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Rise and Fall of Zeppelin ? They never fell ...

I knew Robert Plant pre Led Zep. We are from the same part of the Black Country. I used to play in the resident band at a weekly blues club (The Ship and Rainbow Wolverhampton if anyone remembers it) and Planty as he was known, was a regular visitor. He was always more than willing to get up on stage and jam with us. We used to joke it was harder to keep him off the stage. But when he wasn't singing he was a quiet sort of bloke believe it or not.

John Paul Jones was a happily married family man (married to this day to the same woman since 1967) who usually separated himself after the gigs. He would stay in a separate hotel (later Jimmy and Robert would go so far as staying on separate floors from Bonham because he was so out of control), and generally had little contact with the rest of the band that wasn't related to music or business. He wasn't completely immune from the rock and roll lifestyle and by his own admission did more drugs than he'd care to admit but he always kept it low key and was nowhere near the legendarily debauched monsters that Page and Bonham were.

The first time I heard Led Zeppelin a few years into their existence, it was Led Zeppelin and everyone else. The songs, production and musicianship were untouchable. They are as relevant to me today as they were when I first discovered their music.

Normally I wouldn't confront someone in public like this, but since you made me sit through an ad for Nebula to see only a part of your documentary, I feel justified this time. I signed up for Nebula through an ad on legal eagle which promised that if I signed up and continued a bundle of Curiosity Stream and Nebula that would be mine for as long as I kept my subscription paid up. Well, I did - but you didn't. After a few years I got a notice that I'd no longer be able to subscribe to both for one low price. So now I subscribe to neither service as I don't really trust either of you to keep your word to consumers.

Pretty much everything in this video can be found in a few minutes online or reading a Led Zeppelin Wikipedia article. Given how surface level the info is here, there's no way I'm going to nebula to pay a premium; no matter how much I enjoy Mary's content.

So you give us a juicy question in the thumbnail (that you don't explain or answer) and then proceed to give us a regurgitated history of the band 🥱

Jpj said of that train kept rollin that he looked up halfway thru and everybody had a huge smile on their faces and he knew the band was set

Worked for LZ building the stage etc at Knebworth in 1979. Best 6 weeks of my life. My maths teacher was also John Bonhams form master at school.

And we are all very fortunate to be on the planet to get to hear and see all these events happen!

Don't fall off your high horse, child. Ta ta.

I only saw this video not the full video and it's pretty accurate, I've met Jimmy a few times thru my friendship with his girlfriend Scarlett and I can guarantee to you that he is not a monster and one of the sweetest chap I've ever met, very soft spoken and sweet, during that era drugs, sex and rock and roll went hand in hand with each other, that said Jimmy has been clean from drugs, drinking and smoking for decades so he is doing great🐉🙏🏻

Wow what a great story. Sadly one that will never be repeated in history again. That era is long gone.

If this is the first half, I can't say I'm going to be missing anything by not seeing the second half. Additional cudos for the click-bait title.

They were always the Yardbirds 2.0 to me. I listened to blues back in my high school days, the Yardbirds and Fleetwood Mac were my two favs followed by John Mayal and the Animals. The 60's -70's were the best for music, I pity the kids today.

I parked cars for the Seattle Pop Festival in 1969. The condition for my labor was that I could stop to watch Iron Butterfly and Led Zeplin. Led Zeplin didn't even have an album out yet. They played less than half an hour. At my Senior Prom, Heart played. Nancy also graduated that year from a neighboring high school. Heart played more Led Zeplin than anything else. Zep had two albums out by then. Whole Lotta Love was a game changer.

I remember the "Led Zeppelin Binge". You would just sit down with a few friends and starting with Led Zeppelin I play every album from beginning to end, non stop. That was the only band we would do that with.

I dont care what others call Led Zeppelin.....for me they were MONSTERS....bigger than life!!!!

You cant talk about Led Zep without including their manager Peter Grant.

Nah, tuned out at that opening. I’m not watching something I can’t finish.

I only saw them live once, at Knebworth Festival in the UK in August 1979. I'd been to a lot of festivals and concerts by then, even at 20 years of age, and I'd say that Led Zeppelin live stood head and shoulders above most. Their sound and energy on stage was epic.

