Jimmy Page had an idea for a new band: A supergroup featuring Keith Moon and John Entwistle from The Who and his former bandmate in The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck.
But Moon joked that the supergroup would go down “like a lead balloon.” Instead of a group of famous musicians, Page formed another band with singer Robert Plant, bassist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham.
Page’s “new” Yardbirds became Led Zeppelin, and they certainly didn’t crash like a lead balloon.
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In fact, they changed rock music. Many iconic bands wouldn’t exist without them. Led Zeppelin influenced everyone from Nirvana to Lady Gaga, and it’s not far-fetched to think of them as the heavy metal Beatles.
Moreover, Page shaped Eddie Van Halen and Slash. Listen to Dave Grohl’s drumming on Nirvana’s “Scentless Apprentice” and you’ll hear what Bonham would have sounded like with Steve Albini placing the microphones. Queens Of The Stone Age architect Josh Homme formed a supergroup of his own with Grohl and Jones called Them Crooked Vultures. And if you’re a high-range vocalist like Jeff Buckley or Tori Amos, you look to Plant as your “hammer of the gods.”
Their legacy endures, and it’s hard to imagine the following three bands without Led Zeppelin.
Rage Against The Machine
If you’re a guitarist, you’ll notice the riff in “Bulls On Parade” inverts the one in “Immigrant Song”. While Zack de la Rocha’s rap about the arms industry remains (literally) a world apart from Robert Plant’s Norse mythology, the bands are forever joined in the stylistic similarities between Tom Morello and Jimmy Page. Both guitarists have generated iconic riffs, and Morello took what he learned from Page and played it like a DJ.
Soundgarden
Heavy blues formed a major part of Seattle’s grunge movement. Though Soundgarden’s music also relied on Black Sabbath’s gloomier blues and Melvins’ sludgy tempos, Chris Cornell could wail like Plant. But Cornell and his band also borrowed from Led Zeppelin’s folk leanings as “Burden In My Hand” reveals. And drummer Matt Cameron was as crucial to his band as John Bonham. Returning to Cornell, he may have sung like Plant, but he became equally iconic as one of rock music’s greatest voices.
The White Stripes
You can hear the Led Zeppelin stomp in many White Stripes songs, but most notably on “Icky Thump”. Like Page, Jack White has crafted many legendary riffs. Meanwhile, White shrieks like Plant if Plant had been raised on Detroit punk bands. And you can’t record a thunderous stomp unless you have a drummer like Meg White. The White Stripes used space and limitation as well as anyone, and the duo brought Led Zeppelin’s arena rock back to its early garage and blues roots.
