Why isn't Led Zeppelin given as much attention...

[gcczep]

....as other great bands? Don't get me wrong. A LOT of people know about them, but for some reason, they are not held in the same regards as The Beatles or Rolling Stones.....even The Who. Why is that?

...they get loads of airplay where I'm at. On par with the three bands you mentioned. As far as "regard" per se Page and Plant while writing some pretty lyrics don't have any songs that are socially conscious, thought provoking or even political for that matter. They did not care and just wanted to rock...no bs. A big factor is that the band did not whore themselves to be media darlings in its heydey. To them all that mattered was satisfying their fans which flew in the face of their critics. Why? I assume because they never got a chance to build up the band's rep so that they can take them down later. Hell, the pre-eminent rag of the 70's Rolling Stone hated them. England wasn't a bed of roses either. I do find it funny how they became hip to the press years later after they disbanded in 1980.

As far as unknown artists during their run, the band championed them on their own label Swan Song which was not a "vanity" label like the Stones was. The members had a varied interest in music both well known and underground. Oh and just how many heavy rock guitarists like Page are seen toting an Ohio Players record? Yeah, exactly... It's a shame that their label did not take off as it should given their management's time taken by the group's success which Plant has lamented in interviews. That and their various...errr...dependencies.

 

[LG]

^^You make a good point George, Swan Song had great potential but the only band I can remember of note they signed was Bad Company.

It is cool that a band of Zep's stature had their own label, and as you say if they hadn't been so spaced out maybe they would have done something massive with it.

Oh and how many "unofficial" Zeppelin recordings do you have?

 

[Hardnecker]

My opinions of their live shows is based on "too many" unofficial live recordings. That's what my wife says anyway.

 

[gcczep]

^^You make a good point George, Swan Song had great potential but the only band I can remember of note they signed was Bad Company.

It is cool that a band of Zep's stature had their own label, and as you say if they hadn't been so spaced out maybe they would have done something massive with it.

Oh and how many "unofficial" Zeppelin recordings do you have?

I was going to mention Bad Company but they weren't exactly unknowns because of Rodgers' stint with Free. The others did not take off since the Grant and company were not able to promote them properly due to Zeppelin's logistics alone. They were The Pretty Things. Dave Edmunds. Mirabai, Maggie Bell (regarded as the English Janis Joplin), Detective (with Michael Des Barre) and Sad Café.

To answer your question about the "unofficial" stuff...I have just about everything both live and studio sessions at least what is made available by the source of them.

 

[LG]

^^I know Sad Cafe and Dave Edmunds but that's about it from your list.

I think you have more Zeppelin than anyone I know...

Architect is the same when it comes to Pink Floyd.

 

[Lavender10]

Ive never heard stairway on the local rock radio, and ive had that station tuned since i was 15. Ive heard black dog a few times, months apart, but lately immigrant song has been playing alot (along with No One Like You - Scorpions) its so weird, you dont hear them for months and then they get 5-8 plays a day... and I always feel bad when the opening chords start for Immigrant song, because I instantly think of batman <.< and Jantine <3

 

[METALPRIEST]

I think we have the most epic Zeppelin thread probably over any other rock forum

 

[Slip'nn2Darkness]

One thing I found interesting about Zeppelin's beginning, according to the Richard Coles book "Stairway To Heaven" When Zeppelin started out, their home country shunned them and the critics had a hay day with them for years.
Although the fans enjoyed them, they were way more famous in America. That's why they toured over here for so many years before they finally started to be recognized in their own country.

 

[gcczep]

One thing I found interesting about Zeppelin's beginning, according to the Richard Coles book "Stairway To Heaven" When Zeppelin started out, their home country shunned them and the critics had a hay day with them for years.

Although the fans enjoyed them, they were way more famous in America. That's why they toured over here for so many years before they finally started to be recognized in their own country.

Yep, they built their following on heavy touring from 1969-1970 to support their first two releases. Minimal promotion other than word of mouth from fans city to city... Three separate U.S. tours in 1969 alone.

England was not really open to new bands at the time with Grant noting he had difficulty booking them gigs. What they believed broke them through at home was the prestigious Bath Festival show in May of 1970.

 

[Lavender10]

Yep, they built their following on heavy touring from 1969-1970 to support their first two releases. Minimal promotion other than word of mouth from fans city to city... Three separate U.S. tours in 1969 alone.

England was not really open to new bands at the time with Grant noting he had difficulty booking them gigs. What they believed broke them through at home was the prestigious Bath Festival show in May of 1970.

Promotion is a big deal for me. You see bands like led zep and nirvana and the plasmastics when they were underground / not established, then they have an un-corporate, non advertised breakthrough album that shakes the community in a way no one thought possible... not to make this a pop thing, but im tired of well-established artists promoting the living hell out of their 4th or 5th albums, having it chart well and then people say: man, he/she is changing the face of music". Lady Gaga's born this way is case and point... 9 radio appearances, 3 guest interviews on tv, posters and online ads EVERYWHERE, album sales next to cashiers, selling it for 99 cents the first day, then they talk about how massively popular it is, charting well and huge sales, and it just shakes me to my core... of course if you sell al albums at a dollar, next to cash registers, after promoting it absolutely everywhere, the album will sell... the real artists didnt need any of that, they used their talents and the material spoke for itself. Its cliche, but todays music is desensitizing people/teens to music (sorry that ran long, needed to vent somewhere, although its old news im sure)