Led Zeppelin (Official Thread)

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The Pres and the boys...so proud to be a fan of the group!



Led Zeppelin Receive Award From Obama

Barack Obama tells the British band "You still rock!" as he awards them medals honouring their contribution to US culture.

British rock band Led Zeppelin have received a prestigious award from Barack Obama for their significant contribution to American culture and the arts.

Dressed in black suits and bow ties, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page were among a group of artists who received Kennedy Centre Honours at a dinner event at the White House.

Frontman Plant said he was flattered and overwhelmed by the award, adding that he was glad to see Jones and Page using "good table manners".

In his tribute to the band, Mr Obama said: "When Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham burst onto the musical scene in the late 1960s, the world never saw it coming.

"There was this singer with a mane like a lion and a voice like a banshee, a guitar prodigy who left people's jaws on the floor, a versatile bassist who was equally at home on the keyboards, a drummer who played like his life depended on it.

"And when the Brits initially kept their distance, Led Zeppelin grabbed America from the opening chord. We were ready for what Jimmy called songs with "a lot of light and shade".

"It's been said that a generation of young people survived teenage angst with a pair of headphones and a Zeppelin album ... but even now, 32 years after John Bonham's passing - and we all I think appreciate the fact - the Zeppelin legacy lives on."

The president drew laughter from guests when he thanked the former band members for behaving themselves at the White House given their history of "hotel rooms being trashed and mayhem all around".

Barack Obama, Buddy Guy, Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, Natalia Makarova, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant The band were among those honoured at a White House dinner

He ended his speech saying: "We honour Led Zeppelin for making us all feel young, and for showing us that some guys who are not completely youthful can still rock!"

Led Zeppelin, whose songs include Stairway To Heaven, Rock And Roll and Whole Lotta Love, broke up in 1980 following Bonham's death.

With the exception of a one-off tribute concert for Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun at London's O2 Arena in 2007, Jones has largely been estranged from Plant and Page.

Plant has been concentrating on other projects, including work with bluegrass singer Alison Krauss.

Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman, chat show host David Letterman, blues star Buddy Guy and ballerina Natalia Makarova also received Kennedy Centre Honours at the event on Sunday night.

 

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Led Zeppelin to receive Kennedy Center Honors

WASHINGTON (AP) - Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant says he's game to write new songs if anybody else wants to.

Plant visited the State Department in Washington on Saturday with the other surviving members of the legendary rock band, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page. They are among seven artists receiving the Kennedy Center Honors with accolades from President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Plant told The Associated Press he was surprised and overwhelmed in receiving the American honor.

The band is often asked if they'll reunite. Plant says he loves traveling the world and wants to write music along the way. He says "if anybody wants to write some new songs, I'm game."

The trio is scheduled to appear Monday on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman."

 

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From CNN...

And the stage will continue to rock in a tribute to John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant -- the three surviving members of the band Led Zeppelin. Famed drummer John Bonham passed away in 1980.

Having sold more than 100 million albums in the United States alone, the British band has churned out a number of classics, including "Whole Lotta Love," "Thank You," and the enduring song: "Stairway to Heaven."

Though thanking the group for "making us all feel young," Obama took the liberty of joking about the trio during his remarks in the East Room, noting how the group redefined "the rock and roll lifestyle."

"There were some hotel rooms trashed, mayhem all around," the president said. "So it is fitting that we are doing this in a room with windows three inches thick."

"So guys, settle down, these paintings are valuable," Obama joked.

Asked on the red carpet if part of him wanted to get on stage and join the tribute, Plant said, "Absolutely."

"I've always got a little bit of agitation in me," he continued. "That's what keeps me going. But I'm not going to show anybody how to do it."

The trio is scheduled to join fellow honoree Letterman on the "The Late Show" on Monday.

The Kennedy Center Honors will air December 26 on CBS.

