Chris Welch - Led Zeppelin: The Stories Behind Every Led Zeppelin Song

THIS IS A CARLTON BOOK

Text and design copyright Carlton Books Limited 1998, 2009

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This edition first published in 1998 by Carlton Books Limited

All rights reserved.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior written consent in any form of cover or binding other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed upon the subsequent purchaser.

eISBN 978-1-78011-218-3

This book is dedicated to John Henry Bonham, the heartbeat of Led Zeppelin, and to Peter Grant and Ahmet Ertegun, the men who helped make it all happen.

CONTENTS

THE ALBUMS

Good Times, Bad Times; Babe Im Gonna Leave You; You Shook Me; Dazed And Confused; Your Time Is Gonna Come; Black Mountain Side; Communication Breakdown; I Cant Quit You Baby; How Many More Times

Whole Lotta Love; What Is And What Should Never Be; The Lemon Song; Thank You; Heartbreaker; Livin Lovin Maid; Ramble On; Moby Dick; Bring It On Home

Immigrant Song; Friends; Celebration Day; Since Ive Been Loving You; Out On The Tiles; Gallows Pole; Tangerine; Thats The Way; Bron-Y-Aur Stomp; Hats Off To (Roy) Harper

Black Dog; Rock And Roll; The Battle Of Evermore; Misty Mountain Hop; Four Sticks; Going To California; When The Levee Breaks

The Song Remains The Same; The Rain Song; Over The Hills And Far Away; The Crunge; Dancing Days; Dyer Maker; No Quarter; The Ocean

Custard Pie; The Rover; In My Time Of Dying; Houses Of The Holy; Trampled Underfoot; Kashmir; In The Light; Bron-Y-Aur; Down By The Seaside; Ten Years Gone; Night Flight; The Wanton Song; Boogie With Stu; Black Country Woman; Sick Again

Achilles Last Stand; For Your Life; Royal Orleans; Nonodys Fault But Mine; Candy Store Rock; Hots On For Nowhere; Tea For One

In The Evening; Soutn Bound Saurez; Fool In The Rain; Hot Dog; Carouselambra; All My Love; Im Gonna Crawl

Were Gonna Groove; Poor Tom; I Cant Quit You Baby; Walters Walk; Ozone Baby; Darlene; Bonzos Montreux; Wearing And Tearing

Travelling Riverside Blues; Hey Hey What Can I Do; White Summer/Black Mountain Side; Moby Dick/ Bonzos Montreaux; Baby Come On Home; Yallah; City Dont Cry; Wonderful One; Wah Wah

Christians to the lions! groans John Henry Bonham, as he grabs his drum sticks and heads towards the roaring crowd that lies in the darkness beyond. The nervy musicians file from the tiny concrete cell that serves as a dressing room, where they have been psyching themselves up for action. Now the practise amps are abandoned as they hurry through dingy corridors patrolled by armed cops with dogs, towards a floodlit stage besieged by fans. This will be their world for the next two-and-a-half hours. While Bonzo climbs aboard his massive drum kit, and Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones take up flanking battle positions, Robert Plant alone faces the yelling throng. He snatches the microphone and shouts back into the far reaches of the cavernous sports hall: Shut up!

The indescribable tumult of cheering, whistling and hollering only increases and Robert looks down at the eager, expectant faces in the front rows. Alright, give us a kiss, he relents. Now they are ready to launch into a spectacular, energy-sapping show during which this unique band will play some of the greatest rock epics of all time. Dazed & Confused, Whole Lotta Love, Communication Breakdown, Good Times Bad Times. These are songs that inspire and excite generations of fans around the world.

But the show only scratches the surface of their output. For this is Led Zeppelin live, in 1970, young, fresh and dynamic. There is a lot more to come. Tonight the band are on stage in Berlin, Germany. But they could be at Madison Square Garden, New York or the Royal Albert Hall, London. Whatever the venue during their years of heavy touring, Led Zeppelin invariably created magic on stage and received ecstatic welcomes from an ever expanding audience. I was fortunate to be with them during those early days, to see the best rocknroll group in the world in action. It was an unforgettable experience. But the story did not end with cheering crowds and broken box office records. Led Zeppelins most important work was in the studio. Here Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham, working for long hours without distraction and interruption, realized their musical vision. Here they created the songs that would become the staple diet of their stage shows until their split in 1980. Their sources ranged from the unequivocal outpourings of passion drenched in the blues, to revitalized folk songs and titanic rock riffs. More obtuse concepts, lyrics and melodies, cloaked in legend and mystery were later forged into master works like Stairway To Heaven and Kashmir. Over the ten albums that comprise the Zeppelin legacy, there was a richer variety of songs and styles than most bands could ever envisage. The sheer diversity of their work has since provided a source of endless speculation.

The band themselves always felt that too much explanation of their work and examination of its origins and influences was unnecessary. Let the music tell its story was their simple cry. Yet each song undoubtedly has its own special meaning, to the composer, the listener or humble interpreter. A fuller understanding of Zeppelins aims and intentions, based on observations and information gleaned from a variety of sources, as well as comments the band themselves have made over the years, only makes listening to their records a more satisfying and fulfilling experience.

It is with this in mind that we have attempted to focus on the roots and inspirations of Led Zeppelins core material. We hope we have cast some light into the recesses of their musical minds. But the more you listen, the more you wonder. There is magic here. And as the Beatles once said where did it all come from?

Chris Welch

INTRODUCTION

When Led Zeppelin burst on the scene with their debut album in 1969, the reaction ranged from stunned disbelief to incomprehension. The electrifying excitement of Dazed And Confused, the menace of How Many More Times and the frantic exuberance of Communication Breakdown were just some of the performances that instantly set Led Zeppelin apart. Here was an album that would redefine rock music for the next 25 years.

Few critics could immediately grasp the bands amazing potential, and this led to frustration within the tightly knit group. However, some quickly recognized the significance of the forces being unleashed by this dynamic new group. They also realized that Led Zeppelin were not, as the damning press reported, The last word in savagery.

Even today, when every last iota of evidence about the Zeppelin years has been chronicled and mulled over, there are still those who wince at the mention of their name. All nonsense, of course. Its true there was a slight risk, during the bands more high-spirited moments, of the unwary being tied up with sticky tape and suspended from a fourth floor office window. Even so, the creative spirits who comprised Led Zeppelin were never mere caricature monsters of rock.

When Jimmy Page first conceived the idea in 1968, his aim was simply to create the best rock group alive. It was always the MUSIC that was the raison dtre for Led Zeppelin. Nevertheless, the larger-than-life personalities behind the Zeppelin image were crucial, both to their success and appeal.

When the British group first appeared in America, on Boxing Day 1968, they caused a sensation. Girls screamed, boys cheered and other groups refused to play on the same bill. Jimmy Page, with dark curly hair, satin outfits and knowing smile, seemed like the master of revels, as he raised his violin bow to scrape the strings of a guitar that howled with ecstatic pain.