Led Zeppelin

English rock group. It was formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page (James Patrick Page; b Heston, Middx, 9 Jan 1944; guitar and production) with Robert (Anthony) Plant (b West Bromwich, 20 Aug 1948; vocals and harmonica), John Paul Jones (John Baldwin; b Sidcup, 3 June 1946; bass guitar and keyboards) and John (Henry) Bonham (b West Bromwich, 31 May 1948; d Windsor, 25 Sept 1980; drums). Page, like Jones, had been a session musician in London in the mid-1960s, and played the guitar for such artists as the Who, Jackie DeShannon, Them, the Stones, the Kinks and Joe Cocker, before joining the Yardbirds in...

English rock group. It was formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page (James Patrick Page; b Heston, Middx, 9 Jan 1944; guitar and production) with Robert (Anthony) Plant (b West Bromwich, 20 Aug 1948; vocals and harmonica), John Paul Jones (John Baldwin; b Sidcup, 3 June 1946; bass guitar and keyboards) and John (Henry) Bonham (b West Bromwich, 31 May 1948; d Windsor, 25 Sept 1980; drums). Page, like Jones, had been a session musician in London in the mid-1960s, and played the guitar for such artists as the Who, Jackie DeShannon, Them, the Stones, the Kinks and Joe Cocker, before joining the Yardbirds in 1966. When they disbanded, Page formed the New Yardbirds, which became Led Zeppelin, to fulfil concert obligations and develop ideas he had worked on with the Yardbirds. They released nine studio albums, one live album and a documentary film, The Song Remains the Same (1976). When Bonham died in 1980, the group disbanded. The band's manager, Peter Grant, negotiated unprecedented fees for the group in their contract with Atlantic Records and for their concert appearances and insured that the band retained creative and financial control to an unprecedented degree.