| These pages are my tribute to four Brits who not only knew how to make great music, but who also had a grace and insight that few other bands display: After the tragic death of their drummer, John Bonham, they called it quits. With only 8 albums, one live album, a concert movie and a post-humous studio-leftovers release, but more live concerts than I have time to count, they left a legacy that few others can match. Sneered at by what had by 1969 become the "rock establishment" (what a contradiction in terms!!!!) like radio and Rolling Stone (the magazine) and assorted "critics," their early success was strictly word-of-mouth. Through their incessant touring, they brought their music directly to the fans starved for something fresh and different, and the fans thanked them by practially ripping their albums off the store shelves. Until one day, back in '71, a bright FM DeeJay put "Stairway to Heaven" on the turntable. The rest, as they say, is history! |
