I was in high school in the 70s. Didn’t see them, something I regret but Zeppelin’s music was the backdrop for our teen years. There was such an aura about the band, more than other bands. They were the bad boys of rock and roll, yet they would put out songs like Stairway, Ten Years Gone, Kashmir…songs that were ethereal. Songs that were rock but not rock. Then come out with Whole Lotta Love and Black Dog. Songs that were gut churning heavy rock. They could do anything. They were simply the best. They were THE band of the 70s.
I'm a late Gen Xer who didn't discover Led Zeppelin until the summer going into my junior year of high school. Before then, I enjoyed listening to quite a bit of the pop music of the time: late 80s hip-hop, early 90s crooners, and even the end of the hair metal era. However, deciding to go out one summer day and buying Led Zeppelin IV on a whim completely changed the trajectory of my life. At that point, grunge had just hit it big and was dominating the airwaves and the charts, yet I wasn't a fan of it at all. I just didn't get it. But discovering Led Zeppelin changed my mind on it in a big way. I then started to get it (not surprising, considering how much of an influence LZ had on bands like Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, STP, etc.) and led me to discover what I consider a "higher realm" of music. I started "getting" much more music that I simply didn't understand before. No other band's music has had on effect on me like Led Zeppelin, not before or since.
If you get a chance seek out their live shows. I am not talking about the commercially released stuff, but there are many "unofficial" releases out there. Too many fans listen only to the studio and the commercially released live shows. Certainly fans can listen to whatever they want, but I feel as though not getting to hear their live shows is missing out on the greatness of this band. Ask anyone who saw them live back in the day.
The history of rock can now be written, the rock era ended 10-15 years ago & we now have sufficient perspective. LZ can be seen as coming along at the height of the era, immediately coming to the top & sustaining that status, both live & on record, for a decade. No conversation about the rock era can exclude or dismiss them. IMO, they're more highly considered now than back in the day when they had a lot of people from the music industry & rock media against them. Their musical legacy has gotten stronger over time, like the Beatles.
I’m 61 from LA, and I remember Robert Hilburn well. He was the Dean of LA rock music critics for many years. He was typical of the elitist, self-important rock critics of the day who held Zeppelin’s phenomenal popularity against them. After all, if the band appealed so greatly to the ignorant masses, they couldn’t possibly be producing anything of lasting substance. Only the elite with their special insights could discern true enduring greatness. The savior of rock that Hilburn was so eagerly anticipating in the 1973 article turned out to be Bruce Springsteen-at least in Hilburn’s estimation. Especially after Born to Run came out in the mid 70s, Hilburn anointed Springsteen as rock’s greatest prophet. In fact, he was such a Springsteen fanboy, that a local LA artist wrote a song parody about Hilburn that contained the following lyrics: “Thinks Bob Dylan is really nice, Thinks Bruce Springsteen is Jesus Christ.” I like Springsteen too and he’s had enduring popularity of his own, but not quite the way that Zeppelin has. It’s amusing to read how today’s music critics reflexively acknowledge Led Zeppelin as an all-time great rock band and act as if that were always the case, but it certainly wasn’t back in the 70s.
The fact that fifty years later, we're STILL taking about Led Zeppelin, making more videos about them, lusting for any little tidbit of material that we haven't heard, pitting them against every other band from that era speaks loudly about their talent and their influence. Go have a look at the "Mr. Jimmy" videos.... No other band on the planet has or will ever have the fanbase they do....... including many who weren't even born before Zep was over. I'll tell you what...... in 50 years from now, there won't be any "Imagine Dragons" cover bands. Never before, never again, Led Zeppelin.
I saw Zeppelin Feb 7 1975 ( the LZ film gets released Feb 7 2025). Physical Grafitti wasn't released until the 26th or so. They previewed 4 songs. Pages finger was injured but the show must go on. Thanx
I was 16 in 1973. I am British and it was a great time for British rock music. Led Zep IV is a fantastic record. My friends and I thought Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Yes had taken rock to a new level in the early 1970s. I had this argument with Dad who was a Beatles fan. A generation gap had opened up. The Beatles seemed tame. It was girls I knew who listened to their records and they hated loud guitar solos. I met my wife at college and she owned Abbey Road, Sgt Pepper, Revolver and Band on the Run. By 1973, Cream and Hendrix sounded dated to us. Popular acts at my high school in 1973 included Deep Purple, The Who, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Focus, Sabbath, ELP, Crimson, Tull, Bowie, Rod Stewart, Genesis, and Free. We didn't listen to many American bands or pay any attention to US critics. I came across a Rolling Stone Album Guide in the 1970s, their critics appeared stuck in the 1960s. They liked The Byrds, Bob Dylan, The Doors and California soft-rock. They were pompous when rock was meant to be fun. They didn't like music that would appeal to teenage boys.
