1947 – 1978
On This Date, April 21st in 1978: Sandy Denny (born Alexandra Elene Maclean Denny) of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention died of a cerebral hemorrhage, one month after falling down a flight of stairs at a friend’s house. She was 31 years old. Denny has the distinction of being the only guest singer, ever, on a Led Zeppelin album, having contributed co-vocals with Robert Plant on Led Zeppelin IV’s “Battle of Evermore.”
Grant with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
On This Date, November 21st In 1995: Peter Grant, manager of The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin and Bad Company, died of a heart attack. He was 60 years old. Grant was a total bad ass who has been described as “one of the shrewdest and most ruthless managers in rock history.” He is widely credited with improving pay and conditions for musicians in dealings with concert promoters.
Led Zeppelin: Good Times, Bad Times
A Visual Biography of the Ultimate Band
By Jerry Prochnicky & Ralph Hulett
with a foreword by Anthony DeCurtis
Getting free stuff in the mail is fun, especially when that free thing is a huge coffee table book full of pictures of Led Zeppelin, the greatest hard rock band ever in the Universe of all time. I’ve spent a couple of days looking through this amazing and gorgeous book and it has given me a nearly unprecedented series of nostalgic thrills, because I love Led Zeppelin so much. But whether you just dig Led Zeppelin’s music, or you are a total completist collector fan geek for whom the members of Led Zeppelin are gods – like myself – trust me, you will want to own this book. Authors Jerry Prochnicky and Ralph Hulett kick off a fantastic chronological collection of over 200 rare photos with a very complete yet concise introductory overview of Led Zeppelin’s career – from their first gigs as “The New Yardbirds” to John Bonham’s tragic death, and subsequent band reunions featuring Jason Bonham taking his dad’s place behind the kit. So, even if you didn’t previously know anything about Led Zeppelin’s history before picking up Good Times, Bad Times you will be an expert by the time you gaze at a beautiful black & white photo of The New Yardbirds on stage at their very first gig on September 7, 1968 (41 years ago today) at the Gladsaxe Teen Club in Copenhagen. History!
No one who lived and rocked through the seventies will deny that it was arguably the best era for Rock & Roll that still had balls; and no band personified The Rock better than Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin! Whether the photo depicts the band onstage, backstage, recording in the studio, on tour, or at home, there are accompanying captions with the details of and history behind each picture. I never get tired of seeing shots of Led Zeppelin on stage and in action. But I really loved seeing pictures of the guys with their wives and kids. I loved seeing pictures of them hanging out with groupies at the Rainbow on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip. And I also found a nice shot of Jimmy Page’s Robert Plant’s exceptionally hot ass as he gets out of a pool after being pants’d by John Bonham. Candid!
If I were you, and did not get this book for free in the mail, I would buy it as soon as possible or pre-order it from Amazon right now.
Led Zeppelin: Good Times, Bad Times. A Visual Biography of the Ultimate Band will be released on October 1, 2009 with a cover price of $35.00.
“Yes, Please!”
Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant was born on this day, August 20th, in 1948! I got to see one of the Page & Plant tours that he did with Jimmy Page a dozen or more years ago – from about the tenth row on the floor at Madison Square Garden – and, because I have such a vivid imagination, I was able to actively fantasize that I was actually seeing Led Zeppelin! It was an awesome show. Happy Birthday, Robert!