Right now, we can safely say that Led Zeppelin are one of the most popular bands there are. But were they always?

Most of us can agree that Led Zeppelin are an institution. They are responsible for the rock hits “Good Times Bad Times”, “Dazed and Confused” and “Communication Breakdown”, not to mention the greatest one of all (and my personal favorite) “Stairway to Heaven”. There are several arguments about whether or not it is the most influential piece in rock history.

Zeppelin fans in England, 1979

We can certainly see the band was well loved by the year 1979, but there were a lot of critics that disliked them and even hated them. First of all, critics didn’t like the fact that they were Innovators, as to all rock and roll music. People often resented the group for being “wild”, “dangerous” and “destroying our children”. Like most bands, Zeppelin were seen by parents as too loud and even scary. That was the typical reaction to a lot of rock artists, but any good rocker knows – the fans are the important ones, not their parents.

Anti Rock & Roll Propaganda

They played their first show as Led Zeppelin at the University of Surrey in Battersea, in 1968. In their first year Led Zeppelin completed four US and four UK, and also released their second album, “Led Zeppelin II”. It was an even greater commercial success than their first album, and reached the number one chart position in the US and the UK.

In just 10 years, Led Zeppelin reached a phenomenal success, that most artists would dream about achieving in a life-time.

Though the band released no less than 9 albums, some people claim the first one to be the most significant.

Some songs of their 1969 debut album, “Led Zeppelin”

Stairway to Heaven – a phenomenon

The groundbreaking song released in late 1971, in their untitled fourth studio album – usually called Led Zeppelin IV. The song went on to be one of the most popular, influential and coverd songs ever.

Fun fact – in a lot of guitar stores during that time, there was a sign forbidding playing that song, because people kept playing it over and over again – being one of the most popular songs of all time (and some stores put it up as a joke).

I know I said that already, but I’ll say in once more: Stairway to Heaven – arguably the best song in history. Enjoy.