This was a pretty common sentiment among the Christgau school of rock journalists around this time. You'll notice there's no mention of Bowie, Queen, Lou Reed, T. Rex, Elton John, Aerosmith, Roxy Music, The Sweet, The New York Dolls, or any of the other glam bands. Also no mention of Pink Floyd, who released The Dark Side of the Moon this year. This was a guy who probably wrote about pre-"rock" bands and considered himself an elder statesman on the subject at this point, unable and unwilling to make the jump to the next generation of rock stars.
Good laughs with "The band simply isn't significant..., ultimately empty and unsatisfying [and they] will probably be forgotten." The writer makes an interesting point about the state of rock/pop for that brief moment in time, but that makes the opposite point about Zeppelin that he's trying to make. Back then, critics often smacked Zeppelin. Books can be written on the psychological reasons why. They were blinded by certain prejudices. I listen to young people react to Zeppelin here. Almost unanimously with EVERY song the reaction is something like "Wow! They just don't make music like this today."
Not surprisingly..... within Robert Hilburn's Wikipedia page, crammed full of rock-and-roll name-dropping, there isn't a single reference to Led Zeppelin. I expect this is a review he'd rather forget he ever wrote..... and hoped you'd forget, too.
This is one of many articles written by the "Zeppelin is nothing special" writers that ruled the critical roost during Zep's earlier days. It was very fashionable among critics to dismiss them as superficial, unoriginal, bombastic, etc. Those articles haven't aged well. As for this one, the notion that Zeppelin belonged in the same catefory as Iron Butterfly and "dozens of others" was flat-out ridiculous in 1973, let alone later.
I would love to have this "critic" review this article now. How dead wrong was he. Its well know the press always gave them bad reviews, as Peter and the band were not going to bow down to them and give them free tickets and LPs. Led Zeppelin is bigger today than ever so where is this "journalist" now what was his staying power? LOL
I'm 61. When I was 13 in 1976, Led Zeppelin was considered music for "burnouts." I remember liking it and bringing the fourth album to play in music class (the teacher devoted Friday to playing records). The burnout kids instantly bonded with me and thought I was cool. I have always loved LZ. They are just really great, talented musicians. Probably an all star team of musicians. It is ironic that The Sex Pistols made fun of LZ as posers when Johnny Ramone said their basic sound came from "Communication Breakdown" downstrokes on the guitar. To this day, people bash LZ. But they are my go to rock band. I still go to see Jason Bonham and Jimmy Sakurai every time I can, and it is still magical. I play all these songs on my Heritage Cherry Sunburst Gibson Les Paul. How stupid was this critic? Flat earth man. 😂
I saw them at Keazar on the edge of Haight in San Francisco. One of the great shows. Check out what Rolling Stone said about them. They trashed them. I never listen to media.
Just look at the present streaming numbers of Zeppelin and it tells you all you need to know. My son is in his early twenties and he and all his friends love Zeppelin I don’t think I know anyone who isn’t a fan. Didnt Jack White say he really doesn’t trust anyone who doesn’t love Zeppelin?