 

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Led Zeppelin Get All-Star Tribute at Kennedy Center Honors



By Evan Serpick
December 3, 2012 8:35 AM ET

A generation of acolytes including Jack Black, the Foo Fighters, Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz and Heart paid hard-rocking tribute to Led Zeppelin in Washington D.C. Sunday night as the band received the Kennedy Center Honors in the annual gala tribute, to be broadcast on CBS December 26th. Other honorees included blues trailblazer Buddy Guy, ballerina Natalia Makarova, David Letterman and Dustin Hoffman.

Zeppelin's three surviving members, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page, sat down the row from President and Michelle Obama in the balcony, next to the other honorees, all wearing the rainbow-colored sash and medal that had been given at a White House ceremony hours earlier. The Zeppelin tribute, the night's longest, was saved for last, though the rock gods' presence was noted throughout the evening, as when Ray Romano opened his tribute to Letterman by acknowledging his nerves.

"As a performer, the last thing you want to do is bomb in front of Led Zeppelin," he said. "I lost my virginity to the first two minutes of 'Stairway to Heaven' and spent the next 11 minutes of it apologizing."

Finally, Jack Black took the stage, describing Led Zeppelin as "the greatest rock and roll band of all time" and noted his completion of the "rock & roll haj" – listening to all nine Zep albums back-to-back. He described how Derek Skanky gave him a Zeppelin mixtape in high school and the combination and power and beauty moved him and changed his life forever, as did the wide-ranging lyrics about "love, Vikings, Vikings making love and The Lord of the Rings."

Then an appropriate stony castle backdrop emerged and it was time for the performances. The Foo Fighters, with Dave Grohl on drums and Taylor Hawkins on rather strained vocals, took "Rock and Roll." Kid Rock, in gold-sequined cowboy shirt and chaps, did a better job on "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" and "Ramble On." Next was Lenny Kravitz doing a spot-on Plant impression on "Whole Lotta Love." Finally, Jason Bonham, son of original drummer John and the drummer for the band's 2007 reunion show, joined Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart for a show-ending version of "Stairway to Heaven" that gradually grew to include a string section, a horde of backup singers and the Joyce Garrett Youth Choir.

Through it all Page and Jones grinned with what seemed to be genuine pleasure, while Plant occasionally looked slack-jawed at the proceedings. At one point, between songs of the tribute to their band, the three huddled together in discussion. One can only wonder what they were talking about and hope against hope that the show gave them the urge to get back onstage with those songs and give the world what it wants: a Led Zeppelin reunion tour.

 

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“Led Zeppelin!”

Comedian/occasional rock star Jack Black got right to the point at the 35th Annual Kennedy Center Honors. He was there to pay tribute to Led-Zeppelin, and started his speech by yelling their name, as if he was demanding that a DJ play his favorite Zep jams.

It kicked off a hilarious tribute from the man who once sent a video appeal to Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones to allow a film he starred in, School Of Rock, to use “Immigrant Song” for an important scene. (In reference to that, the house orchestra played “Immigrant Song” as Black took the stage).

Clearly, it was a departure for the Kennedy Center Honors. Now in it’s 35th year, the ceremony started out by paying tribute to cultural icons like Fred Astaire, Ella Fitzgerald and Tennessee Williams. In recent years, rock has been represented more and more at this prestigious event, with Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, Elton John and Bruce Springsteen all collecting the Kennedy Center medallion. But past ceremonies probably never got as loud as this year’s.

Of course, Led Zeppelin were the event’s headliners.

And then it was time to rock. Jack Black took the stage with the bold statement: “Led Zeppelin is the greatest rock and roll band of all time. Better than The Beatles! Better than the Stones! Even better than Tenacious D (referring to his own band). That’s not opinion, that’s fact! If you don’t agree you never did the Led Zeppelin marathon,” he said, saying that all “true fans” have to do it: listen to all of Zeppelin’s albums in a row.

He also noted the band’s wide appeal, spreading from famously liberal film director Oliver Stone to recent Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Paul Ryan. “They say that Led Zeppelin sold their souls to Satan,” possibly the first time such a reference was made at the Kennedy Center. Looking up at them in the balcony, he chided, “Come on guys, you know you did! There’s no other way to explain your ungodly talent! I just want to say ‘thank you,’ because while you’re in hell, the human race will cherish your heavenly jams until the end of time! It’s a small price to pay. We love you.”