I was lucky enough to see LZ twice in the summer of '69 at a relatively small venue in Chicago called The Kinetic Playground. And what made it even better was the 3 band bill each time as was common in those days. First show was Savoy Brown, Jethro Tull and Zep. A few weeks later it was Lighthouse, Santana and Zep! It's hard to put into words anything that would capture the overwhelming joy and power of these shows which were unlike anything any of us had ever seen. The sheer volume, the psychedelic stage lighting and the magnetic moves of Plant, Page and Anderson were captivating. These are precious memories.

Rock Gods or Monsters? They were human just like any of us mere mortals. Big fan of Sir James Patrick Page (OBE).

I've read Hammer Of The Gods and lots of other Zep books but the Spitz book(which I'm currently reading) is certainly my favorite. Delves much more into the music process than HOTG yet it also includes all the other behind the scenes and on the stage tidbits.

Superb and well produced... Led Zeppelin was my introduction to rock music as I entered high school and they, in turn, introduced me to their influences over the subsequent years as I entered radio in my junior year and worked in broadcasting until 1993. I made a brief return for two full years (almost to the day, 2001-2002) in what had become the classic rock format. By then, everything had changed in both radio and artists. I thoroughly enjoyed your documentary. Well done, for the "family tree" of various bands and others within the music industry was incredibly intertwined back in those days and this shines a bit of light upon those relationships that many might not be familiar with.

I was good friends with Jimmy Page's first girlfriend's granddaughter's niece, and she used to tell me stories about this dog in the neighborhood that was the second litter of Jimmy's grandmother's Dalmatians puppies that worked in a firehouse near where Eric Clapton's hairdresser's lawyer lived. Just goes to show you, 10 Degrees of Separation, you know what I mean?

Zep's first album is closer to WWI than it is to today.

Mary. You have to understand how important FM radio was in North America during the 70's. FM was vital to bands like Zep. The DJ's were part of the magic sauce and its such a shame that crap like Spotify et al have taken over...especially when it was free...

No more monsters than anyone else would be in that position - if they had had the talent.

Excellent (as usual) ! I love the way it was put together.

Well done, Mary! The content is awesome

The 70's WERE epic Rock years. Lived it.

Mary, This was really interesting. Thanks for putting this together and sharing it. 😎

Mary thats a fantastic presentation. Thank you... Csn I suggest gary moore as a suitable subject for your consideration?

Thanks for sharing Mary. I found it very interesting.

I'll never forget what Ginger Baker said of John Bohnam; " He couldn't swing a bag of shit!". Obviously, he was referring to his supposed lack of swing on the drums.

Love this style of video! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 cool cool cool! Great job! Thanks for your hard work on this 😉

The band Cream were the first heavy rock band.

Everyone should watch "The song remains the same" ..... then you'll "get" what Zeppelin is about. I love that film ever since I was a teen.

Lucky for me: the first half of music documentaries are always the most interesting. I enjoyed this.

I very much loved that period of musical history, learned to play guitar and idolized all these bands as a young man. I heard many of them did sketchy things but didn't think about it much and also wrote it off as hype. Now as a more mature person, I can't help but to be disgusted by the debauchery among many celebrities, politicians and wealthy people. I've come to realize much more about evil in this world.

First saw LZ on Long Island, NY in 1971. Still the loudest concert to date. Left awestruck and never to forget. Saw them again at Madison Square Garden 2 nites in a row for their Physical tour. Years later I met Eddie Kramer at a studio I managed in Hempstead NY. It was like meeting a god.... Never again will I be rocked by music like Led Zep did to me back then....

Thanks Mary! Signed up as well!

Keith Moon said "that'll go down like a lead balloon". John Entwistle replied "more like a lead zeppelin". Why does no one ever tell this story correctly?

Jeff Beck lived in Wallington about 7 miles from Epsom where Jimmy Page and Glyn Johns lived which in turn is about eleven miles from Ripley where Eric Clapton lived.

Why not both?

Lots of work went into this video! Thanks

Headline asks a question, then proceeds to give a history that everyone has heard....no thanks

LOVED THIS, MARY. GREAT JOB. Nebula sounds amazing.

I like this...very well done...narration seems to suit you very well!