I have been wondering for sometime why Grand Funk seems to have faded away. I think it may have to do with how over whelming Zeppelin became in the 80s. Here was a band with almost no singles in the 70s. Airplay even on the few album rock stations of the era was more spread out. As the 80s progressed 70s era rock began to be compressed into about a dozen bands, with 3 or 4 getting the majority of airplay. Many stations had a Zeppelin block at night and a rotation playing the band almost hourly. The bands deeper tracks were being played more often than other bands hits. As radio consolidation progressed in the 90s and 2000s, playlist were also tightened up. The average classic rock station typically has a playlist of less than 1000 songs. The higher the recognition for the song/band the more airplay/frequency of play. Considering there are artist from the 60s up to the 2000s many only get 1 song. Despite how strong a band may have been 40 or more years ago without promotion or fan based demand for airplay they fade out. Zeppelin mania in the 80s made songs with no airplay recognizable to minor hit or higher levels. Certain songs had daily rotation and other as often as 2-3 times a week. Zeppelin and to a lesser extent The Stones and Pink Floyd claimed an overwhelming amount of airplay, squeezing out bands with smaller levels of interest. I think Grand Funks older music is more FM friendly, but lesser known than their pop friendly hits that came later. Pop music has moved on from that sound so those songs are relegated to 70/80s hit channels but the field there is much wider, so any one band is less likely to dominate as album cuts arent played in this format. More than one classic rock band has had its moment of glory, where they were the it band everyone wanted to hear, however they lacked a discography of airplay friendly songs. You could argue this endlessly, so many things go into what creates airplay and listener interest. Almost every classic rock band has "it", Zeppelin has an abundance. They received so much 80s airplay that almost the entire catalog, just over 90 songs, recieved regular airplay. Even the Stones have trouble matching that in the confines of classic rock airplay. I think I've babbled enough. I hope some of the above makes sense. Looking at where we are objectively, rather than as a fan seemes to be the best way to unravel how we arrived at the dominance of Zeppelin over the pack. One more thing - any list of the top 10 artist - everyone of them could be in the top position depending on the criteria being used. Each has it's own unique style and blend - we've all heard the arguments and l like to think they all have merit and the basic truth is that era produced people who strove to excell and produce great music
It’s just one news paper writer and he happens to have a negative opinion about Zeppelin. Cuz maybe he’s older now, at that time and all the other bands was prolly what he loved listening too at the time. Then Zep comes along and smokes um all with a newer heavier sound. Since those other band were his favorite and maybe for whatever reason he just didn’t like Zep…… But I really don’t have a clue what the writers deal is, so I’m just guessing. 🤔🥴 I was born in 1974 and I didn’t get into Zep until 1989 when I at least first started freshman year of Highschool. And actually it’s weird now that I think of it cuz my oldest brother is 6 years older than me and he obviously turned me on to everything he was into from Kiss to VH to Priest but he never got into Zeppelin at all really just maybe the few popular songs that were out and he never bought any of their albums! But it was kind of a good feeling I was into a band that he wasn’t actually into in a weird way…….But Zep was my favorite for a long time. Now that I’m older and play guitar I’m more open to different music and as far as favorite bands I’ve realized all bands are super beautifully unique in their own way, even if they have a one hit wonder and so I try not to have favorites anymore. But there’s always something about Zep that could pack a punch, even with the harder music I actually grew up with in my generation…..🤘🏼 ✌🏼
so the '$1mil sales' remark was indeed intended as such....it was simply 1 way of evaluating the success of an album ie.the money it generated ... their 5th album HOTHoly was released at this point. The writer disses Zep's creativity which begs the question: "Did you listen to anything after the 1st album?" DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE the use of 'his' - in a nutshell, that sums up Zep's relationship with the press... that's how much they know about the band, as inaccurate as the writer's prediction of what their legacy would turn out to be ... writers having no idea what the band was about made them shy away thus creating their perception of being underground, and not a bonafide contender for best band in the world.
I'm old enough to remember the last years of Led Zeppelin and it was accepted that they were the biggest band in the world at that time. At the same time it was the era of punk and new wave and the cultural relevance of Led Zeppelin was some what diminished in the UK. I think America was different and the legend of Zeppelin was preserved and perpetuated there to a far greater extent. But there is a slight irony in that Queen, a band heavily influenced by Led Zeppelin in its inception, is much more familiar to, and more highly regarded by today's younger generations. I think the time to judge the real staying power and influence of Led Zeppelin will be when the people old enough to remember the active band are dead and gone, but most here won't be alive to see how that plays out. If you listen to contemporary mainstream music then Led Zeppelin are a museum artefact. Whether another generation will pick them up and dust them down, as has happened with the reputations of some long gone artists, remains to be seen.
