Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin was an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They were known for their heavy, guitar-driven sound. They are often cited as one of the progenitors of hard rock and heavy metal, although their style drew from a variety of influences, including blues and folk music. 

Cover of their first album with an image of
probably the most famous zeppelin, the ill-fated Hindenberg.

When The Who’s drummer Keith Moon heard that London studio legends, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, were forming a new band with Robert Plant and John Bonham, he mockingly predicted that the project would go down “like a lead balloon.”The Who's bassist, John Entwistle, took it one step further, calling it a “lead zeppelin.” 

When those comments got to Jimmy Page and manager Peter Grant, they adopted the name. They had been considering calling the band The New Yardbirds. The Yardbirds was a popular 1960s British band that included a number of lineups during its time. When Eric Clapton left to join John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, he recommended Jimmy Page who was known as a prominent young session guitarist, to replace him. But Page was happy with his sessions work and recommended his friend Jeff Beck.

In 1966. Jimmy Page filled in on bass until rhythm guitarist Dreja could rehearse on the instrument and they toured with Page on bass, and Beck and Dreja on guitars. When Beck fell ill on tour, Page took over as lead guitarist and Dreja switched to bass. The Beck–Page lead guitar tandem created the avant-garde psychedelic rock single "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" which also has John Paul Jones on bass instead of Dreja.

The Yardbirds, 1966. From left: Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page,
Chris Dreja, Keith Relf and Jim McCarty    Link

After The Yardbirds disbanded, the first gigs by Page's new band included some Yardbirds' material such as "Train Kept a-Rollin'", "Dazed and Confused" and "For Your Love" and even some of Back's material such as "Shapes of Things." 

The Led Zeppelin spelling was done to push the correct pronunciation. 

Plant and Page performing in Chicago Stadium. 1977, during their last
North American tour          Photo: Jim Summaria, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Led Zeppelin is one of the best-selling music artists of all time; their total record sales are estimated to be between 200 to 300 million units worldwide. They achieved eight consecutive UK number-one albums and six number-one albums on the US Billboard 200, with five of their albums certified Diamond in the US. 

Rolling Stone magazine described them as "the heaviest band of all time", "the biggest band of the Seventies", and "unquestionably one of the most enduring bands in rock history". They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995; the museum's biography of the band states that they were "as influential" during the 1970s as the Beatles were during the 1960s.