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Celebrity Question: What Does Zeppelin Mean To You?

Posted Wed Nov 14, 2007 2:33pm PST by Lyndsey Parker in Led Zeppelin's Return Flight

To say that Led Zeppelin were influential is like saying chocolate tastes good. Um, duh! But those of you reading this may not know exactly how Zep influenced and inspired the rockers 'n' rollers you love to listen in 2007.

So we rounded up some of today's top Zep-obsessed rock stars to ask them just how Led Zeppelin has shaped their music--and their lives. And these guys were more than happy to speak on the subject--no communication breakdown here!

Read on for what they had to say...

Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters/Nirvana
"To me, Zeppelin were spiritually inspirational. I was going to Catholic school and questioning God, but I believed in Led Zeppelin. I wasn't really buying into this Christianity thing, but I had faith in Led Zeppelin as a spiritual entity. They showed me that human beings could channel this music somehow and that it was coming from somewhere. It wasn't coming from a songbook. It wasn't coming from a producer. It wasn't coming from an instructor. It was coming from somewhere else. Heavy metal would not exist without Led Zeppelin, and if it did, it would suck. Led Zeppelin were more than just a band--they were the perfect combination of the most intense elements: passion and mystery and expertise. A while ago I heard that Led Zeppelin were going to reform--not just Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, but with John Paul Jones too. I'd had this crazy dream since I was a kid that I would play drums for Led Zeppelin, I really thought I could do it. I know every song back to front, inside out. Then I put on Houses Of The Holy and just sat there, thinking there was no way on earth that I could possibly do it. It would be ridiculous to even try. No one has come close to Bonham in the last 25 years. Absolutely no one..."

 

Kid Rock
Fave Zep Song: "Stairway To Heaven"
"It's a rare rock song that has it all, it sparks emotion, has melody, well-written and performed. It also is hard and heavy without a trace of being corny. The thing I love most about Led Zeppelin is their love and respect for American rhythm & blues music and how they incorporated it into their own blend of rock 'n' roll music. Plus I always thought they were tied to Satan somehow and as a kid thought that was cool, dark, and mysterious!!!!"

 

Lenny Kravitz
"Led Zeppelin rocks! That's it. Baddest rock group in the world--always was, always will be."

 

KT Tunstall
"Led Zeppelin are obviously the best rock band ever in the world. The Rolling Stones were good, but Led Zeppelin were so seminal in setting up a lot of other musicians. My favorite song has to be 'Kasmir.' When I first started recognizing who they were I was like, 'YES.' John Bonham all the way through does about three fills, so whoever wants to play air drums, that's the song to do it to."

 

Matchbox Twenty
 "They're probably one of six bands on how to rock, how you're supposed to do this whole rock thing. They were a blues band in the heart of it all. There's no one who listens to Bonham and doesn't want to play drums. 'When The Levee Breaks' is the biggest air drum song. We used to sit on the bus and watch old footage of Zeppelin. The stage presence is all hair and supertight jeans."

 

Wyclef Jean
"The reason why I admire that band is because some of the stuff they used to use to do is like in 3-4 timing. If I could describe Led Zeppelin in a few words it would be 'music theory.' That's an ill band."

 

Shaun Morgan, Seether
Fave Zep Song: "Immigrant Song"
"The drumbeat gets me fired up every time! It's the ultimate 'get ready to party!' song! John Bonham was pure genius."

 

Mike Retondo, Plain White T's
"The riff from 'Black Dog' was one of the first actual riffs I taught myself how to play on guitar. I learned it pretty well, but I don't think I was musically advanced enough to understand the actual rhythm of the song. Come to think of it, I'm still not that advanced."

 

Scott Ian, Anthrax
"No pun intended, but Led Zeppelin is an ongoing presence in my life. Like a benign monolith always in my periphery, always waiting to delight. Their music has been there from my earliest memories all the way through to this actual second (I'm listening to 'The Crunge'). I can't imagine life without them."