I literally never see youngsters wearing Queen t-shirts like I do Zeppelin t-shirts. They aren't brave enough to admit it. Though lots like popular Queen songs on the radio, I don't get the impression youngsters think of them as cool or the real deal ultimate rock band. Queen are popular but also seen as somewhat cheesy and light. I have two young nephews. Neither profess to liking Queen. They love Zeppelin though, and it's nothing to do with me. By the way, I don't actively remember Zeppelin. I got into them as a teen at the end of the 1980s, when more or less every rock band of the time cited them.
@@lyndoncmp5751 58 million monthly listeners on Spotify for Queen compared to 16 million for Led Zeppelin. 25 million for Metallica, 33 million for Fleetwood Mac, 66 million for Elton John, 31 million for Nirvana, 1.6 million for Jethro Tull 25 million for The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys. I agree with all your comments about Queen, they were never the cool, but being cool matters little of you become forgotten over time, but it's a big wide world out there beyond America or the UK, and there are bands with greater presence in other markets. People coming to this video are likely predisposed in favour of Led Zeppelin to begin with, so not a balanced sample of the population, If people are looking for the real deal ultimate rock band then Metallica look like a better bet than Led Zeppelin right now.
@@lyndoncmp5751 My previous reply went missing. I don't know what happened there. Queen have nearly four times as many monthly listeners as Led Zeppelin. Radiohead, Nirvana and Metallica almost twice as many. Coldplay, six times as many. Rock bands may have cited them as an influence, but rock is now a very small proportion of music overall, and the history of music is being written sometime in the future for whom Led Zeppelin will be distant beyond memory. The writer of the 1973 article got it wrong, but so probably will we.
The Beach Boys 🤣 definitely not .... Grand Funk,,,, Homer Simpson band 😂 And the best heavy metal album goes to Metallica, No Jethro Tul... pmsl 😂 . Heavy metal blows his comments away.... 😂 🙏☠️♠️🎸🥁🇦🇺🎄
Led Zeppelin the biggest band of the 70's and its not close at all. All these artists borrowed its jealousy, angry musicians from the past... Clapton the whole band Cream, Hendrix, so many more NEVER came close to Led Zeppelin and that pissed them off along with the critics who were still wishing for the hip movement to continue. Sorry ...The Who the Stones and especially Jethro Tull could not hold a candle to Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin would've/could've been even BIGGER then they are today and we're in the 70's if not the bad press. And guess What ? They are still more popular than the others mentioned in my view and many others.... True Rock N Roll fans for life.
Robert Hilburn was definitely not fan of the band and spent an entire decade criticizing them. Zeppelin sold over 300 Million records worldwide so they obviously did something right and are still listened to 50 years later and probably 50 more while Hilburn was and is a complete buffoon.
Led Zeppelin crossed a lot of people's paths and not in a good way. Trashed hotel rooms, Peter Grant, pushing his weight around. These articles and reviews are probably revenge motivation, against the band.
The rock critics hated Led Zeppelin because they mostly refused to be interviewed. Their point was "let the music speak for itself". And it did, and no better example than the fourth album, which was 100% devoid of ANY information on the cover. No title, no band name, no label listing..... nothing. And it sold out in record stores repeatedly the first year. To date, it's sold a reported 37 million copies.
I will never say zep was not great,of course they are/were,as I earlier stated,even in a single A highschool ,(I Graduated 20th in my class,there were 29 of us. Zep fans were like Dallas cowboys fans back then,rock fan snobs. We all are in one accord these days, they were over bout time I started regular concerting.
But it took time,I like em now,I was anti,-popular people as youngster. 2 of my associates saw plant big log in Memphis with Phil Collins,I passed cuz the two brothers never agreed on anything except when they were at a concert with others,every show they saw always sucked,to them.
I was in high school in the 70s. Didn’t see them, something I regret but Zeppelin’s music was the backdrop for our teen years. There was such an aura about the band, more than other bands. They were the bad boys of rock and roll, yet they would put out songs like Stairway, Ten Years Gone, Kashmir…songs that were ethereal. Songs that were rock but not rock. Then come out with Whole Lotta Love and Black Dog. Songs that were gut churning heavy rock. They could do anything. They were simply the best. They were THE band of the 70s.