Black’s pals the Foo Fighters then took the stage. Two months after frontman Dave Grohl declared that the band was taking a break, they were back, paying tribute to Zep. Grohl stayed behind the drums, though, letting drummer Taylor Hawkins take the mic for “Black Dog” and “Rock and Roll.” Hawkins, who fronts his own band (Taylor Hawkins and The Coattail Riders), strained to replicate Robert Plant’s vocals; but then, so do most singers.

That was also an issue for Kid Rock, who followed with “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You” and “What Is And What Should Never Be.” But things really picked up when Lenny Kravitz took to the stage to sing “Whole Lotta Love.” While Kravitz usually plays guitar on stage, he just kept to the mic, concentrating on doing Plant’s vocals justice. After that, John Bonham’s son, Jason Bonham, who played with Zeppelin at their 2007 reunion concert recently released as the Celebration Day live album and DVD, got behind the drums, wearing a bowler hat (which his father often used to wear).

Heart sisters (and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees) Ann and Nancy Wilson, longtime Zep disciples, closed the show with an epic version of “Stairway To Heaven,” complete with a string section, backing singers and a choir (all wearing Bonzo-esque bowlers).

Throughout the performances, Page beamed, and he, Plant and Jones seemed to be enjoying each other’s company. Tonight (December 3), they will appear together alongside a fellow honoree when they guest on Late Show With David Letterman. It’s the last scheduled event that the three will appear at, leading fans to wonder if it will be their final bow. If it is, the Kennedy Center Honors helped to provide a great last hurrah for the group dubbed by Jack Black as the “Best! Band! Ever!”

The Kennedy Center Honors will air nationwide on CBS on Wednesday,
December 26 at 9 pm ET/PT.

– Brian Ives, CBS Local

 

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Jason Bonham on Plant's English sense of humor...

 

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Dave Grohl on why he played drums during Sunday’s Led Zeppelin tribute at the Kennedy Center

By Chris Richards (The Style Blog)

Performing the music of Led Zeppelin alongside Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, Lenny Kravitz and Kid Rock at Sunday’s Kennedy Center Honors, the Foo Fighters pulled a clever switcheroo.

Instead of fronting his band, leader Dave Grohl paid homage to late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham from behind the drum kit. And Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins played frontman for the night, howling “Black Dog” and “Rock and Roll,” the bruising one-two punch that opens “Led Zeppelin IV.”

After the ceremony, Grohl told me that the decision was made at band practice just a few days earlier. The Virginia-raised 43-year-old remembers asking himself: “‘Can I sing Zep? I can drum Zep.’” So he traded Hawkins a microphone for two sticks. A few days later in Washington, the band took the Kennedy Center stage for a dress rehearsal without telling anyone about the swap. “The producer said, ‘Are those your starting positions?’” says Grohl. “And we said, ‘Yuuuuup.’”

The performance was one of the evening’s highlights. Grohl’s drumming in Nirvana was some of the most explosive rock-and-roll time-keeping since Bonham left us in 1980. And Hawkins was no slouch, either. His performance was poised enough to earn a bear hug from Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant afterward.

I recently spoke with Grohl for Sunday’s feature story on Led Zeppelin. Here are a few thoughts that didn’t make it into the final piece.

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On growing up in the D.C. punk scene and falling for Zeppelin a little late: “The first CD I ever listened to was Led Zeppelin. I grew up listening to records and loving the Beatles and spinning albums on a turntable in my bedroom. But I had a friend who lived in Arlington who had a CD player. And the first CD we ever listened to was “Houses of the Holy.” And because of the quality and the clarity, I could hear things like John Bonham’s kick drum pedal squeaking, and fingers sliding on frets and strings, and things that I had never really heard beneath the pops and scratches on an album. At the time, I was deep into punk rock and was really only listening to local Washington D.C. hardcore — independent punk rock music. I hadn’t gotten into my Zeppelin phase yet. It was because of that album that I started to listen to Led Zeppelin as if it was a crash course in how to play rock-and-roll.”

