Led Zeppelin release trailer for ‘Celebration Day’ watch party
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Led Zeppelin initially began as a continuation of a previous band: The Yardbirds. They were named The New Yardbirds before, eventually, the name was dropped and they became who we know and love today. However, it seems it took a while for the new change to sink in, and they had to take a drastic step out of the UK.
Led Zeppelin began as The New Yardbirds, when the original group, The Yardbirds, broke up in 1968.
The group played their final performance in July 1968 in Luton, but as they were still committed to playing gigs in Scandinavia, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist Chris Dreja put together a new line-up to fulfil their obligations.
They enlisted the help of vocalist Robert Plant, John Bonham on drums and, after Chris left the project, John Paul Jones was brought in on bass.
This new line-up first played together as The New Yardbirds in August 1968, and according to the bass player, they “locked together as a team immediately”.
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After completing their tour in Scandinavia, they started to record a new album. However they were hit with some major issues when Chris issued a cease and desist letter to stop the band using this name for any further work.
After deciding on the name Led Zeppelin, they landed a big record deal with Atlantic and were looking to make a splash.
However, things quickly seemed uncertain in the UK, and they did not make the impression they were hoping for.
Jimmy was reported as saying in biography ‘Hammer of the Gods’: “It was a joke. They just wouldn’t accept anything new.”
As a result, their manager, Peter Grant, who was named a ‘ruthless operator’ for his work, decided to set his sights on American fans.
Peter talked American promoters into having the band open for bigger bands to increase their exposure.
He had reportedly seen how passionate American fans were about fellow acts like Cream, and felt Led Zeppelin’s electric stage presence would help with that.
Mark Blake, who wrote Bring It On Home: Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin, and Beyond — The Story of Rock’s Greatest Manager, told WBR: “Peter took them [Led Zeppelin] to America very very early on, and they were opening for other groups — Iron Butterfly, Vanilla Fudge — and basically blowing them off stage.
“It happened remarkably quickly, and they spent most of 1969 touring America. They’d come back for a few weeks and then go back again, playing these kind of opinion-making clubs all across the country.
“And when the album came out, the first Zeppelin album, it just absolutely blew up for them…
“But that also helped build the mystique. Suddenly, they’re this British band, this mysterious British band, that had gone to America to find their fame and fortune…”
Peter’s foresight of knowing short pop songs would not be popular forever was also key to their success, and fans of Led Zeppelin had to see them live to fully understand their songs, as was part of their process.
As fans know, Led Zeppelin always put on quite a show, meaning Peter’s hunch about live performances definitely helped with their growth in America, which then helped them become big in their native country.
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