Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham played together for the first time on 12th Aug 1968, when they rehearsed at a studio in Lisle Street in London’s West End.
The first song was an adaptation of ‘The Train Kept A-Rollin.’ The song was released in 1951, composed by Tiny Bradshaw and co-produced by Ahmet Ertegun–the man who would sign Zeppelin to his Atlantic label.
Ertegun’s influence on Led Zeppelin would subsequently be the reason that the best rock band ever would reform over 40 years later for an accolade concert.
They also played ‘Smokestack Lightning’ and a forerunner to ‘Dazed And Confused, named ‘I’m Confused’.
John Paul Jones has said the room “exploded” as they snapped into the song ‘Train Kept a Rollin’. The boys realized they had something. The song was their show opener during 1968 and 1969 tours.
On 7th Sept 1968, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham made their live debut as Led Zeppelin but billed as The Yardbirds, in Denmark venue Teen Club to a crowd of 1,200 youngsters attending the Egegard School.
Teen Club President Lars Abel introduced ‘The New Yardbirds’ on stage, introduced Robert Plant as Robert Plat. A local review stated; “Their performance and their music were absolutely flawless, and the music continued to ring nicely in the ears for some time after the curtains were drawn after their show. We can, therefore, conclude that the new Yardbirds are at least as good as the old ones were”
Rock bands from the ‘80s onwards were massively shaped by Led Zeppelin. From Queen to Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin set the template in hard rock. And their reach branched out to folk, soul, punk, and psychedelia too.