 

Josh Todd, Buckcherry
"Led Zeppelin changed the way I approached songwriting. They could go from a simple rock song like 'Communication Breakdown' to an epic that takes you on a musical journey like 'Stairway To Heaven.' They never followed a formula, and every band member had something to offer. That's what's missing in most of the rock 'n' roll today."

 

Ryan McCombs & C.J. Pierce, Drowning Pool
 "Trying to get everyone in our band to agree on the best Led Zeppelin song is like trying to figure out what the best painting was from Da Vinci or what opera from Mozart was the most stunning. They're all genius. Every song from Led Zeppelin is amazing. There's not one bad song. Led Zeppelin, unlike any other rock band of their time, started with a foundation of blues/rock mixed with reggae, country, bluegrass, experimental, and beyond. That's our inspiration. To take your solid core sound and explore mixing other elements into it, thus taking rock music to the next level. Led Zeppelin's music has been truly inspirational to us and we know it will continue to inspire rock music for years to come."

 

Joe Satriani
"Led Zeppelin rules over the Kingdom Of Rock! Each member brought so much talent to the group as players, writers, and arrangers, more than any other rock band I can think of. Together, they made their band's total greater than the sum of its parts. As individuals, they created and defined their own unique styles, all four of them veritable monsters of rock 'n' roll. As a group, they were unmatched as having the most powerful, unified sound with the deepest of grooves. Each album they gave us was wickedly different from the previous one, blazing a new path for all to follow. They were heavy, yet quirky. They rocked with a swing and a swagger. And, the songs, oh my God, the songs! All hail Page, Plant, Jones, and Bonham!"

 

Carl Bell, Fuel
"The best rock band ever. Period. End of story. Any questions? Four geniuses and all in one band. Rock stations can play the songs still today and they don't sound out of place. The music is still relevant and timeless. The Beatles, however brilliant, can't say that. The Stones, however brilliant, can't say that." 

 

Dave Buckner, Papa Roach
"My favorite Led Zeppelin song is EVERY Led Zeppelin song. They are at the TOP of my list of all time favorite rock bands. John Bonham basically taught me how to play drums, albeit through the headphones of my walkman, and a cassette tape of Physical Graffiti. If I had to pick one song, however, that song would be "In The Light." There is just something otherworldly about that groove."

 

Josey Scott, Saliva
Fave Zep Song: "When The Levee Breaks"
"'When The Levee Breaks' is the song that most influenced me. John Bohnam was a visionary and a pioneer of the original, fat, hip-hop beat. It changed my life. Led Zeppelin's influence on me was their specific interpretation of blues, with monster hooks and phat-ass beats."

 

Richard Patrick, Filter/Army Of Anyone
"To be honest with you, the stoner kids in high school played 'Stairway To Heaven' to death and nearly ruined the Led Zeppelin experience for me until I was about 25, at which point I discovered the incredible and intricate layers that Page, Plant, Jones, and Bonham laid down, and how distinctive yet worldly Led Zeppelin's sound truly is. To me they are the quintessential rock band and it's proven that their music lives forever."

 

Wes Scantlin, Puddle Of Mudd
Fave Zep Song: "Communication Breakdown"
"Their music is sonically all there and timeless."

 

Art Alexakis, Everclear
"When it comes to picking a favorite song by Led Zeppelin...it is all but impossible. Growing up in Los Angeles in the 1970s, they were closer to being a religion than a rock band! So much so, that I named Everclear's greatest hits Ten Years Gone: The Best Of Everclear 1994-2004...an homage to their song 'Ten Years Gone' off of Physical Graffitti. If I had to pick one song, it would have to be 'Dazed And Confused,' since it was the first song I taught myself how to play on guitar! To call Led Zeppelin an influence is an understatement...they are more like a way of life to me."

 

Michael Chislett, The Academy Is...
"'Stairway To Heaven' was one of the first things I ever learned to play on guitar, it was personaly my favorite song, I didn't realize everyone else learned to play it till I saw Wayne's World!"