On John Bonham’s influence on him as a drummer: “I was completely obsessed with John Bonham. So much so, that I knew that I would never be technically able to do what he did. But I wanted to see if I could crack open his instinct and see why he did the things that he did. Because, as any musician or producer will tell you, John Bonham’s feel was legendary. Just the way that he held down a back beat was something that no one had ever heard. And no one has been able to recreate since.”

On why Led Zeppelin was the best: “They were the most powerful musical entity in the world when they were together. No one could touch them... They were fearless because they were so confident. And they had the chops to back it up. My favorite Led Zeppelin bootlegs, which I have many, are the ones where they go off in uncharted territory. They’re off in their own universe... You’re fortunate to be in the presence of a band like that.”

 

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90 second clip of the Letterman appearance...

 

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Kennedy Center Honors after-party: Led Zeppelin charms the room, Letterman leaves early

By The Reliable Source

You hear that noise coming from the Kennedy Center Sunday night? It was the final aftershock of the Baby Boom, whacking the staid arts temple on the Potomac like a hammer of the gods.

Led Zeppelin , it turns out, still has the ability to shock. As Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters ripped into the sexually-charged “Black Dog” — guitars wailing, strobes flashing, honey dripping — we saw several elderly patrons shrink towards the exits. Clearly, no one had warned them: Hard rock had finally come to the Kennedy Center Honors. (*see also: Why Grohl played drums for Zep tribute)

And just in time! Because the men of LedZep proved to be the most accessible rock gods the event has seen in years. They may have left the older folks dazed and confused (“I met Mr. Zeppelin last night,” Aretha Franklin told reporters on the red carpet), but younger guests flocked to the three grizzled Englishmen at the post-show dinner in the center’s Grand Foyer.

Jimmy Page — looking like the Quaker Oats guy these days, with that snow-white hair and beatific glow — smiled warmly, seemingly genuinely touched as one fan after another (usually a 35-to-50 year-old dude) told him oh my god you changed my life. “I’m a jazz musician,” began one, urgently unloading all the things one needs to tell Jimmy Page (“when I listen to Miles or Coltrane. . . I saw Blind Faith in Japan. . . ”).

Producer George Stevens Jr. seemed somewhat embarrassed by the mob blocking the guitar hero from his meal. “Are you the escort for these people?” he hissed to a volunteer assisting Page’s posse. “Take them to their table!” Sorry, Mr. Stevens — Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s gotta get her photo with him first.

Hey, can you blame the people for seizing the moment? Not like they were going to have that kind of lovefest with honoree David Letterman . The crotchety late-night icon did, at least, drop by the gala, but he was outta there before the salad course, leaving Jimmy Kimmel as the ranking A-lister of a half-empty table. (Did a teenage Kimmel really stay up until 1:30 a.m. watching Letterman, as he proclaimed in his tribute? Yes. “My parents didn’t know, so I just did it. We had no VCR.”) For guests who paid a minimum of $2,000, the dinner may have offered a little less spark than usual; somewhat fewer members of Congress or the Cabinet visibly mingling with the showbiz elite. Blame the lateness of the hour — many diners weren’t seated until after 11 p.m. — but at least it meant that Dustin Hoffman , Buddy Guy and Natalia Makarova seemed to eat mostly in peace.

But here was a moment, shared with us by NBC’s David Gregory: Kid Rock meeting President Obama at the White House pre-show reception. Joked POTUS to the rocker, who was one of Mitt Romney’s most vocal celebvocates, “I’m still here.” No hard feelings, apparently.

Fighting our way through the fanboys, we asked Robert Plant, Zeppelin’s howling lead singer, if he was surprised his music still had the power to rattle the gentry.

Hardly. “I played MerleFest in North Carolina last year with my true love Patty Griffin” — the fetching singer-songwriter on his arm Sunday night — “and we cleared half the crowd.” He sounded rather pleased.

 

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This is all GREAT!!!!! The POTUS, Letterman...all of it!!!