“We must have presented the right thing-at the right time- to the right people.” Jimmy Page

Led Zeppelin was unlike any group of its time. Their premature breakup in 1981 was the hardest thing to hit the recording industry since the split of The Beatles. They have consistently rivaled their British counterparts in rumors and hopes of a reunion. Unlike The Beatles, whose main influences came from the early British skiffle groups of the forties and fifties, as well as the rock ‘n’ roll music that was hitting England from the States, Led Zeppelin’s influences are wide and more varied. Their music is hard to peg into a specific genre, thought it’s often referred to as ‘hard rock’ or ‘heavy metal.’ Jimmy Page, their founding member, has referred to them as basically a folk band. Still their most prominent influences came out of Chicago and Mississippi, where Rhythm and Blues pioneers such as Robert Johnson and his disciple, Sonny Boy Williamson sparked the musical ambitions of many a Rock hopeful, including a young Jimmy Page.

Part of the secret to their continuing enormous impact on the music industry, and the lifestyles of their fans, was Zep’s ability to take these varied musical styles and mold them as their own. A close listen to any of Zep’s early work unpeels those influences. Their first album, for example, which includes their concert showcase, “Dazed and Confused,” was originally written by Jake Holmes and called, “Dazed And Confused.” But it’s completely associated with Led Zeppelin. Also from that album, borrowed and changed from other artists is, “Communication Breakdown” which is actually a remarkable rearrangement of the Eddie Cochran hit, “Nervous Breakdown.” They especially utilized segments of the sparkling guitar solo that highlights the tune.

Also from the first recording was, “Black Mountain Side,” a stunning instrumental whose origins can be attributed to Bert Jansch’s “Blackwaterside.” This is not to say that Led Zeppelin were copycats, indeed on the contrary. They were innovators in the truest sense of the word. As their reputations as accomplished musicians became more firmly established, they relied more comfortably on their own instincts and the origins of their work became less detectable.

Founder Jimmy Page has said that he always tries to use variations in his work, and that most Blues men borrowed from each other constantly. He said, like most artists, his work was the “product of my influences.” A fair argument used by many musicians and artists who perform loose interpretations of other’s work. But it was Zep’s ability to take what was basically somebody else’s brainchild and mold it and reinterpret it in such a way that it was barely recognizable that made them a band with the wide appeal they continue to have today, several decades after their untimely breakup under tragic circumstances. To draw from so many styles, so many different origins, certainly broadened their appeal so that they were attractive to fans of Rock, Folk, Rhythm and Blues, and yes, dare I say it, mainstream Pop.