I have always loved Led Zeppelin, John Bonham died when i was 15, before i had a chance to see them live, i think i might have cried. The closest i got was watching The Song Remains the Same in quadraphonic sound on the big screen. Absolutely mesmerising. I had every album, of course, and loved them all. Their live stuff absolutely rocked. My favourite studio track, very hard choice, i think, is Ten Years Gone.

Loved the video clip. Great job as always, Mary. I just started my subscription to Nebula, thank you for the discount. Now looking forward to watching your complete documentary (and many more!). 🙂

The authorized documentary 'Becoming Led Zeppelin' STILL hasn't found a distributor. A work in progress version was screened in September 2021 at the Venice Film Festival and Jimmy Page, himself, was there...Now?...Crickets...

Excellent format, more please Mary.

Great vid and some good deets. I like the fact that you upfront cite Spitz's book, interview him in the doc, and give a link to buy. Might check out Nebula if there's more stuff like this. I'm not a fan of rock gods in general - I LOVE some Zepelin tracks, and like what Plant has done in recent years, esp cos he seems pretty humble, but I never dug into the whole 70s excess thing.

Very good account of the formation and evolution of a key band who changed not just music but the nature of rock fame and rock management.

Love Led Zep for the music, and hate them for, unlike the Rolling Stones, not giving the song credits to so many of the blues artists they stole songs from and claimed as their own.

Even in 2024, this is Led Zeppelin's world. We're just part of it. Mary, your voice is priceless. Thanks for doing what you do. Beautiful work.

If you like Led Zeppelin-you likely know some history and know their music. If you don't and need some woman that just discovered them to guide you through what she is learning and leaving you with a real "teaser" to be continued on her pay channel... you will love this.

When on earth did Zep fall? They still rule the world as the greatest band ever to grace this planet. Yes, like all of them back in the days, they did things that some feel were inappropriate, and they are right, but that does not make them evil, it makes them human. These were four ordinary guys thrown into a situation that few would be able to handle, and that was total and utter adulation from millions of people. The fact they continued to make exemplary music speaks volumes for just how down to earth they were underneath the weird stuff that happened to all rock idols of their era. I have been a rock and blues musician for over 50 years, without the fame and success they achieved, but enjoyed myself and have no regrets whatsoever. The question I ask myself, is what would I have done had I achieved the fame and adulation these four guys achieved? I fear the answer that is fairly obvious and I may not like what I see in the mirror every morning I wake up. Yet these guys are doing just fine because they rose above the weird stuff like the legends they are.

Page & the boys embraced the idea that live music was to be a show, a spectacle... They weren't even the first (or even best?) but they were the first to embrace it holistically/band context... "Putting the Show into showbusiness"... "Method acting" when (especially @ a young age) when the "Act" becomes their 'normalozed reality'? - cinema & TV has lots of these stories (wrecked childhood actors...).

Most excellent work Mary, 🎼🙏💗 Thank You

First album, first song: GTBT. It was as apparent as a massive head-on collision and if anything else changed Rock drumming overnight. Jimmy’s production skills shone brightly with this first record. It’s’ crisp sound set it apart from everything else coming out of London in early 1969. Jimmy had caught lightning in the bottle with this group I think it’s safe to say!

It was the 70s, it was a different time. It was the beginning of a time where Musicians could actually make good money in music, and they had a Manager, Peter Grant who made sure they weren't being ripped off, which was strange in that time in Music. It's not surprising that a bunch of musicians, mostly in their 20s, with all the money in the world, lead lives of excess. Especially back then when you didn't have all the social media pressure to behave.

Ok. My head is spinning from all the names..historical and current..all the renowned musicians surfaced to tell a story. I have loved Led Zeppelin for 50 years. I still love their music. I still feel a need to protect them when others degrade them. This intro vid is nice. I could relax and listen. I need to now hear the whole story. Ok Nebula...now you've got my attention. Thanks, MS. 👍

Thank you, Mary Spender, for putting this together. Fascinating.

Most excellent documentary and treatment of THE GREATEST ROCK BAND, EVER! It so cool that nearly 60 years later they still have a growing fanbase, and people such as yourself do a great job shining their light to new listeners. Keep it up. I first heard them via LZ II in the summer of 1969 when my brother came home for college Summer Break. I was all of nine years old and I found "my" music. My friends and I collected their albums as they were released and we saw them in concert in 1975 and 1977. Good times, indeed!

