Before Led Zeppelin catapulted to rock immortality, they were merely a quartet of musicians brainstorming the perfect band name.
The saga began with Jimmy Page. Back in 1966, Jimmy stepped in as bassist for The Yardbirds to fill Paul Samwell-Smith’s shoes – although he soon transitioned to the role of lead guitarist.
Following years of unstable line-ups, Jimmy was the sole survivor when The Yardbirds disbanded in 1968. Bound by the obligation to play out The Yardbirds’ remaining gigs, he went on the hunt for fresh bandmates.
First, he brought on board vocalist Robert Plant, who led him to drummer John Bonham. Bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones was the last to join, getting the tip-off from his wife after she spotted an advert in the paper, reports the Mirror US.
In Scandinavia, they had a brief stint as The New Yardbirds to satisfy prior engagements, only for the moniker to hit a legal snag. Ex-Yardbird Chris Dreja reportedly ordered them not to use the name beyond these dates.
So, the hunt for a new name was on, and in the most serendipitous fashion, it stemmed from a quip made by Keith Moon years before. When Jimmy mused about starting a supergroup with Jeff Beck, Keith Moon, and John Entwistle, Keith had joked any such group would “go down like a lead balloon”.
In a 2017 interview with the Academy of Achievement, Jimmy said: “It was a name that Keith Moon had mentioned back then.
“He was talking, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to have a band called Led Zeppelin?’
“And I asked him if we could use the name because I was gonna be in this band Led Zeppelin with Keith Moon, so was Jeff Beck.”
Ditching ‘lead balloon’ for ‘led’ so American audiences wouldn’t pronounce it ‘leed’, and replacing ‘balloon’ with ‘zeppelin’, Led Zeppelin was born.
Jimmy also talked about the secret steps taken before their official debut, saying: “Even on the first recordings, it said ‘New Yardbirds’ on the box because I didn’t want anybody to know what the name of the band was until we really officially unveiled it.”
The group emerged as Led Zeppelin by the close of 1968, causing an immediate sensation with their self-titled album early the following year, merging blues and hard rock, marked by groundbreaking production.
The tale of how the iconic name came to be has several variations.
Some argue that it was John Entwistle, not Keith Moon, who coined the term “lead balloon”, while alternative accounts suggest Chris Dreja’s legal threat was the true impetus for the band’s name change.
Yet, Jimmy Page has unwaveringly attributed the inspiration for the name to Keith Moon – a narrative the legendary guitarist firmly upholds.