I'm a late Gen Xer who didn't discover Led Zeppelin until the summer going into my junior year of high school. Before then, I enjoyed listening to quite a bit of the pop music of the time: late 80s hip-hop, early 90s crooners, and even the end of the hair metal era. However, deciding to go out one summer day and buying Led Zeppelin IV on a whim completely changed the trajectory of my life. At that point, grunge had just hit it big and was dominating the airwaves and the charts, yet I wasn't a fan of it at all. I just didn't get it. But discovering Led Zeppelin changed my mind on it in a big way. I then started to get it (not surprising, considering how much of an influence LZ had on bands like Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, STP, etc.) and led me to discover what I consider a "higher realm" of music. I started "getting" much more music that I simply didn't understand before. No other band's music has had on effect on me like Led Zeppelin, not before or since.
If you get a chance seek out their live shows. I am not talking about the commercially released stuff, but there are many "unofficial" releases out there. Too many fans listen only to the studio and the commercially released live shows. Certainly fans can listen to whatever they want, but I feel as though not getting to hear their live shows is missing out on the greatness of this band. Ask anyone who saw them live back in the day.
I saw Tull in 1973, the Album they were Touring on was: 'A Passion Play'
The history of rock can now be written, the rock era ended 10-15 years ago & we now have sufficient perspective. LZ can be seen as coming along at the height of the era, immediately coming to the top & sustaining that status, both live & on record, for a decade. No conversation about the rock era can exclude or dismiss them. IMO, they're more highly considered now than back in the day when they had a lot of people from the music industry & rock media against them. Their musical legacy has gotten stronger over time, like the Beatles.
You play what inspired you!
✌️😎🎸🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶
Got to go so I can listen to Get the Led Out here in almost 2025!
Hillburn, You're FIRED!!!!!!!!!!
I'm going to be Turning my Grandkids onto Zeppelin soon! How's that for Staying Power?? 56+ Years & Still the Top Rock Band of All Time!
I’m 61 from LA, and I remember Robert Hilburn well. He was the Dean of LA rock music critics for many years. He was typical of the elitist, self-important rock critics of the day who held Zeppelin’s phenomenal popularity against them. After all, if the band appealed so greatly to the ignorant masses, they couldn’t possibly be producing anything of lasting substance. Only the elite with their special insights could discern true enduring greatness.
The savior of rock that Hilburn was so eagerly anticipating in the 1973 article turned out to be Bruce Springsteen-at least in Hilburn’s estimation. Especially after Born to Run came out in the mid 70s, Hilburn anointed Springsteen as rock’s greatest prophet. In fact, he was such a Springsteen fanboy, that a local LA artist wrote a song parody about Hilburn that contained the following lyrics:
“Thinks Bob Dylan is really nice,
Thinks Bruce Springsteen is Jesus Christ.”
I like Springsteen too and he’s had enduring popularity of his own, but not quite the way that Zeppelin has. It’s amusing to read how today’s music critics reflexively acknowledge Led Zeppelin as an all-time great rock band and act as if that were always the case, but it certainly wasn’t back in the 70s.
The fact that fifty years later, we're STILL taking about Led Zeppelin, making more videos about them, lusting for any little tidbit of material that we haven't heard, pitting them against every other band from that era speaks loudly about their talent and their influence. Go have a look at the "Mr. Jimmy" videos.... No other band on the planet has or will ever have the fanbase they do....... including many who weren't even born before Zep was over. I'll tell you what...... in 50 years from now, there won't be any "Imagine Dragons" cover bands. Never before, never again, Led Zeppelin.
I saw Zeppelin Feb 7 1975 ( the LZ film gets released Feb 7 2025). Physical Grafitti wasn't released until the 26th or so. They previewed 4 songs. Pages finger was injured but the show must go on. Thanx
I was 16 in 1973. I am British and it was a great time for British rock music. Led Zep IV is a fantastic record. My friends and I thought Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Yes had taken rock to a new level in the early 1970s. I had this argument with Dad who was a Beatles fan. A generation gap had opened up. The Beatles seemed tame. It was girls I knew who listened to their records and they hated loud guitar solos. I met my wife at college and she owned Abbey Road, Sgt Pepper, Revolver and Band on the Run. By 1973, Cream and Hendrix sounded dated to us. Popular acts at my high school in 1973 included Deep Purple, The Who, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Focus, Sabbath, ELP, Crimson, Tull, Bowie, Rod Stewart, Genesis, and Free. We didn't listen to many American bands or pay any attention to US critics. I came across a Rolling Stone Album Guide in the 1970s, their critics appeared stuck in the 1960s. They liked The Byrds, Bob Dylan, The Doors and California soft-rock. They were pompous when rock was meant to be fun. They didn't like music that would appeal to teenage boys.