Thanks for the info on Nebula. I signed up.

It seems you have fallen into the trap of being the poorly informed critical hack producing clickbait rather than being an original creator of meaningful content. You may be judging yourself by your intentions but the world will judge you by your actions. Try sticking to subjects you know through first hand experience and leave the clickbait and hearsay alone.

absolutely love your narration on your videos

The thing about Led Zeppelin that made them such a great band was the fact that you had 4 very fine musicians with totally different personalities come together to create music that has stood the test of time. Like all bands they had their high points and low points, but they stuck with their formula throughout their carrier as a band and losing John Bonham upset that formula. It could never be the same again and they all knew it. In this case they made the right decision to disband when they did because a key piece of them was now gone and it could not be easily replaced by just any drummer. The Who was another example of this. When they lost Keith Moon they lost a presence they simply could not easily replace but tried to carry on anyways. Sometimes it is better to just let it fade into the sunset and let the legacy of the music speak for itself.

I saw Plant and Page in concert in 1997 (Walking into Clarksdale tour) l------------------Rock Gods....definitely.

Not a fan of this 2 part paywall model

Absolutely great interviews Mary. Lots of love from Australia!! Hope you tour soon.

Obviously monster rock gods.

I would say based on I was around at the rise of Led Zeppelin they created music that will never be forgotten also fame and fortune does affect people differently but there music says it and also the fact that three founding members are alive and well they have given awards to numerous to mention and at 67 years old my ringtone on my phone is Kashmir

From Led Zep 4 I was a devotee of this incredible band. A very good minidocumentary.

Excellent documentary !!

Since Zeppelin have been my favourite band for more than 50 years. I first heard them on John Peel, and immediately saved up to buy the first album. Then I saw them live at Shepton Mallet in 1970, and Earls Court in 1975. By far the best rock band I have seen live! Plant is still my favourite rock singer, and he still has the voice and tours. Magic. I enjoyed this segment of the doc, so you finally sold me. I have ordered Bob's book, and signed up to Nebula! I would like to have paid for the Lifetime account, but since I am now 73 and a pensioner, I have joined the Annual sub crew. I'm going to watch on my TV. I will have to work out how to cast it. If not I will just run a long lead from my laptop. I've always liked the professional way you approach your work. Take care and keep up the good work.

God I love your voice. You could make a documentary about the rise of toilet paper and I would be enthralled the whole time. Seriously though... I'm loving this. Led Zeppelin is an amazing group that are forever icons

🇬🇧🎸🎵🎶 Jeff Beck, Alvin Lee, Robin Trower, Peter Frampton and Steve Marriott of Humble Pie ‼️👍

Nice job, Mary. Thank you.

I had read that LZ was not as they were publicly represented. Since some of them were married, they put out stories of sex and groupies that were false. Supposedly they simply just went back to their hotels and got some much needed sleep after their concerts. Anyway, that’s what I read and I have no idea if it’s true or not. I did meet a woman who was president of the Colorado LZ fan club. She met Plant personally and said he was a real gentleman. She had photos in her home.

There was always a dark side to legendary bands and artists... Led Zeppelin's problems were well-documented even before they broke up... Jimmy Page's affair w/ a 14 yr old girl (He wasn't the only one in the 70's doing this) and his fascination w/ black magic ... Manager Peter Grant making threats against anyone who dared challenge him, which led to his arrest in 1977... John Bonham's propensity for alcohol and violent outbursts... Robert Plant's appetite for affairs while he was married... Even The Beatles, the biggest band of all time... famous for their clean image... were embroiled w/ alcohol and drugs behind the scenes. That was very apparent during the 70's, when all 4 (McCartney, Lennon, Harrison and Starr) had their legal troubles and struggles w/ addiction... The torrid affairs that they all had (Only Paul McCartney had kept his personal life and marriage in order) We have to reconcile the fact that our musical heroes were human and imperfect... They all had their issues, struggles and demons to contend with, while they were so publicly exposed... One of the reasons Oasis became so popular in the UK was because they were everything The Beatles were not and never hid their vices (Or couldn't hide them from the media... not that they tried!) Musicians do the things that many of us find rather distasteful... But their music was the truly pure part of them that they expressed as their art... and they were obviously very good at it. What they were not good at often was being a wholesome human being. Beethoven was a brilliant composer of classical music... but he was a vile person because of the torment, abuse and circumstances that were inflicted upon him as a child. That didn't taint the work he did... His music was truly sonic majesty and beauty... but came from a terribly flawed human being.

