Ever Onward

The year is 1971, and John is standing in the front row of Madison Square Garden, waiting beside an enormous stage. It is John’s first concert, yet his excitement is shared by the thousands of people within the grand venue. Soon, the anticipation becomes unbearable, and the crowd begins to grow restless. The fans start to chant for what seems like an eternity. Finally the lights go out, Madison Square Garden is consumed by darkness and the eruption of screams and applause by the fans. Dim lights shine on stage and the silhouettes of four men appear. The only sound is the drone of the amplifier echoing throughout the venue. Suddenly, the thunderous sound of drums can be heard, followed by the melodic bass and an unmistakable guitar riff. Lights reveal the four men on stage as the soft but strong vocals begin to complete the song. The venue erupts once more as the crowd merely gets a taste of what is in store for the next two hours. John is about to see Led Zeppelin, one of the greatest and most influential rock bands of all time.

In the 1970s Led Zeppelin redefined rock music for the decade, and for all time. Their influence in that decade of rock was as strong and profound as the Beatles’ in the previous decade. Like the Beatles, another band widely accepted as one of the greatest bands of all time, Led Zeppelin is a larger than life group gracing the rock genre. Led Zeppelin was able to combine the delicate sound of British folk, {Delete the comma.} with the intense power of hard rock. It has been very difficult for anyone to tag or label the music of the band, and with all of the blues influence upon each of the four band members, the expression of contemporary blues was used. The band was able to combine folk influences from Great Britain with delta blues and the modern rock of the era. From this original sound, hard rock arose and flourished as a new wave in the 1970s, which was guided by the example of the legendary Led Zeppelin. The impact of the super-group on the world of rock extends to hard rockers, classic rockers, and alternative rockers alike. It was often said that Led Zeppelin had an almost mystical aura to them, which would bring out the primal passions in any listeners. There were no limitations on the band, as they were not only possibly the most passionate band of all time, but they traveled the world to soak up many foreign musical influences. This led to songs and albums ranging in sounds derived from blues, folk, country, Indian, and Arabic. Led Zeppelin had a strong and ambitious forward-thinking philosophy which led to the group motto of “ever onward” to capture the vision of the band.

{There should be a transition here.} In the year 1968, the popular British band known as the Yardbirds collapsed after having three consecutive lead guitarists, each destined for rock and roll fame. The last of these guitarists, Jimmy Page, would go on to form Led Zeppelin after fulfilling a contract to create the “New Yardbirds”. Bassist John Paul Jones was the first to join Page after working as a “hired gun” on various British rock projects. Finally, singer Robert Plant and drummer John “Bonzo” Bonham joined after working in a Birmingham band together. The audiences in the 1970’s were captivated by Led Zeppelin’s addition of exotic sounds to the familiar and traditional blues. Most songs were built around the powerful heavyweight guitar playing of Jimmy Page and the half-screaming vocals of Robert Plant, which created a fusion of heaviness and delicacy or a “construction in light and shade” as Page himself once said. Meanwhile Bonham and Jones would forcefully keep the beat and rhythm in the background. Such originality was kept between the many guitar rifts of Page that no two songs sounded similar, yet in many modern songs since, his influence can be heard. Many rock vocalists since the 1980’s have incorporated screams into their songs, which has become a popular style that began with Robert Plant’s songs in Led Zeppelin. Even such legendary screaming singers as Steven Tyler and Axil Rose have styles influenced by Robert Plant. {Start new paragraph here.} The band first released three self titled albums, and in 1971, they released their untitled fourth album which was a rock milestone and their defining work. This was followed by the album Houses of the Holy, and the double album Physical Graffiti. By 1976, the band was selling out rock tours around the world, and they released their film-documentary The Song Remains the Same, which captured the band’s taste for the occult and the darker side of Led Zeppelin. In 1975, Robert Plant was severely injured in a car accident in Greece that halted the band’s studio and touring progress for two years. In 1977 there were further delays when Plant’s young son died as a result of a virus. The band later released the mildly successful albums Presence and In through the Out Door. Great tragedy befell the band on September 25, 1980, when John Bonham died as a result of excessive alcohol consumption. Feeling that their beloved drummer was irreplaceable, the band broke up. Since then, Robert Plant has launched a successful solo career, and John Paul Jones went back to arranging and producing music. Jimmy Page formed several other bands and worked as a soloist as well. Led Zeppelin briefly reunited several times over the past decades for events such as Live Aid and the fortieth anniversary of Atlantic Records. Page and Plant also came together to record an album and go on tour in 1995. In that same year, Led Zeppelin was inducted into the renowned Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2005, the band received a lifetime achievement Grammy Award.

If asked what the greatest song of all time is, many critics will utter the title Stairway to Heaven. This eight minute long epic Led Zeppelin track was the feature on their famous untitled fourth album. Stairway to Heaven has the record for the most frequently requested song on FM radio stations even though it was never released as a single by the band. The lyrics were written by Robert Plant one night while he was searching for “spiritual perfection.” The song was performed live in 1971, and was later played as an encore at every single Led Zeppelin concert from 1975-1980. Since the release of the song, 1.2 million copies of sheet music have been sold of the song, making it one the biggest selling publications in the history of sheet music. While there are several theories as to the meaning of the title, it is still unsure unclear as to what Stairway to Heaven means. There has also been a large controversy made by Christian groups stating that the song when played backwards is satanic in nature. While the song is often covered by bands, few are able to truly capture the majesty of the song, and most covers are extremely unsuccessful. It has been frequent that aspiring guitar players play the introduction to Stairway to Heaven on their guitars, and this was parodied in such comedy hits as Wayne’s World and the television cartoon South Park. Stairway to Heaven has had an undoubted impact on the world of music and is truly one of the greatest songs of all time, which adds to the prestige of Led Zeppelin in rock history.

By the year 2000, Led Zeppelin held a major accomplishment when they placed second to the Beatles in terms of total record sales after selling over 84 million units. On the esteemed list of the 100 all time best selling albums, Led Zeppelin tied with the Beatles for the most albums by a band on the list. The band had a total of five including Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II, Physical Graffiti, Houses of the Holy and the fourth untitled which ranks as fourth on the list. “Led Zeppelin was acclaimed as one of the most important groups in rock music history and is now recognized as a significant influence on music ranging from heavy metal to grunge, a guitar-based rock style that emerged during the early 1990s”(Encarta). For a band constantly looking to the future with a motto such as “ever onward,” Led Zeppelin has carved a permanent place in rock history for years to come. Unbeknownst to John during the performance at Madison Square Garden, he is gazing upon living legends who will become one of the greatest bands of all time.

Works Cited

"Stairway to Heaven." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 Feb 2006, 10:08 UTC. 28

Feb 2006, 03:24 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stairway_to_Heaven&oldid=41149479>.

"Led Zeppelin," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2005. http://au.encarta.msn.com 1997-2005 Microsoft Corporation.