This was a pretty common sentiment among the Christgau school of rock journalists around this time. You'll notice there's no mention of Bowie, Queen, Lou Reed, T. Rex, Elton John, Aerosmith, Roxy Music, The Sweet, The New York Dolls, or any of the other glam bands. Also no mention of Pink Floyd, who released The Dark Side of the Moon this year. This was a guy who probably wrote about pre-"rock" bands and considered himself an elder statesman on the subject at this point, unable and unwilling to make the jump to the next generation of rock stars.
Great observation.
Since I’ve Been Loving You is my personal favorite on III. And not by a little bit.
Almost Famous captured that critic bullcrap from that time.
"It's over. Everyone before was great. Now it's crap."
I love the Stones, Beatles, ect...... ZEPPELIN is the greatest band ever!
As joked back in the 1970s. The Rolling Stones went from being second to the Beatles in the 1960s to second to Led Zeppelin in the 1970s.
Like Creem didn't borrow from the blues.
Good laughs with "The band simply isn't significant..., ultimately empty and unsatisfying [and they] will probably be forgotten." The writer makes an interesting point about the state of rock/pop for that brief moment in time, but that makes the opposite point about Zeppelin that he's trying to make.
Back then, critics often smacked Zeppelin. Books can be written on the psychological reasons why. They were blinded by certain prejudices. I listen to young people react to Zeppelin here. Almost unanimously with EVERY song the reaction is something like "Wow! They just don't make music like this today."
Not surprisingly..... within Robert Hilburn's Wikipedia page, crammed full of rock-and-roll name-dropping, there isn't a single reference to Led Zeppelin. I expect this is a review he'd rather forget he ever wrote..... and hoped you'd forget, too.
This is one of many articles written by the "Zeppelin is nothing special" writers that ruled the critical roost during Zep's earlier days. It was very fashionable among critics to dismiss them as superficial, unoriginal, bombastic, etc. Those articles haven't aged well. As for this one, the notion that Zeppelin belonged in the same catefory as Iron Butterfly and "dozens of others" was flat-out ridiculous in 1973, let alone later.
I would love to have this "critic" review this article now. How dead wrong was he. Its well know the press always gave them bad reviews, as Peter and the band were not going to bow down to them and give them free tickets and LPs. Led Zeppelin is bigger today than ever so where is this "journalist" now what was his staying power? LOL
I'm 61. When I was 13 in 1976, Led Zeppelin was considered music for "burnouts." I remember liking it and bringing the fourth album to play in music class (the teacher devoted Friday to playing records). The burnout kids instantly bonded with me and thought I was cool. I have always loved LZ. They are just really great, talented musicians. Probably an all star team of musicians. It is ironic that The Sex Pistols made fun of LZ as posers when Johnny Ramone said their basic sound came from "Communication Breakdown" downstrokes on the guitar. To this day, people bash LZ. But they are my go to rock band. I still go to see Jason Bonham and Jimmy Sakurai every time I can, and it is still magical. I play all these songs on my Heritage Cherry Sunburst Gibson Les Paul. How stupid was this critic? Flat earth man. 😂
I saw them at Keazar on the edge of Haight in San Francisco. One of the great shows. Check out what Rolling Stone said about them. They trashed them. I never listen to media.
Just look at the present streaming numbers of Zeppelin and it tells you all you need to know. My son is in his early twenties and he and all his friends love Zeppelin I don’t think I know anyone who isn’t a fan. Didnt Jack White say he really doesn’t trust anyone who doesn’t love Zeppelin?
I have been wondering for sometime why Grand Funk seems to have faded away. I think it may have to do with how over whelming Zeppelin became in the 80s. Here was a band with almost no singles in the 70s. Airplay even on the few album rock stations of the era was more spread out. As the 80s progressed 70s era rock began to be compressed into about a dozen bands, with 3 or 4 getting the majority of airplay. Many stations had a Zeppelin block at night and a rotation playing the band almost hourly. The bands deeper tracks were being played more often than other bands hits.
