Told by the band, the musicians, the groupies and the fans, this chronicle of one of rock's greatest and most innovative bands comes alive with the hiss of turntables, the sweat of the crowds at the Fillmore East and the electricity of small clubs where rock history was made. Respected rock journalists Prochnicky and Hulett combine to delve deep behind the myths that have followed the band for years, meticulously researching members backgrounds, relationships and influences as well as the tours, recordings and fans of the group who still own the world of rock.
Now available in paperback, this all-star tribute to one of the biggest rock 'n' roll bands ever features glorious concert and behind-the-scenes photography from their first 1968 show as Led Zeppelin through the 2007 reunion.
The first significant fresh reporting on the legendary band in twenty years, built on interviews with all surviving band members and revealing a never-before-seen side of the genius and debauchery that defined their heyday. Veteran rock journalist Mick Wall unflinchingly tells the story of the band that pushed the envelope on both creativity and excess, even by rock ‘n' roll standards. Led Zeppelin was the last great band of the 1960s and the first great band of the 1970s—and When Giants Walked the Earth is the full, enthralling story of Zep from the inside, written by a former confidante of both Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Rich and revealing, it bores into not only the disaster, addiction and death that haunted the band but also into the real relationship between Page and Plant, including how it was influenced by Page's interest in the occult. Comprehensive and yet intimately detailed, When Giants Walked the Earth literally gets into the principals' heads to bring to life both an unforgettable band and an unrepeatable slice of rock history.
Led Zeppelin All the Songs takes a deep dive into the innovative recording history of the one of the most influential rock bands of all time—covering every album and every track that Led Zeppelin has ever produced. More than fifty years after their first practice session in a London basement, Led Zeppelin continues to fascinate new generations of listeners. While their legendary backstage antics have been written about extensively in other books, Led Zeppelin All the Songs focuses on the music, detailing the musicianship and lyrical inspiration that helped each of the band's nine albums go platinum, including Led Zeppelin IV, which has been certified platinum 23 times and has sold more than 37 million copies worldwide. This book is filled with fascinating behind-the-scenes stories of life on the road and inside the recording studio. Fans will learn the meaning behind some of the band's classic lyrics, as well as the inspiration for all of their album covers, which instruments were used on every track, and the importance of contributions from engineers, sound technicians, producers, and other behind-the-scenes professionals who helped Led Zeppelin become one of the most popular bands of all time.
Led Zeppelin IV, often called heavy metal's greatest album, kicks off an exciting new series that takes a fresh, in-depth look at some of the greatest works from the most influential artists of the rock era. Fans may know the songs, but wait until they hear the stories behind them! The music contained in Led Zeppelin IV is part of the soundtrack to a generation. Released in 1971, it rocks, stomps, glides, and shimmers as it covers all the bases the band had mastered: heavy blues, barroom rock and roll, mandolin-driven folk, epic Tolkien-infused mysticism, acoustic Americana, and more. Certified gold one week after its release, the album went to #2 on the U.S. charts and #1 in the U.K. It remained on U.S. charts for 259 weeks. There probably isn't an aspiring rock guitarist anywhere who hasn't plucked out the notes and chords to "Stairway to Heaven" or "Black Dog," and yet many music lovers are unaware of the intriguing backstory to this genre-defining work. To this day there is confusion about what is the actual title of the album. And what about those mysterious symbols? Barney Hoskyns pierces those veils and more as he tells the fascinating story of the evocative set that cemented Led Zeppelin's standing as the biggest, baddest, loudest band in the world—and that remains today the apex of their art.
"Evenings With Led Zeppelin chronicles the 500-plus appearances Led Zeppelin made throughout their career. From their earliest gig in a Denmark school gymnasium on September 7, 1968, through to the last gig that Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones ever performed with John Bonham, in Berlin on July 7, 1980, this is the Led Zeppelin story told from where their legend was forged live on stage. Deploying impeccable research spread over many years, Dave Lewis and Mike Tremaglio brings clarity, authority and perspective to a show-by-show narrative of every known Led Zeppelin performance. With pinpoint accuracy they trace the group's rapid ascent from playing to a few hundred at London's Marquee Club to selling out the 20,000 capacity Madison Square Garden in New York--all in a mere 18 months. Supplemented by historical reviews, facts and figures and expert commentary that capture the spirit of the times, Evenings with Led Zeppelin is illustrated throughout with rarely seen concert adverts, posters, venue images, ticket stubs and photos, all of which offer matchless insight into their concert appearences."--Back cover
“In this authoritative, unsparing history of the biggest rock group of the 1970s, Spitz delivers inside details and analysis with his well-known gift for storytelling.” —PEOPLE From the author of the iconic, bestselling history of The Beatles, the definitive account of arguable the greatest rock band of all time. Rock star. Whatever that term means to you, chances are it owes a debt to Led Zeppelin. No one before or since has lived the dream quite like Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham. In Led Zeppelin, Bob Spitz takes their full measure, separating myth from reality with his trademark connoisseurship and storytelling flair. From the opening notes of their first album, the band announced itself as something different, a collision of grand artistic ambition and brute primal force, of English folk music and African American blues. Spitz’s account of their artistic journey, amid the fascinating ecosystem of popular music, is irresistible. But the music is only part of the legend: Led Zeppelin is also the story of how the sixties became the seventies, of how innocence became decadence, of how rock took over. Led Zeppelin wasn’t the first band to let loose on the road, but as with everything else, they took it to an entirely new level. Not all the legends are true, but in Spitz’s careful accounting, what is true is astonishing and sometimes disturbing. Led Zeppelin gave no quarter, and neither has Bob Spitz. Led Zeppelin is the long-awaited full reckoning the band richly deserves.
John Bonham is one of the legends of rock 'n' roll, and his drumming style helped to elevate Led Zeppelin to greatness. This revised edition contains 23 of Bonham's most famous drum transcriptions from his work with the legendary Led Zeppelin. Also included are editor's notes from each record and note-for-note transcriptions. Titles include: *Good Times, Bad Times *Babe I'm Gonna Leave You *Dazed and Confused *Communication Breakdown *Whole Lotta Love *Heartbreaker *Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman) *Immigrant Song *Black Dog *Stairway to Heaven *Misty Mountain Hop *The Song Remains the Same *Over the Hills and Far Away *The Crunge *D'yer Mak'er *No Quarter *Achilles Last Stand *Nobody's Fault but Mine *Fool in the Rain "Thanks to Joe Bergamini's usual perfectionism, we have an accurate historical record of one of the greatest rock drummers of all time for the enjoyment and education of today's drummers and all future generations to come. Highly recommended not just for Bonham fans or Rock 'n' Rollers but for all drummers, regardless of style." -Tiger Bill's DrumBeat
From the howling desperation of "Dazed And Confused" to the sonic bombardment and inimitable riffing of "Whole Lotta Love," Led Zeppelin's hard-driving mix of blues-rock and funk electrified generations of fans. Superbly illustrated, Led Zeppelin: The Stories Behind Every Led Zeppelin Song delves into the true-life tales and people that inspired one of the greatest bands of all time. What were "The Houses of the Holy"? Was there a "Stairway to Heaven"? Which strange encounters led to such classics as "Kashmir" and "Tramples Underfoot"? This in-depth look reveals the roots and origins of the songs on all eight of the band's celebrated studio albums, together with all the stories behind material released after Zeppelin's breakup in 1980--including Unledded: No Quarter and the BBC Sessions album. Reissue.
