensible to people that four mere mortals could possess the ability to rock so damn hard. Their music remains timeless despite the decades, as those songs that were spawned from Satan continue to blow the minds of music lovers, young and old.
Of course, a band like this doesn’t just happen on a whim. Each band member was an exceptional musician, respected in their field and often hailed as the best at their chosen instruments. You would think that to be so unique, they would need to learn how to play together in a bid to ensure their tastes overlap in the same way and they progress at the same rate, but that wasn’t the case.
Jimmy Page was looking for a band, and happenstance led him in the direction of John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and John Bonham. Jones rang Page because he heard he was starting a band, and his wife was tired of having him around the house all the time. Page found out about Plant because all the singers in London were busy, and a friend recommended he look towards Birmingham. And then Bonham was chosen because the band didn’t have a drummer, and Plant recommended him.
When you consider the fact that Led Zeppelin refused to be confined to one genre of music and were constantly looking for the most effective ways that they could branch out into various styles and sounds, it’s incredible that they managed to stumble upon a band that connected as instantly as they did. Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson once credited Zeppelin with showing more alternative bands how they could embrace different genres with their music, but still be undeniably rock.
“I think what they showed to all their peer group as musicians was that there was, first of all, a very powerful and dramatic way to perform simple, direct rock music and also to introduce elements of more eclectic music,” he said. “Because Zeppelin, near the beginning, there were a lot of elements of folk music, and Asian music, and African music that crept into their stuff.”
It was that eccentric nature which drew John Bonham to the band in the first place. A drummer as good as that, you better believe he had other options, but the versatility of Led Zeppelin and their overall allure was just too good to turn down. As such, he had to turn his back on the other musicians who wanted him to play with them, one of whom was Joe Cocker.
“I had so much to consider before I joined Led Zeppelin,” he concluded. “It wasn’t a question of who had the best prospects, but which was going to do the right kind of stuff. I knew Joe Cocker was going to make it. But, I already knew from playing in Band of Joy with Robert Plant what he liked, and I knew what Jimmy Page was into, so I decided I liked that sort of music better. And it paid off.”
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