As radio consolidation progressed in the 90s and 2000s, playlist were also tightened up. The average classic rock station typically has a playlist of less than 1000 songs. The higher the recognition for the song/band the more airplay/frequency of play. Considering there are artist from the 60s up to the 2000s many only get 1 song. Despite how strong a band may have been 40 or more years ago without promotion or fan based demand for airplay they fade out.
Zeppelin mania in the 80s made songs with no airplay recognizable to minor hit or higher levels. Certain songs had daily rotation and other as often as 2-3 times a week. Zeppelin and to a lesser extent The Stones and Pink Floyd claimed an overwhelming amount of airplay, squeezing out bands with smaller levels of interest.
I think Grand Funks older music is more FM friendly, but lesser known than their pop friendly hits that came later. Pop music has moved on from that sound so those songs are relegated to 70/80s hit channels but the field there is much wider, so any one band is less likely to dominate as album cuts arent played in this format.
More than one classic rock band has had its moment of glory, where they were the it band everyone wanted to hear, however they lacked a discography of airplay friendly songs. You could argue this endlessly, so many things go into what creates airplay and listener interest. Almost every classic rock band has "it", Zeppelin has an abundance. They received so much 80s airplay that almost the entire catalog, just over 90 songs, recieved regular airplay. Even the Stones have trouble matching that in the confines of classic rock airplay.
I think I've babbled enough. I hope some of the above makes sense. Looking at where we are objectively, rather than as a fan seemes to be the best way to unravel how we arrived at the dominance of Zeppelin over the pack.
One more thing - any list of the top 10 artist - everyone of them could be in the top position depending on the criteria being used. Each has it's own unique style and blend - we've all heard the arguments and l like to think they all have merit and the basic truth is that era produced people who strove to excell and produce great music
This writer is full of shit ZEPPELIN is the greatest rock band ever!
It’s just one news paper writer and he happens to have a negative opinion about Zeppelin. Cuz maybe he’s older now, at that time and all the other bands was prolly what he loved listening too at the time. Then Zep comes along and smokes um all with a newer heavier sound. Since those other band were his favorite and maybe for whatever reason he just didn’t like Zep…… But I really don’t have a clue what the writers deal is, so I’m just guessing. 🤔🥴 I was born in 1974 and I didn’t get into Zep until 1989 when I at least first started freshman year of Highschool. And actually it’s weird now that I think of it cuz my oldest brother is 6 years older than me and he obviously turned me on to everything he was into from Kiss to VH to Priest but he never got into Zeppelin at all really just maybe the few popular songs that were out and he never bought any of their albums! But it was kind of a good feeling I was into a band that he wasn’t actually into in a weird way…….But Zep was my favorite for a long time. Now that I’m older and play guitar I’m more open to different music and as far as favorite bands I’ve realized all bands are super beautifully unique in their own way, even if they have a one hit wonder and so I try not to have favorites anymore. But there’s always something about Zep that could pack a punch, even with the harder music I actually grew up with in my generation…..🤘🏼 ✌🏼
0:20 in the SF Bay Area, DEEP PURPLE were equally as popular to LED Zeppelin in 1973.
The writer meant the Dr Evil pinky-to-mouth “ONE MILLION DOLLARS…”
Lol! That's it!
Even the borrowed stuff. They made it there's !!!
That critic is lost to history.
so the '$1mil sales' remark was indeed intended as such....it was simply 1 way of evaluating the success of an album ie.the money it generated ...
their 5th album HOTHoly was released at this point. The writer disses Zep's creativity which begs the question: "Did you listen to anything after the 1st album?"
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE the use of 'his' - in a nutshell, that sums up Zep's relationship with the press... that's how much they know about the band, as inaccurate as the writer's prediction of what their legacy would turn out to be ... writers having no idea what the band was about made them shy away thus creating their perception of being underground, and not a bonafide contender for best band in the world.
