Is “Celebration Day” Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song?

By Lori Spencer

Yahoo! Music News

Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.

All the great masters must know when to look at their artistic creation and say, “it is complete.” There comes a stage when attempting to change, enhance, or add anything more would be pointless; overkill. Perhaps the members of Led Zeppelin feel this same way now about the body of work they created as one of the world’s most influential rock bands.

The Mighty Zep’s long-awaited reunion concert at London’s O2 Arena in 2007 was the first time Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham (in place of his late father) had shared a stage since the disastrous Atlantic Records 40^th Anniversary concert in May 1988. Considering that event – and the 1985 semi-reunion at Live Aid – didn’t exactly live up to expectations, the band certainly felt they owed their fans a debt. Or at the very least, a proper farewell.

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Led Zeppelin Celebrates Atlantic Records Legacy; Fondly Remembers Ahmet Ertegun

By Lori Spencer

Yahoo! Music News

Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and Jason Bonham (son of late drummer John Bonham) have a laugh during a press conference to launch the release of “Celebration Day.” The Museum of Modern Art, New York, October 9, 2012.

If not for Atlantic Records Ahmet Ertegun, Led Zeppelin may well have languished away in obscurity, or been banished to the one-hit wonder pile. It was the late Atlantic Records co-founder and president who took a very personal interest in the group, above and beyond the call of duty. From the first time he ever listened to Zeppelin’s self-produced first album in 1968, Ertegun became the band’s champion at the label and nurtured their growth over the years like a proud father.

Another band Ertegun remained close friends with over the years was the Rolling Stones. While attending a concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre six years ago this month, Ertegun fell down a flight of stairs and hit his head on the concrete floor. He later slipped into a coma and died December 14, 2006 at the age of 83.

Led Zeppelin was at first devastated by the loss of their mentor, but Ertegun’s death would soon propel them into positive action. The tragic event actually become the impetus for a reunion concert both Mr. Ertegun and Zeppelin’s fans had waited 27 years for.

The surviving members of Led Zeppelin – Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and the late drummer John Bonham’s son Jason – agreed to get the band back together one last time in Ahmet’s memory. One year later, the dream became reality when they took the stage at London’s O2 Arena to raise money for the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund.

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Jason Bonham Felt Father’s Presence When Playing with Led Zeppelin

By Lori Spencer

Yahoo! Music News

John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and Jason Bonham in New York city, October 9, 2012.

 

On the afternoon of September 25, 1980, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham was found dead in the guest room of Jimmy Page’s Windsor, England home. And with that tragic turn of events, the musical phenomenon once known as Zeppelin came to a sudden, crashing halt. The surviving band members quickly issued a statement announcing that they were in fact disbanding out of “the deep respect we have for his family,” stating that Led Zeppelin “could not continue as we were.”

As the years passed and John Bonham’s son Jason later came of age, a strange thing happened: he not only grew into a highly intelligent and articulate young man, but also a powerhouse drummer in his own right. The other members of Led Zeppelin certainly took notice. In 1988, Jason was invited to step into his father’s big shoes at the Atlantic Records 40 ^th Anniversary concert where Zeppelin reunited for a brief half-hour set.

He was again called upon to fill the drum chair in 2007 when Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones decided to regroup for a one-off reunion concert at London’s O2 Arena.

(Story continues HERE.)