re: Led Zeppelin: The Most Influential Band In History

The Stones have done the same thing as LZ when it comes to copying songs, lyrics, etc. Keith Richards admits it in his book. The Stones just gave more credit where credit was due. Richards talked about how they brought music that existed for years in America into the mainstream. They weren't doing anything new, but they did cover multiple genres and they did it very well.

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not like a baton rouge music critic's opinion really matters.

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I favor the truth. Led zeppelin didn't invent rock and roll

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Early LZ was a cover band that didn't get the rights for the songs they did

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are you talking about the yardbirds or lz?

No, they did not do that either. Nor did I claim they did.

crazy... never heard this interview before.

every LZ fanatic should hear this

it's amazing

people that defend them are clueless

I think they are a great band, but they stole 95% of the early music they recorded. Blatantly ripped off jake owens, joan baez, and countless others

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And metal

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That'd be Black Sabbath

I was thinking about this last night. Every one of their songs from the first 4 albums is legendary.

I don't believe anyone else can say that.

Led Zeppelin didn't invent rock and roll, but no band has been more influential on musicians of the 80s and 90s. That's probably the greatest extent of their influential reach. There are a handful of bands who are clearly influenced by LZ today, but the majority are far more influenced by either 80s and 90s punk, dance, or rap.

The Beatles continue to be influential today, though it has clearly waned. The reason they are more influential than LZ is the shear breadth of their influence. They didn't just influence music, they influenced society as a whole.

However, I'm of the personal opinion that LZ was the better band, and probably the best band in history. They had a breadth of music that was pretty impressive, encompassing blues, gospel, hard rock, rock ballads, blue grass, and more, all of their influences being evident in their songs. Moreover, there really isn't a bad LZ song. Each well done in its own vein of music.

What's more, no other band can point to each of its four members and say, "He's in the top 3 [drummers, guitarists, front men, bassists] of all time." Not even the Beatles can do that, though each of the Fab 4 was a well known and renowned musician. Some will dispute Robert Plant. Some will dispute Jimmy Page. Some will dispute John Paul Jones. I don't think many will dispute Bonham. But even if you dispute them, they at least have a colorable argument. Each member of LZ is considered by music critics to be at least in the conversation for being the best at their respective craft, which to me is unheard of. They were a superband before superbands existed.

As for saying bands like The Yardbirds and Deep Purple and Cream existed prior to LZ, that's as may be (though I find it interesting that The Yardbirds are listed since Jimmy Page was the guitarist for them prior to LZ). Nevertheless, none of those bands had the attention of the world like LZ and none of them have continued to hold the attention of the world like LZ.

Again, Led Zeppelin didn't invent rock and they aren't the most influential band of all time, but they are certainly one of the best, if not the best, bands to have ever existed.