I'm old enough to remember the last years of Led Zeppelin and it was accepted that they were the biggest band in the world at that time. At the same time it was the era of punk and new wave and the cultural relevance of Led Zeppelin was some what diminished in the UK. I think America was different and the legend of Zeppelin was preserved and perpetuated there to a far greater extent. But there is a slight irony in that Queen, a band heavily influenced by Led Zeppelin in its inception, is much more familiar to, and more highly regarded by today's younger generations. I think the time to judge the real staying power and influence of Led Zeppelin will be when the people old enough to remember the active band are dead and gone, but most here won't be alive to see how that plays out. If you listen to contemporary mainstream music then Led Zeppelin are a museum artefact. Whether another generation will pick them up and dust them down, as has happened with the reputations of some long gone artists, remains to be seen.
I literally never see youngsters wearing Queen t-shirts like I do Zeppelin t-shirts. They aren't brave enough to admit it. Though lots like popular Queen songs on the radio, I don't get the impression youngsters think of them as cool or the real deal ultimate rock band. Queen are popular but also seen as somewhat cheesy and light.
I have two young nephews. Neither profess to liking Queen. They love Zeppelin though, and it's nothing to do with me.
By the way, I don't actively remember Zeppelin. I got into them as a teen at the end of the 1980s, when more or less every rock band of the time cited them.
@@lyndoncmp5751 58 million monthly listeners on Spotify for Queen compared to 16 million for Led Zeppelin. 25 million for Metallica, 33 million for Fleetwood Mac, 66 million for Elton John, 31 million for Nirvana, 1.6 million for Jethro Tull 25 million for The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys. I agree with all your comments about Queen, they were never the cool, but being cool matters little of you become forgotten over time, but it's a big wide world out there beyond America or the UK, and there are bands with greater presence in other markets. People coming to this video are likely predisposed in favour of Led Zeppelin to begin with, so not a balanced sample of the population, If people are looking for the real deal ultimate rock band then Metallica look like a better bet than Led Zeppelin right now.
@@lyndoncmp5751 My previous reply went missing. I don't know what happened there. Queen have nearly four times as many monthly listeners as Led Zeppelin. Radiohead, Nirvana and Metallica almost twice as many. Coldplay, six times as many. Rock bands may have cited them as an influence, but rock is now a very small proportion of music overall, and the history of music is being written sometime in the future for whom Led Zeppelin will be distant beyond memory. The writer of the 1973 article got it wrong, but so probably will we.
The Beach Boys 🤣 definitely not .... Grand Funk,,,, Homer Simpson band 😂 And the best heavy metal album goes to Metallica, No Jethro Tul... pmsl 😂 . Heavy metal blows his comments away.... 😂 🙏☠️♠️🎸🥁🇦🇺🎄
Led Zeppelin the biggest band of the 70's and its not close at all. All these artists borrowed its jealousy, angry musicians from the past... Clapton the whole band Cream, Hendrix, so many more NEVER came close to Led Zeppelin and that pissed them off along with the critics who were still wishing for the hip movement to continue. Sorry ...The Who the Stones and especially Jethro Tull could not hold a candle to Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin would've/could've been even BIGGER then they are today and we're in the 70's if not the bad press. And guess What ? They are still more popular than the others mentioned in my view and many others.... True Rock N Roll fans for life.
Robert Hilburn was definitely not fan of the band and spent an entire decade criticizing them. Zeppelin sold over 300 Million records worldwide so they obviously did something right and are still listened to 50 years later and probably 50 more while Hilburn was and is a complete buffoon.
Led Zeppelin crossed a lot of people's paths and not in a good way. Trashed hotel rooms, Peter Grant, pushing his weight around. These articles and reviews are probably revenge motivation, against the band.
The rock critics hated Led Zeppelin because they mostly refused to be interviewed. Their point was "let the music speak for itself". And it did, and no better example than the fourth album, which was 100% devoid of ANY information on the cover. No title, no band name, no label listing..... nothing. And it sold out in record stores repeatedly the first year. To date, it's sold a reported 37 million copies.
I will never say zep was not great,of course they are/were,as I earlier stated,even in a single A highschool ,(I Graduated 20th in my class,there were 29 of us. Zep fans were like Dallas cowboys fans back then,rock fan snobs. We all are in one accord these days, they were over bout time I started regular concerting.
But it took time,I like em now,I was anti,-popular people as youngster. 2 of my associates saw plant big log in Memphis with Phil Collins,I passed cuz the two brothers never agreed on anything except when they were at a concert with others,every show they saw always sucked,to them.