Mary I watched the content and it was terrific . You used the "Monsters" in the title as a big fan I thought that is unfortunate specially with thumbnails being what they are. But the history and the clips is awesome.

Answer - both. Now move along folks.

Monsters of rock!

Good, clickbait-y title, but absolutely nothing new said here

These guys were all grammer school boys. A lot of the shit they got up to was for publicity. They were absolute masters of their trade.

Brilliant Job!!! #MaryBigSpender and #BobSpitz

Led Zeppelin, I am unashamedly a Ledphile. I will unapologetically tell everyone in the room to all rise for the national anthem whenever Stairway comes on. I'm fixing to be 51 and even after all these decades ( I really didn't discover them until about 86 when I stole my uncle's Zeppelin II album.) when I think they've become passe' or maybe I've overrated them: I sit turn the speakers up to piss off the neighbors off levels. Then there it is again and I have to stop and say goddamn that's fire. Zoso...

Mary, I'm seriously considering this Nebula thing...I despise cable TV and Netflix and most of my entertainment comes from youtube but I also despise their censorship and political pandering (I pay to not have be assaulted with their ads as well)....gonna check it out - plus, I'd love to see the content you don't post here - thanks ❤

Love ya work Mary x

From what I remember reading he said “It would go over like a lead balloon“ onto which, later on JP (to prove that it WOULD work) used it in the band’s name. That was very cool of him! Go Jimmy!

Mary, you clearly aren't old enough to have seen them. The late 60's and 70's was dominated by a number of outstanding musically unique bands. Led Zepplin was clearly one of a kind and their live shows were unbelievable! I was lucky to see them 3 times. Every time a new album was released it became the center of attention. Since #4 was released at the end of 1971 I can't recall not hearing a LZ song at least one a year.

To answer your thumbnail question, without doubt, a simple-yet-complex combination of BOTH!..

In the early 70's two bands went on a rampage through the UK and Europe. Each of the breaking attendance records the prior group had set. Led Zep was one of the groups. Sadly the other imploded. That group was around 5 years, they recorded 6 albums, 3 world tours and at the time they broke up the oldest member was 22. Two members of the group formed a new band and Zep immediately signed them to a record contract. The new groups first album debuted at #1 or #2 world wide. That band was FREE and Rogers and Kirk formed Bad Company. FREE really deserves close look.

I started playing guitar and bass in the 60's and like many was into the Heavy Rock as we called it then of Hendrix and Cream. To make money I worked in a record shop they hired me whenever I needed some work. So I heard all the new music and a lot more. Led Zeppelin's first album really got everyone's attention bands I worked with and customers at the record shop. Then Led Zeppelin second album and the excitement continued. For me and my musician buddies we started getting more serious about music and widening what we listened to as we split into some with songwriting focus and others studio musician ambitions. If not for the record store I would of stopped listening to Led Zeppelin and similar bands like Deep Purple. I started teaching guitar and got me listening to Led Zeppelin because students wanted to learn some of their songs. So I was never a Jimmy Page fan, but I was a huge Jeff Beck fan a far better guitarist and more musicially minded. To me the best musician in Led Zeppelin was John Bonham, but later on I got into John Paul Jones and his bass playing and other musical skills and realize Jones and Bonham were the secret sauce that made Led Zeppelin work. Still today as an old fart still not a Led Zeppelin or Jimmy Page fan. It was interesting to find out that Beck and Page both early on play Chet Atkins style guitar. Then reading another interview with Beck he said he and Page both took guitar lesson for now Jazz legend John McLaughlin. Then Beck says never bring up Page's name to John McLaughlin he hate the Page, they did not get along back then or now. So Mary you want to do a deeper dive on Led Zeppelin dig into John Paul Jone he really is the secret sauce of Zeppelin pulls it all together in my opinion.

Can't find any original topics to make a video about other than a band that hasn't been together in almost 45 years? I'm guessing you pick legacy bands and entertainers to make videos about so you'll get clicks. How creative of you!