Nov 20 2008
Who Bridged The Rock Gap?
It’s been said that there’s only one band that actually bridged the gap from the popular “BritRock” to intense, intricate heavy sounds (not necessarily metal, but that was influenced by them) …
and that was Led Zeppelin. (agree? disagree? lemme know …)
When they started out as The New Yardbirds, nobody actually looked at them as the fabric from which many subsequent rock bands would be patterned (in fact, it was Pete Townshend of The Who who told them they’d go over like a “lead Zeppelin” … thus, their legendary name-change …)
Over the years, they hit the rock world between the eyes with some of the deepest, most memorable heavy-rock sounds (and lyrics) imaginable. But, who actually made LZ the supergroup it became?? And did they, in fact, actually create the bridge I mentioned?
Some say it was Robert Plant — the unmistakable tenor terror who could make us feel any emotion the song called for — that built the band into a legend; others say Jimmy Page, the guitarist who was from the original Yardbirds, who played (and still does) with remarkable skill and ease! Still others swear it was the wild drumming of John “Bonzo” Bonham.
But, according to an earlier poll I took (back in Spring of ‘07), it was one song — a tune that had everything necessary to bring rock-n-roll to another dimension; s track that became one of the most covered guitar-based songs in the world:
With 10,526,525 hits on YouTube® alone, here’s Stairway To Heaven:
So, again, I ask: Am I right or wrong? Who do you think really bridged the gap?? (Yes, it can be more than one!) Write or comment and let’s hear your thoughts, okay?
Til then, see ya on the flip side!
