Unlike the majority of their most influential peers, the lineup of Led Zeppelin remained the same from their inception in 1968 to their end in 1980, a decision made following the death of John Bonham. Utter harmony incarnate, each member brought something different and vital to the fold. Without each of them, likely, the band wouldn’t have had that intangible star power that ultimately saw them rise to the top.
Frontman Robert Plant brought an otherwordly essence to the group’s music, with his wailing vocals perfect for lead guitarist Jimmy Page’s most searing moments. On the other side of the coin, his folkish warmth was ideal for the group’s more restrained flourishes. Demonstrating his brilliance, Plant is hailed as one of the definitive vocalists, with his counterpart and band leader, Jimmy Page, cited by many as the finest rock guitarist of all time.
Elsewhere, bassist John Paul Jones was a classically trained mastermind. He provided incisive performances on his four-string while also giving the quartet an extra edge due to his standing as an accomplished multi-instrumentalist. Before joining Led Zeppelin, he’d already played on many of the era’s hit songs as one of London’s most sought-after session musicians.
Completing the package was John Bonham. The fourth group member is at the very top of his field. In fact, the drummer inspired everyone from Neil Peart to Dave Grohl, fusing jazz sensibilities and technical prowess with a natural thunder that only the finest rock drummers have. The facilitator of the band, his dynamic grooves were the basis of everything they did. Accordingly, they were obliged to bring the curtain down following his death.
As he’s a gifted orator, Robert Plant has been asked to reflect on his time with Led Zeppelin over the years and has provided many fascinating accounts. When speaking to Rolling Stone in 2022, he recalled a particularly compelling anecdote of the moment he realised that Led Zeppelin would be a success. Unsurprisingly, in light of their individual excellence, it came early on.
Plant said: “It was when I went to the first rehearsal with the Yardbirds, and I was 19, soon to be 20. I had suggested to Jimmy Page that the drummer that he’d lined up was just nowhere near the dynamism of … John Bonham was a totally different thing altogether. And so once John’s wife finally gave him permission to come to a rehearsal — because Pat always said, ‘Keep away from Plant. Because you’re just going to end up broke and in trouble’.”
He concluded: “So when the two of us drove down to London in John’s mum’s van, which we borrowed, in that room, on that afternoon, when we kicked in with a bunch of songs that nobody really knew, ‘Train Kept a-Rollin”… I knew that I was in a room full of giants, really. And that was it. By 1973, what happened in that one room had exploded into some of the most adventurous non-rock rock that you could ever wish to find. It was just the sum of the parts. Those guys were just insanely good. And it was as if everybody had just been waiting for each other with whatever happened prior to that. It was just like, bang!”
