They are one of the most popular and influential bands in rock. We need to look back at their music and their legacy. They are Led Zeppelin who took on the world in the 1970’s. They were loud and wicked well into the rock sex and drug scene so it seemed quite unexpected when they were recently invited to Washington to the White House. Yes, the three surviving band members John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were all decked out in tuxedos being the recipients of the Kennedy Center’s honors.

They have never been there before and throughout the years have never been part of any countries political ideal. The band was more known for taking sex drugs and rock to extremes. It has been more than 30 years since the band disbanded after the death of the drummer John Bonham in 1980. Now lead singer Robert Plant is 64 years old and is still so famous and people are in awe to be in his presence.

The band sold more than 300 Million records and when Led Zeppelin reunited in London for one night only in 2007, more than 20 Million people applied for the 18,000 tickets. That night moved their horizons on even further finally hooking the younger generations on to their timeless musical sound.

Jimmy Page at age 14 was already appearing on a British TV show playing guitar and soon was the most sought after guitarist in Britain. In the 60’s he played for and with The Who and The Kinks. He even played on the theme of the 007 Goldfinger Bond movie. He joined a group called The Yardbirds till the band fell apart in 1968. So, he created his own band and recruited first John Paul Jones, his bass player who was writing string parts for The Herman Hermits and Rolling Stones records.

From their first rehearsals the band got along great. Their first album spent 73 straight weeks on the charts. By the mid seventies Led Zeppelin was one of the most popular bands in the world. In 1973 in Tampa Florida, they played before more than 56,000 fans which broke the Beatles Shea Stadium record for most fans in one place. At that time it was the biggest crowd ever assembled for a single performance in one place in the entire history of the world.

The band became known as the dark Gods of rock for more than a decade. In 1980 John Bonham died after consuming 40 shots of vodka in 24 hours. It all ended unexpectedly and after he died the band members all went their separate ways. The band would reunite publicly only twice before 2007. Their last performance included John Bonham’s son on drums. Love this band . Tell your kids to love some good old rock music.