It's Zeptember Baybees!!!!!!!!!

And since it is Zeptember, Led Zeppelin will be on heavy rotation on my play list.  Some have declared Led Zeppelin as the greatest rock band ever, but I refuse to engage in those kinds of discussions because the bands of the 60s and 70s all played too large a part of shaping what modern rock music became to declare one group as being totally responsible. Yet Led Zeppelin played a huge part.

Jimmy Page was a session guitarist who got a taste of band life with The Yardbirds and when they dissolved, he secured the rights to the name and the songs of that group. He teamed with John Paul Jones, another highly sought after session musician, to form a new group. They were told about Robert Plant, a blues singer whose voice captivated audiences and they asked him to join with them. He said only if he could bring his buddy, John "Bonzo" Bonham, who played drums. They did a September tour of Scandinavia as The New Yardbirds in 1968. When they returned to England in October, the running joke in the musical world was that this new group was going to go over like a lead balloon. That joke was the inspiration for the name Led Zeppelin which was adopted formally in October, 1968.

On their nine albums, they firmly laid the base from which Heavy Metal was built. Their songs combined Celtic flavors with the Blues while the lyrics spoke of far away places, love, and people living their lives in general with a dash of Vikings and Lord Of The Rings thrown in for good measure. The ultimate for any true die-hard Zepp fan is to complete the Zepp-A-Thon, which entails listening to all nine albums back to back, non-stop. I've completed this feat three times already and as soon as my son decides to return my Led Zeppelin collection, I'll do it again a few more times.

The band stayed active, recording and touring, from September, 1968, until September, 1980, when John Bonham died suddenly from pulmonary edema after a day of heavy drinking. They formally disbanded in December of that year, saying that they could not go on without Bonzo and he could not be replaced.

Led Zeppelin did choose to close the gap between The Blues, which is the very foundation of Rock, and the new baby, Rock & Rock. And they captivated the masses as they did just that. Their influence can be found in many other artists and groups such as Pink Floyd, Prince, Lenny Kravitz, and Heart, to name a few. Their music unites the masses...even Paul Ryan can jam with Barak Obama to a Zepp tune or two. We only had them as a group for such a short while, but their music will live on and inspire others forever.

Bless Mother Plant's heart. She never did manage to teach little Robert Anthony how to button his shirt! And millions of women appreciate her for that!

Yes, I do believe it is going to be a beautiful Zeptember for me!! What about you? Who/what will be on your heavy rotation this month? Will you be joining me in Zeptember or have you got another great act to turn us all on to? Please share!