 

Kevin Cronin, REO Speedwagon
"'Whole Lot Of Love' was the first Zep song I ever heard, and my band worked it up immediately. I may have gotten my initial trip to 'second base' as a result of my interpretation of that panting, sex-grunting, screaming outro...Zeppelin rocks."

 

Mike Portnoy, Dream Theater
"Led Zeppelin are hands-down one of my favorite bands and biggest influences of all time--proven by the Zeppelin IV inner sleeve, Swan Song, and Bonzo symbol tattooed on my right leg! I never got to see them live with my hero John Bonham, but I did have the good fortune of seeing the current lineup perform at the Atlantic Records' 40th Anniversary in 1988, as well as watching Page & Plant each night when Dream Theater played with them several times throughout the summer of 1995. I also had the extreme pleasure of assembling a Zeppelin cover band (Hammer Of The Gods) back in 2003 with my fellow-Zeppaholic Paul Gilbert, which was a bit of a dream come true. Picking a favorite song is so hard as they are ALL such a huge part of every fiber in my body...but I'll go with an obscure track for today's favorite: 'In The Light' from Physical Graffiti. But of course, that'll change tomorrow..."

330 Comments

1. thali_girl -
iloveyiouboy

2. thali_girl -
ok

3. thali_girl -
daskivkijr

4. CharlieM -
led zepplin is cool and so is old rock. the res is weenieish

5. Yahoo! Music User -
Fool in the rain, when the levee breaks, sick again ... beautiful, timeless work. I knew when JPJ was playing bass at festivals this summer something was up. 20 million fans can't be wrong.

6. wildman -
all of my love,it is as poetly beautifull lyricly as it is musicly, and the passion of that song builds to a final yes!! for me, cuz thats why we all do our thing-LUVVV!!!

7. Kimberley P -
Led Zep reminds me of independence from my folks, trips thru the mountians, very relaxed nights, my 20's. Led Zepplin remains my #1 group in my 40's.

8. MeganM -
im gonna say Thats the way , because of the story behind it

9. JeffB -
I learned about Robert with his first solo album, Pictures At Eleven,very unique sound! I was hooked from that day on! not knowing he was the former lead singer of Zep. So I learned LZep, in a way, backwards, To me, like so many other fans, Zeppelin music has been a huge influence in my life. Who cant relate to Kashmir, In my time of dying, Going to California, In The Light or Ramble on? In my mind the truest of all love songs, Thank You! Thank you Led Zeppelin! Timeless!

10. Matteo -
It is impossible not to believe in a higher power when an entity like Led Zeppelin falls into your lap. Today there are shades of them in all music categories but they can never be duplicated!! Not to my surprise, the new age of Rock fans have turn a def ear to present mainstream music and taken a page(jimmy) from the plant(robert) Led Zeppelin grew.

11. crystalsnow -
native americans can listen all day to led and uses the music as a powerfu medicine. we all love the word zeppelin.

12. RP -
Kashmir

13. kolas -
im 25 year old and grow up in the philippines, and the first time i heard the LED ZEPPELIN songs when i was in high school, and i said to my self this band really rocks, i really admire this band not only there music but there creativity,style or i can say they are genious, there the one who give the meaning of HEAVY METAL. THEY RULE, AWESOME,THEY ROCK....... THANKS LED ZEPPELIN

14. kolas -
THEY ARE THE TRUE MEANING OF HEAVY METAL

15. Duane -
yesled zep is one of the best. but try rush

16. Duane -
led zep is one of the best but try the band rush out they still rock

17. cheri -
led zep is one of the best!

18. RafaelC -
Rain Song is my fav from them. Period.

19. mattv -
Gallows Pole! Hands down my Fav

20. ANDREW -
Zep are the best, plain and simple. Personally I always thought that the reason they were the TOP BAND EVER is because when Bonham died they quit. Simple as that! The Who, The Stones, hell even Iggy and the Stooges kept on going after major members qiut or died. However, I am glad that they are reuniting. Zep rocks because the blend of just stright up blues. The only other band i could even give that credit to is the WHITE STRIPES. Jimmy and Jack are saviors. Worship them people. Bow down and kiss their amps!!!
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